When your football season lasts happily until the absolute limit of Nov. 21, you don't get a lot of basketball practices before the start of the cage season after the Thanksgiving holiday.
That's one of the dilemmas of the 2008-09 Carey School boys' varsity basketball team, featuring many players coming off a state championship football campaign. Other dilemmas: lack of seniors and only two returning starters.
"We're young. I think it might take us awhile to get there," said eighth-year Carey coach Dick Simpson (152-34).
Simpson (23-5 in 2008, 22-6 in 2007 and 24-3 in 2006) has enjoyed a pretty decent run on the Carey bench despite recurring obstacles like lack of height. One of the state's most successful basketball coaches, Simpson finds a way to cobble together winning Panther teams.
And the Panthers are winners on the hardwoods. They've made 12 state tournament trips in the last 16 years. They are 323-125 in 18 seasons since 1991. They're 14-10 in their last six state trips, and have won four Northside Conference titles in six years.
But Carey lost a lot from last winter's team that fell in the State 1A tournament consolation championship for the third consecutive year. Chief among the loss of eight seniors was D.J. Simpson (16.4 ppg), who was the top scorer at state basketball with a 23.8 ppg mark.
And every successful team seems to have a good offensive rebounder. Tyler Parke (10.0 ppg) filled that role last year.
The two returning starters, juniors who shared the fifth- and sixth-man roles last winter as sophomores, are 6-0 Dillon Simpson (3.8 ppg) and 5-11 Trevor Peck (8.7 ppg). Peck led the Panthers with 45 3-pointers and was third-high scorer.
Simpson said, "Dillon is our point guard and defensive specialist. He'll set the tone for us and we'll try to keep him out of foul trouble. Trevor gained a lot of confidence in football this year. He is a wing man who can knock down the 3-pointer."
Joining Simpson and Peck on the perimeter is 5-10 junior wing Brett Adamson, who knocked down a bunch of points for coach Danny Simpson's Panther junior varsity the past two winters. Head coach Simpson expects senior Jared Cenarrusa to step up as a point guard and with defense.
Carey needs rebounding, the coach said. Two prospects on the glass are 6-4 junior Wacey Barg and 6-1 soph Jacy Baird.
Rounding out the varsity are five juniors—6-1 post Tyler Chavez, 5-8 Todd Peck, 5-8 Brad Peck, 5-8 Gonzalo Zarate and 5-9 Tyler Willis. Simpson said that senior Heith Adamson, the star of the football team, is still weighing whether or not to play basketball this winter.
Simpson said, "On offense we'll be perimeter-oriented, but we'll try to spread the floor and get some drives and pick-and-rolls. The boys aren't big but they can play. I hope we can get better at posting up.
"Defensively we'll play a lot of man-to-man. We don't have the senior leadership we had. Some of them have never had to step it up before, but they're going to have to now—because they're it. We do have a lot of kids who work hard and won't take no for an answer."
Although Carey lacks varsity experience, "this bunch of kids only lost three games when they were freshmen and sophomores," said Simpson about the current group of Panther juniors. But everybody will have to step up, quickly.
Quickly, because defending champion Carey will host the two-day, 13th annual Carey Holiday Tournament starting today, Friday in Carey. Carey's varsity plays Challis tonight at 8 p.m. With a victory there, Carey will advance into the title game against the Hagerman-Challis winner Saturday.
And, if Carey plays Hagerman (1-0 following a 56-53 home win over Oakley Wednesday), the Panthers will have to contend with Hagerman's burly 6-6 post player Tanner Owen.
Carey also has an early-season grudge match with its chief rival in the Northside, the Richfield Tigers. Richfield (23-3 last year) hosts Carey Friday, Dec. 12, then Carey visits another Northside contender, Dietrich, on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Simpson said about the seven-team Northside, "I think the three strongest teams are Richfield, Dietrich and us. Richfield is tough—they have five legit players who are hard for people to contend with. Dietrich won the JV championship two years ago and should be knocking at the door."
Sixth-year JV coach Danny Simpson has welcomed a roster of five sophomores (Caleb Cenarrusa, Blair Peck, Shane Bingham, Joe Laidlaw and Brandon Dilworth) and five freshmen (Charlie Rivera, Chance Chavez, Jack Cenarrusa, Dillon Cenarrusa and Baley Barg). The Panther JV plays Challis today at 5 p.m.
