Tigers welcome chance for fresh start

There may not be a team around that doesn't relish a sparkling new 0-0 record than the Central Tigers.

The Tigers of second-year coach Derek McCord are putting behind an injury-plagued, undersized, youthful season that ended at 4-21.

"It was a tough year for us," said McCord of his first year at Central after a successful run at Scott City. "We really bit the bullet with the young guys."

At times last year, the Tigers had four or five sophomores on the court at once and often topped out at 6-foot-2. That combination didn't match up well with one of the tougher schedules in the area.

Not that the Tigers are graybeards walking on stilts this year, but there is a growing optimism in Tiger country.

The Tigers will be a junior-oriented team this year and their height will top out at 6-foot-8, thanks to sophomore transfer Scott Chestnut.

"We'll have more of an inside presence," McCord said. "We really struggled rebounding the ball last year."

The Tigers graduated just two seniors and return leading scorer and rebounder Ryan Delph, an all-region selection as a sophomore. Delph, a 6-foot guard, averaged 13.7 points a game last season.

Delph is part of a deep guard corps that includes seniors Willie Colon (5-10), Anthony Harris (6-0), Jay Ruark (5-10) and James Dalton (5-9), juniors Will Johnson (5-8), Tyson Seabaugh (6-0) and Jake Knepp (5-10) and sophomore Eli Harris (5-11).

Colon led the Tigers in scoring at the beginning of the year but soon became part of the hard-luck Tiger story. He tore an ACL in the Sikeston tournament and was lost for the season.

"We're tickled to have him back," McCord said. "He's looking good."

Johnson showed flashes of being a top-flight point guard as a sophomore but, like the rest of a young Tiger squad, also struggled at times.

The Tigers were also looking forward to moving sophomore guard Lorenzo Braxton (6-2) to varsity from the freshman team, but Braxton, now ineligible, will not be available until Jan. 20, if at all.

The depth at guard accommodates McCord's preference for a fast-paced offense and aggressive defense.

"I think we've got a year of getting to know each other and a lot more depth, especially at the guard spot," McCord said. "Hopefully that enables us to have a deeper rotation. Last year we only went five to six deep. This year I think we can be 10 to 11 deep."

Anthony Harris, who started much of last season, can also be used at forward and joins the likes of senior Cory Bowman (6-4), and juniors Michael Brown (6-1) and Alex Espinoza (5-11).

Chestnutt and Bowman, who missed a big part of last season with a broken hand, will provide the size sorely lacking a year ago.

"Our goal this year is just to get better every day in practice," McCord said.

McCord still refers to his team as young and is cautiously optimistic. The Tigers lost several close games last season, especially late in the season even as they appeared to make strides.

"We're trying to stay as positive and upbeat as possible," McCord said. "I'm hoping since we return so many people we can slip under the radar on some people and maybe pull some surprises before the season is over."

jbreer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 124