By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
Okarche boys basketball coach Aaron West said his team needed to have a good summer season to set a strong foundation for the 2021-22 campaign.
Mission accomplished.
The team’s goals in the summer were to get stronger – they lifted weights at 7 a.m. three times a week – and to improve their shooting as a team.
Check and check, West said.
“We had good participation and that’s big. We have potential, but if you don’t show up and work, you won’t be as good as you can be,” he said. “We’re demanding but if you want to have a good team you have to put the work in and, so far, this team has.”
Okarche lost its top two scorers, Jared Kroener (18 ppg) and Joe Schaefer off last year’s squad that finished a disjointed, COVID-19-marred season at 10-11. The Warriors return starters Evan Endres, Brayden Stover (10 ppg last season) and P.K. Harris, but will need several more players to step into larger roles.
Trey Gillis, a 6-foot-7 post player also returns along with Cooper Bomhoff, Osbaldo Barcenas, Caden Schieber and Wyatt Pinkerton.
Trenton Neiderer is back out for the team after an absence and Braxton Smith has transferred in from Piedmont and had a good summer season, West said. Smith is 6-foot-3 and defends the post well, while Neiderer is one of the team’s best shooters, West said.
Freshman Hunter Mueggenborg has a chance to start at point guard.
“(Hunter) has a chance to be a really good player over his career,” West said. “He gets to the rim well, gets everyone involved and finds the open shooter.”
Okarche took part in Edmond Memorial’s summer league, as it has for several years now. The Warriors face large-school competition there each game and are the only Class A team invited to the league. Okarche doesn’t win many games, but that’s not why the team goes.
“When you play that type of competition, we don’t look for wins, we look to improve. When you come back and play in Class A you’re really prepared,” West said.
The Warriors took part in a team camp at Oklahoma State where they competed against Class 2 and 3A schools from Texas, Arkansas and Kansas. Okarche also went to UCO’s team camp and reached the semifinals of the small school division with a 7-2 record.
At the junior high level, Okarche went 9-0 in its latest summer tournament hosted in Okarche.
“We have players coming up that should really help the program,” West said.
After a mandated OSSAA break, offseason work starts when school begins and the team opens preseason practice Oct. 1.
