Andrews tries to bring stability to Oran's basketball program

Jason Andrews will attempt to build a basketball program at a baseball school.

Andrews takes over a program coming off a 6-15 season, and he is the third coach in three years.

He will have a number of accomplished athletes to work with, including several that contributed to a Class 1 runner-up finish in the state baseball tournament on the seventh trip to the final four for that program.

"If they can win in one sport, they can win in another," Andrews said. "I think it's a positive thing. Baseball has a winning tradition, and hopefully they can build off us."

For now, many of the names of Oran players will be familiar because of baseball --including returning starters Chase Seyer and Ryan Bouge.

Bouge, a 5-foot-7 senior guard, was part of the baseball roster, while Seyer, a 6-3 sophomore center, was the starting pitcher in the state championship game.

Junior Paul Bucher and senior Craig Friga also were starters in the baseball final.

Seyer will be joined by many classmates on the Oran basketball roster, as Andrews begins a youth movement.

"We're very young," Andrews said. "We're going to be playing several sophomores and juniors. We'll probably be sophomore dominated."

Chris Asmus, a 6-1 guard, joins 6-1 forward Hunter Glastetter and 5-6 guard Nick Anderson among the sophomores who may have an impact this year for Oran.

Bucher, a 5-8 guard, and Jordon Mason, a 5-11 forward, are the juniors who should see plenty of playing time.

Seniors Clayton Scherer, Travis Randolph, Josh Glueck and Jordan Trankler should also receive considerable playing time, Andrews said.

The coach comes to Oran after five years as an assistant at Doniphan and two years as an assistant at New Madrid County Central. This is his first head coaching position.

"We're going to try to play man, mostly," Andrews said. "We want to push the ball, but with our skill level we're going to have to get good shots. We want to be aggressive defensively.

"The kids are playing hard and learning quickly."

Oran has something positive to build off from last season -- a 52-50 upset of Leopold in the first round of the district tournament. Bouge and Seyer scored in double figures in that game. Oran lost to Delta in the district semifinal after leading at halftime.

The Eagles open the season with their own invitational tournament, which begins Monday.