Ethan Hoagland
Fresh faces, limited experience and a series of injuries added up to a tough season for the Sweet Home High School varsity boys basketball team. But Head Coach Drew Emmert is feeling good heading into the 2023 season.
“We had a really good off season though and we’re excited for this year,” Emmert said. Aside from off season play, the team got a chance to hone their skills in a Fall league. That’s an opportunity the Sweet Home varsity team doesn’t always get, according to Emmert, because some years there aren’t enough kids to qualify.
Emmert is excited to see some experience built up last year returning this year. He says about eight seniors will return to play this season. But Emmert is also optimistic about the younger players.
“We have a really good young group coming in as well,” he said. “A few of them will have a chance to play up with us.”
Looking back on last season, Coach Emmert wants to see the ball in the net more often.
“Last season we just struggled to score. We didn’t have a go-to scorer. I mean, we were just really bad offensively. We didn’t shoot very well from the free throw line, we didn’t finish very well and that was a big thing in the off season.”
So far, the off season work is looking promising, according to Emmert.
“Our guys were in the gym a lot and were super consistent with that [scoring],” Emmert said. When it comes to improvement, “a lot of it is just playing basketball.”
“Getting in the gym. That’s what these guys did,” Emmert continued. “They went to all the workouts after school, all the open gyms. Then we played 28 games this summer, with some practices in there.”
The boys and girls teams will both open their seasons with a home game against Elmira.
“Last year we beat ’em first game of the season, but it was really close,” Emmert said. “It was by a buzzer beater.”
That game is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 29.