Eagles eager to surprise unsuspecting foes

Oran's boys experienced solid success last year in coach Denver Stuckey's first season, going 16-12 and advancing to the finals of their Class 1 district tournament.

But that squad featured seven seniors. With only two returning players who have considerable varsity experience, along with little size, Stuckey realizes that many people will expect the Eagles to struggle this year.

Not so fast, he believes.

"If you look at us on paper, we don't look like much, but I really like this group," said Stuckey, a former Southeast Missouri State baseball star. "We're scrappier. We're quicker than last year.

"I think we can give some teams some matchup problems. It will be a challenge. ... Our guards are bigger than our post players in some instances, but I like this group."

Oran returns two starters in 6-foot-4 senior guard Kody Campbell and 5-10 senior point guard Cody Romas.

Campbell was the Eagles' second-leading scorer last year, averaging about 13 points per game, while Romas contributed about nine points per contest.

"We'll look for good things from those two," Stuckey said.

The Eagles return no other players who saw much varsity time last year.

Stuckey expects contributions from two seniors who are first-year squad members, 6-1 center Tyler Beardslee and 5-10 guard Cody Dirnberger.

"They've both played baseball and they're good athletes," Stuckey said. "They'll help our quickness, defense and rebounding."

Two returning seniors who saw limited varsity action a year ago are 6-3 center Lance Dannenmueller and 6-1 forward Jake Kluesner.

Another returning player, who was only on the squad for about half of last year and saw limited action, is 5-11 senior guard Klayton Kyle.

Stuckey has high hopes for his final varsity squad member, 5-11 junior guard Kurt Rendleman, who was the top player on last year's JV team.

"He plays harder than any person I've ever seen in my life," Stuckey said. "He had a couple of triple-doubles last year. ... He's everywhere."

That gives Stuckey only eight players. He said he'll probably dress a few JV players for the varsity, but doesn't see them performing big roles, at least not for the time being.