Central Boys Basketball Preview

Coach: Drew Church, ninth season

District: Class 4 District 1

Schedule:

Date Day of Week Opponent Location Time

December 1-6, 2014 Monday-Saturday Lutheran South Invitational Tournament St. Louis TBA

December 8-12, 2014 Monday-Friday SEMO Conference Tournament Sikeston TBA

December 19, 2014 Friday Farmington Away 6 p.m.

December 26-30, 2014 Friday-Tuesday Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Show-Me Center TBA

January 2, 2015 Friday Helias Catholic Home TBA

January 10, 2015 Saturday Tiger Shootout Cape Central TBA

January 13, 2015 Tuesday McCracken County (Paducah, Ky.) Away 6 p.m.

January 16, 2015 Friday New Madrid County Central Home 6 p.m.

January 17, 2015 Saturday Carbondale, Ill. Away 3 p.m.

January 20, 2015 Tuesday Saxony Lutheran Away 6 p.m.

January 23, 2015 Friday OPEN TBD TBA

January 27, 2015 Tuesday Perryville Home 5 p.m.

January 30, 2015 Friday Poplar Bluff Home 6 p.m.

February 3, 2015 Tuesday Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau) Home 6 p.m.

February 6, 2015 Friday Kennett Away 6 p.m.

February 10, 2015 Tuesday Jackson Away 6 p.m.

February 13, 2015 Friday Sikeston Away 6 p.m.

February 17, 2015 Tuesday Charleston Home 6 p.m.

February 20, 2015 Friday Hayti Home 6 p.m.

February 26, 2015 Thursday Dexter Home 6 p.m.

Roster:

No. Player Year Height

00 Nikylus Thompson 11 5-11

3 Al Young 11 6-0

4 Kway'Chon Chisom 10 5-10

5 Peyton Montgomery 12 6-1

10 Jalen Reddin 12 5-9

12 Khane Booker 11 5-10

20 Kaleb Ward 11 5-9

21 Tevyn Wright-Hunt 11 5-10

22 Blake Harris 10 6-1

23 Chase Hagerty 12 6-3

24 Zyshon Mallory 10 6-2

25 Rodrick Fisher 11 6-1

33 Andre Statam 12 6-6

42 Garrett Jackson 11 6-8

Returning starters: Andre Statam, Al Young, Jalen Reddin

Starters lost: Jamal Cox, Mikey Jones

Last year's record: 17-11

Postseason result: Lost to Farmington 50-47 in a state sectional

Last year's leaders:

Points: Jamal Cox (19.7 ppg)

Rebounds: Andre Statam (9.2 rpg)

Team outlook

Coach Drew Church and the Central boys basketball team will have to overcome an early setback this season as more than 10 of his players are playing deep into the playoffs for the Central football team.

"It's tough, but it's also a good thing," Church said. "They're in a sport, and they're competing and playing together. They're doing well, and hopefully that camaraderie and playing as a team carries over."

Church isn't new to the situation. The Tigers reached the state semifinals last season, and most of the team began the season with little to no preparation.

"It's been rough, but to be honest, we're not going to be playing our best basketball early in the season. Last year we started off 0-4, and then by Christmas, we started playing good basketball and kind of just took off from there," Church said.

The Tigers lost Jamal Cox and Mikey Jones from last year's team. Cox averaged 19.7 points per game last season and was known for his offense, while Jones helped Central most on the defensive side of the ball.

The return of 6-foot-6 Andre Statam brings back solid size for the Tigers. Statam led Central on the boards with 9.2 rebounds per game last season and also averaged 18.4 points per game.

"He's a tough kid. He understands the game of basketball," Church said. "He's not just a scorer. He's a tough matchup. He's a 6-foot-6 kid that can handle the ball pretty well, shoots it well, dribbles it well. If you put a guard on him, we put him inside and post you up, and if you put a big on him, he's hard to guard on the perimeter."

Guards Jalen Reddin and Al Young will also return to the starting lineup for Central.

"Al's a very, very good athlete. He's crafty with the ball. He's very fast. He finishes very well at the basket. He's just tough to guard," Church said. "Jalen just brings a toughness with him. He'll do whatever we ask him to do, handles the ball well, distributes the ball well, and he's pretty quick. He can disrupt the basketball by pressuring it, and he's just a hard-nosed, tough kid."

Church said it's hard to determine who will enter the starting lineup, but two viable options are senior Peyton Montgomery, who played for Chaffee last season, and senior Chase Hagerty.

District breakdown

The Tigers return to Class 4 District 1, which features the likes of Sikeston, Notre Dame, Dexter, Kennett and Perryville.

"It's very tough. I would say it's one of the top districts in the state. Sikeston every year, they're very, very good, especially at their place. Notre Dame's got a lot coming back. They've got really good guards, and they've been playing together for a while," Church said. "It's a district where the seeds don't really matter because you're going to have to play a team that's very, very good on the second or third day. It's fun to have that kind of competition. You just hate to see it all in one district."

Central won the district last season with a 68-52 upset win over Sikeston in the district championship.

"It's kind of a double-edged sword. It's a really tough district, but if you can get out, you've got a chance to play a team and compete," Church said.

Looking back

The Tigers finished the season with a 17-11 record and were upset in a 50-47 upset loss to Farmington in the state sectionals.

Central opened its season with a 54-42 home win over Farmington.

"We got a bad taste in our mouths from last year. Last year was the year that we really wanted to advance and do well, and we got beat in the sectionals by a team that was playing really well and just kind of shocked us," Church said. "I don't think those kids forget that. In the past, we've had to play two or three sophomores or freshmen, and this year we've got a group that's majority juniors and seniors. I think just the playing experience and the experience of being together in multiple sports will help with just the chemistry."

-- Trent Singer