TIGERS TO DEFEND SEMO CONFERENCE CROWN

Cape Central will have offensive threats on the inside and the outside this season.

It's the middle ground that worries Tigers coach Brett Reutzel."We can hit from under the basket and we can hit from the 3-point line," said Reutzel. "But I don't know about in between and I think that's an important aspect of basketball."Taking care of matters in the paint will be last year's SEMO Conference Player of the Year Ross Conner, an athletic 6-5 post player.

From the perimeter, Eric Wessell returns as Central's sharpshooter.

The "in between" guy last year was 6-3 forward/guard Kelly Illers. Illers, who had the build of a tight end, could shoot from the perimeter, rebound, post up and was a matchup problem for most teams.

Reutzel is curious as to how Conner and Wessell will perform without him."I'm not taking anything away from Ross because he had a great year," Reutzel said. "But having someone like Kelly inside with him made him a better player. (Conner) is going to have to carry the load now. We have some kids this year who are as athletic as Kelly, but not as strong as he was."With a strong finish, the Tigers, to the surprise of many, won the SEMO Conference championship, finishing the season with a 15-12 record. The conference title was the first in 10 years for Central.

After handling Sikeston in the regular season, the Bulldogs knocked off Cape Central in the district championship game.

Speaking of Sikeston, that is where one of Central's key players of last season is now going to school. Donnie McClinton averaged in double figures and was a clutch player for the Tigers.

Central will miss McClinton's athletic slashing ability, but Reutzel thinks he has some good athletes to fill the void."We're more athletic than what I anticipated us being," said Reutzel. "I didn't know if we'd have to hold it and try to score 50 or push it and score 80. It'll depend on who we play, but with these athletes I think we'll be able to push the issue a bit."Handling the ball the majority of the time will be T.J. Erlacker. Erlacker, as a sophomore, was pulled up from the junior varsity team midway through the season last year and did a good job coming off the bench for Nick Swoboda.

Erlacker isn't a scorer, but Reutzel likes the junior's astuteness."He's a good smart and steady player," Reutzel said. "He can shoot a little bit, but the scoring weight is not on his shoulders. He showed last year that he's going to take care of the ball. If he can handle the pressure then he will have done everything I've asked him to do."With Erlacker at the point, Wessel at the shooting guard and Conner in the post, that leaves Michael Cox and Jonathan Ayers as the probable candidates to fill in the starting five at the forward positions.

Both Cox and Ayers are 6-3 juniors.

Reutzel will be looking for Cox to help the team particularly on the defensive end, while Ayers will be looked on to score some points."Both are very athletic," Reutzel said. "Michael is not what I'd call a great skill player, but he's a great defender and jumps real quick. (Ayers) can score. He's not a great spot-up shooter, but he's a slasher and he jumps real quick too. He and Michael will both have to do well on the boards for us."Reutzel will have some weapons off the bench too.

Demitrius Totten, 6-3 senior, is one of the most athletic players on the team and will be called upon often. J.P. Limbaugh, Reutzel said, is a gritty player who could give the team a spark off the bench. Chris Cole, one of the best players on the soccer team, is another sharpshooter at Reutzel's disposal and proved on the junior varsity last year that he could hit shots in the clutch. Chad Jones will give the team another ball handler and Chris Johnson is the strongest member of the team and is, according to Reutzel, an excellent passer and plays as hard as any member of the team.

Cape Central opens its season Nov. 30 at home against Notre Dame.