With six seniors and a talented crop of underclassmen, the Trinity boys’ basketball team is setting expectations high this season.
After a promising start last year, the Raiders struggled down the stretch and finished 13-16 with a first-round loss in the district tournament.
While Trinity lost a handful of leading contributors, head coach Nathan West is excited with the group coming back.
“While we graduated three starters and two key reserves, last year’s unfortunate injury to Cameron Wright probably jump-started several players’ development for this season,” he said. “We had to use a variety of lineups to fill the massive void that he left, so several of our players — particularly our posts — received valuable experience.”
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Top returning players are seniors Ethan Howard (10.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Landon Hall (6.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg). Howard is a dynamic point guard and Hall is a versatile wing player, and both are strong defenders.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Ethan is the best post-up guard in our region, and I would argue that he is the best rebounding point guard in our region,” West said. “Landon is high-motor player who always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Quite simply, he is a winner, and he does whatever it takes to win.”
Seniors Brenden Wathen, Kevin Foster, Will Edge and Cade Mills will all be major impact players. Wathen and Foster can both play down low and out wide, and the entire group is dangerous beyond the 3-point line.
Lone junior Ben Goetz and sophomores Landon Huff and Bailey Wright will all be expected to step into bigger roles this year, especially contributing on the defensive end.
West said even his freshman class will contribute this year.
Denver Dickens will compete for a starting spot as an offensive threat who can score through contact or knock down 3-pointers. Nathan Hernandez will be the back-up point guard, while Gavin Howard and transfer Landon Smith could also see plenty of minutes off the bench.
With talent throughout the roster, West expects to be in contention for 12th District and 3rd Region All “A” titles this season.
“Our keys to success will be our speed, athleticism, length, shooting and depth,” he said. “We will be able to bring those guys in off the bench and not experience much of a drop-off. From a pure talent standpoint, this is probably the most talented team from top to bottom that I have had while at Trinity.”
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