Delta boys basketball team enters season with positive outlook

Delta boys basketball hasn't won a game in a while -- two years, to be exact -- but the Bobcats believe they have reasons to be positive this season, and that positivity has been a major boost for a squad coming off back-to-back 0-20 seasons.

Thanks to some returning starters who have seen a lot of minutes and the injection of some new faces to provide a boost with skill, attitude and depth, Delta hopes to improve on the program's competitiveness.

"Our practices this year have been going amazing -- a lot more intensity than the last two years," Delta coach Robert Vazquez said. "That's something we've been stressing. We've got to make sure we're taking things serious every day. We've got to make sure we're doing everything we're doing to get better, and the only way to do that is to make sure we're holding kids accountable. We're going to have to go 110 percent every play. We cannot take a play off."

Part of that uptick is contributed to some newcomers. Junior Cinton Little, a transfer from Zalma, will contribute in the frontcourt, while players like Brandt Headrick and David Taylor, who return to the floor after taking some years off, will also help a team that has nowhere to go but up.

"Most of the kids that have been here since I have are sticking it out," Vazquez said. "Every year since I've been here we've added kids who may not have played since their seventh or eighth grade year, so that's a good thing for us that we're getting them interested in playing.

"We've got a lot more guys selling out for the benefit of the team and a lot of guys out that haven't been out for a while, and they're definitely a blessing for this team."

The players that have been around will also be important, with two returning starters -- Charlie Ledbetter and Triston Perry -- back in uniform to reprise roles as team captains. Perry led the team in rebounding while Ledbetter was Delta's top assist-getter.

"They're definitely going to be our captains and our leaders," Vazquez said. "Last year they were relied upon to do a lot for us, and they played a significant amount of minutes as freshmen [the year before]. We're really going to rely on them a lot to get us going."

When you go winless, there are a lot of areas for improvement, and the coaching staff believes the Bobcats will improve in a lot of them. Ledbetter had to do "90 percent of the dribbling," last year according to Vazquez, but the coach says the team's overall ball-handling is much improved and should relax some of the pressure on Ledbetter.

"We're going to have more ballhandlers this year, and that's what we've really been lacking the last two years," Vazquez said. "It's definitely going to help Charlie out, because last year, man, our turnovers were brutal. That's definitely something we've been stressing -- take care of the ball."

The squad is also focusing on forcing more turnovers to create some easy buckets. The Bobcats expect to be more proactive on defense than they have been in the past, thanks to an increase in athleticism that will allow them to press more.

"It's kind of been [the opponent] just coming right at us and us back on defense," Vazquez said. "This year, we're going to be able to meet them at half court, and that defense is going to help us score some points."

Players To Watch

The Bobcats have been looking for answers, and they believe one might be a new post pairing. Perry paced Delta on the boards a year ago, and this year he'll be joined by newcomer Little. The two will work together down low not just on defense and rebounding, but also, perhaps, being the primary source of offense.

"We're really going to rely on those guys to score when we dump it in to them," Vazquez said. "We're not a great shooting team right now; that's something we're still working on. We're going to need to dump it in to them, and that's going to be key for us."

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Class 1 District 2

Conference

Scott Mississippi & Mississippi Valley

Head coach

Robert Vazquez

(3rd year)

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ROSTER

No. Player Year Ht.

1 Charlie Ledbetter 11 5-8

3 Bryan Schoen 12 5-6

5 T.J. Kelley 9 5-7

10 Adam Hodge 10 5-9

12 David Taylor 11 5-8

22 Brandt Headrick 11 5-8

23 Ryan Helton 9 5-6

24 Damon Bartels 9 5-9

32 Quentin Little 11 6-2

50 Justin Lawson 12 5-10

55 Triston Perry 12 6-2

STARTERS GONE

Jeremy Perry

Garrett Miller

Destin Carroll

STARTERS BACK

Charlie Ledbetter

Triston Perry

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SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time

11/20 @Scott Co. Central 7:30 p.m.

11/30 Woodland Invitational

12/8 @Oak Ridge 7:30 p.m.

12/11 Greenville TBA

12/15 @Meadow Heights TBA

12/18 Oran 7:30 p.m.

12/26 SEMissourian Xmas Tourn.

1/5 @Eagle Ridge TBA

1/8 @Zalma 8 p.m.

1/12 @Scott City TBA

1/15 Bell City TBA

1/18 Scott-Mississippi Conf. Tourn.

1/26 Marquand-Zion 6 p.m.

1/28 East Prairie 7 p.m.

2/2 Woodland 7:30 p.m.

2/5 @Kelly 7:30 p.m.

2/9 Richland TBA

2/16 Chaffee 7:30 p.m.

2/19 @Leopold 7:30 p.m.

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LAST SEASON

RECORD

0-20