Meadow Heights packs experience, enthusiasm

PATTON, Mo. -- Meadow Heights is coming off its first winning season in more than 13 years and shows no signs of slowing down.

Returning five experienced players, the Panthers look to play deep into their bench.

"We go deep," said second-year coach Tom Brown, whose squad went 15-11 last year. "We have seven players who can really score, but we go nine deep."

Joey Bell, a 6-foot senior, looks to be the go-to guy for Meadow Heights after a 17 point-per-game season in which he shot 57 percent from the three-point arc and 56 percent from the field.

"Joey worked really hard over the past year," says Brown. "He will be one of the better players in the area and a leader on the floor."

Josh Fulton and Chris Burr, a pair of 6-3 seniors, will do the inside work for the Panthers. Fulton averaged eight points and six rebounds last season while Burr scored 10 points a game and grabbed seven boards.

"These two will be big factors in how well we do," Brown said.

The versatility of the two big men will also help Meadow Heights spread the floor better.

"They can both step out and hit the three," Brown said.

A few other players could be strong contributors for the Panthers. Tyler Mungle, a 6-foot senior, will hold together the defense and Derik Collier, a 5-11 senior, will be a role player.

"Tyler takes pride in his defense, and his offense will come along," Brown said. "We expect great things out of Derik also."

Ken Cook, Ricky Davis, Evan Kamp, and transfer Matt Kight will also see playing time.

The varsity squad will be joined by a few key members of last season's junior varsity team, particularly Brad Adams. Adams was a scoring threat on last year's 16-0 JV team. He averaged more than 20 points a game and scored 30 points in four games.

The prospects of Terry Wagner also has the coaching staff excited. The 6-foot freshman could be one of the area's biggest surprise after he spent the summer with the varsity and is expected to be a key in running the Panthers' offense.

The Meadow Heights defense will be called on to step up this season.

"If the defense can step up, we can be very successful," Brown said. "Chris and Josh will have to step up on offense, and I don't see them having a problem doing that either."

The Panthers appear capable of putting together a high-power offense that could put a lot of points on the board, making it an exciting team to watch.

"When they decide to pull together as a team, we will be very good. It will come with time, " Brown said. "Then we will have fun and we will be fun to watch."