ADVANCE BRINGS IN BRIGHT STAR, BUT TOURNAMENT SUCCESS DEPENDS ON REMAINDER OF CONSTELLATION

Garrett Broshuis will get his points.

How far the fifth-seeded Advance Hornets go in the U-High Tournament, and how well they do for the rest of the season, depends on the emergence of their front court.

"Our season will rest upon how our interior people develop," said Advance coach Jim Hall. "We've got four people playing inside right now, two sophomores and two juniors. We've got size but not great athletes there, but the kids have a good attitude and play hard. How well they do will determine how well the team does."

The two post players that normally start are Jon French and Aaron Cantrell. Blake Clark and Cain Kelley usually rotate in.

"They give us plenty of fouls to work with," Hall said.

The Hornets state ranked at No. 7 have been the top Class 1A team in the region so far this year and head into the tournament at 6-0 as the only undefeated team in the 16-team field.

Advance won the Woodland Tournament, beating the host Cardinals by 12 on their own floor for the championship. Woodland is the No. 9 seed in the U-High Tournament. Then, it picked up its biggest win of the year, knocking off second-seeded Scott City the sixth-ranked team in Class 2A 60-57.

"I think it definitely is a huge win for our team as far as confidence goes to play against quality opponents," said Hall. "You believe (you can win), but you have to prove it yourself. There's nothing like winning for your confidence, especially one over a quality opponent."

Advance went 16-12 last season, which included a four-point loss to Scott County Central in the U-High consolation championship game.

In the tournament last year, Advance went with just six players.

Hall feels the depth factor is one of his team's biggest improvements over last season.

"We dress 11 on varsity this year and I think that's obviously an improvement," said Hall.

Hall thought his team's lack of depth last year cost his team the consolation championship as Scott Central was able to come from behind late in the game.

The Hornets, who return all but one player from last year's team, made it that far in the tournament last year on the shoulders of Broshuis, who averaged almost 30 points per game in the tournament.

This year, Broshuis, a versatile 6-foot-2 small forward, is averaging about 22 points, four assists and five rebounds per game this season.

"Garrett is our offensive leader and he's a very outstanding basketball player because he can do so many things," said Hall. "He can go inside and outside and he's a great driver with excellent body control. Everybody knows he's the man to stop and he still gets his points. And he's so unselfish it's unbelievable. When we get way ahead he doesn't even look to shoot anymore; he wants to get others involved."

But Broshuis isn't alone. Adam Rainey (7 ppg, 5 assists per game), a junior point guard, and two-guard Daniel Turner (12.2 ppg) are other offensive weapons that teams must deal with.

"Rainey is another unselfish player. He has good vision and can drive and create," said Hall. "Turner has a good medium-range shot and he's a 3-point shooter that has to be reckoned with.

Advance will play No. 12 Bell City in the opening round at 4:30 p.m. Monday, then is likely to play No. 4 Notre Dame in the second round at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

"We'll go in and try to improve as a team and try to get our inside people to improve and see how physically tough they can be," said Hall. "It'll be a nice test. We're just really looking forward to it.

"Last year was the first time I got to coach in the Cape tournament. I spent 29 years at the Bloomfield tournament and never got to see this one. The atmosphere there and with the kids being able to play on the Show Me Center floor It's a first-class tournament."