Meadow Heights Boys Basketball Preview

Conference: Mississippi Valley

Coach: Mark Verticchio, 2nd year

District: Class 2 District 3

Schedule:

November 25, 2014 Tuesday Chaffee Away 6 p.m.

December 1-5, 2014 Monday-Friday Woodland Invitational Tournament Woodland TBA

December 12, 2014 Thursday Bell City Away 6 p.m.

December 16, 2014 Tuesday Delta Away 6 p.m.

December 19, 2014 Friday Viburnum Home 6 p.m.

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

January 6, 2015 Tuesday Leopold Away 6 p.m.

January 8, 2015 Thursday Marquand-Zion Away 6 p.m.

January 12, 2015 Monday Lesterville Away 6 p.m.

January 16, 2015 Friday Woodland Away 6 p.m.

January 20, 2015 Tuesday Bismarck Home 6 p.m.

January 27, 2015 Tuesday Zalma Away 6 p.m.

January 29, 2015 Thursday Kingston Home 6 p.m.

January 30, 2015 Friday South Iron Away 6 p.m.

February 2-6, 2015 Monday-Friday Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament Greenville TBA

February 10, 2015 Tuesday Oak Ridge Home 6 p.m.

February 13, 2015 Friday Saxony Lutheran Away 6 p.m.

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

February 19, 2015 Thursday St. Vincent Home 6 p.m.

Roster:

No. Player Year Height

1 Jacob Douglas 11 5'11

2 Austin Gruenke 10 5'5

3 Spencer Bragg 10 5'10

4 Justin McGuire 12 6'2

13 Lane Baremore 9 6'1

14 Jacob Hunt 10 6'1

15 Brendan Welker 11 5'11

21 Paul Lochirco 10 5'10

32 Tyler Cook 12 6'4

33 Scott Pohlman 9 6'0

35 Devin Wilfong 10 6'0

41 Nick Mayfield 11 5'10

55 Kody Overbey 12 6'2

Returning starters: Tyler Cook, Justin McGuire, Jacob Douglas

Starters lost: Kyle Baremore, Ryan Foltz

Last year's record: 6-17

Postseason result: Lost to Advance 83-39 in district first round

Team outlook

It's all about the future when it comes to the Meadow Heights boys basketball team.

However, second-year coach Mark Verticchio isn't convinced the Panthers won't be able to open some eyes this season.

"It's not a throw-away year. It's a learning year. I wouldn't even call it a rebuilding year. It's a transition year," Verticchio said. "We're going to go from maybe a six- or seven-win team, and hopefully double that, 10 or 12. Our goal is 10-plus. Things could go either way. If things broke right, we could win 15 games. If things broke wrong, we could be stuck at five."

Meadow Heights will have three returning starters this season, including 5-foot-11 junior Jacob Douglas. Verticchio believes Douglas has all-state potential.

"He's a ton. Last year I was kind of hard on him, but I tended to forget he was only a sophomore. But he's our best player. There are going to be a lot of games we play against smaller schools around here where he'll be the best player on the floor," Verticchio said. "... I don't know how good he can be. If he can keep his composure, he's a kid that can carry you. He's that good."

Verticchio said the team lacks in size but has plenty of newcomers that will likely contribute, including junior Brendan Welker, sophomore Jacob Hunt and a host of freshmen that have experienced plenty of success.

"Most of the people that know the area know we're one of the teams that's got a lot coming up, so the future is bright," Verticchio said. "We go pretty deep, but we're really aiding the future, even though we're not convinced that we can't sneak up on some people this year."

The Panthers haven't had a winning season since 2009-10, but a talented group of younger players has Verticchio believing more victories are on the horizon.

"Meadow Heights hasn't had this bright of a future in a long time, where they could actually talk about being a team that can actually go somewhere. Our younger kids are just very athletic, very good and very smart," Verticchio said.

District breakdown

Class 2 District 3 will have a host of new teams for this season.

Kingston, St. Vincent and Valle Catholic will replace Chaffee, Advance and Oran, while Meadow Heights, Bismarck, Ellington, Valley and Viburnum remain from last season.

Verticchio said the new look should still field a competitive district.

"The team I don't know much about is Valle Catholic. They'll be pretty good but not as good as some of the teams we've played in the past in our district," Verticchio said. "I would say most people will tell you Ellington in our district might be considered the favorite, but we played them this summer and they beat us at the buzzer so we're not that far behind. ... They haven't won a district game here in five years, so I told them, 'Let's win a district game, and then we'll go from there.'"

The Panthers wrapped up last year's campaign with an 83-39 loss to Advance in the opening round of the district tournament.

Looking back

Although Meadow Heights finished the season at 6-17, Verticchio is appreciative of the program's increasing numbers in participation.

"I'm pleased with the numbers even though it's awfully hard to please 22 kids. Our numbers are up," Verticchio said. "We're young. Of the 22, we've only got three seniors, and one of them hasn't hardly ever played."

-- Trent Singer