By Dave Melton, For The Herald Bulletin
FAIRMOUNT — There will be several fresh faces taking the court this year for Madison-Grant’s boys basketball team, who lost eight of last season’s players to graduation. But two familiar sights will return to the backcourt in senior guards Jordon Cornelious and Tyler Clevenger.
“Bringing back two guys in the backcourt is always a good thing,” said head coach Chris Smedley, who is 102-70 in his nine years with the Argylls. “That will help us out a lot, especially in bringing the new kids along.”
Having those veteran players at guard could help Madison-Grant stretch defenses with the fastbreak this year.
“Based on what we’ve seen in practice, we’ve been pretty successful scoring in transition,” said Smedley. “We might play a bit more up-tempo than we have in the past to take advantage of the athletes we have out there and the experience we have at guard.”
“We like to push the ball,” said Clevenger, “but we’ve got enough experience to know what to do if we set it up in the half-court.”
Still, there may be a bit of a learning curve for the Argylls, with so many new faces in the lineup.
“We’re still trying to get a feel for the new guys’ game,” said Cornelious, who added that he’s recovered from the shoulder injury that ended his football season and will be ready for next Saturday’s season opener. “We’ll see what they can bring to the team.”
Although the team was set at guard, the graduating class did leave some holes under the basket for the Argylls.
“We were a bit worried, before the season started, about our rebounding situation,” said Clevenger.
That was until two new players joined Madison-Grant: 6-foot-5 junior Nate Gross and 6-3 junior Adam Hendricks.
“They give us an element that we didn’t have over the summer,” said Smedley. “They should help our inside play on offense and defense.”
Both of those players should contribute to one of the team’s keys to success this year, according to Smedley — rebounding.
“As it always is, I think we have to rebound the basketball and play defense (to be successful),” said Smedley. “That’s where it all starts — how well we can defend on defense and a large part of that will be how we rebound. That’s such a crucial part of the game.”
“If we can get rebounds and get the ball up the court, I think we’ll be good,” added Clevenger.
During the team’s preseason practices, Smedley said he saw a lot of competition on the court.
“One thing that (having younger players) does for your program is it creates a very competitive atmosphere in practice with guys vying for playing time,” he said. “It definitely helped us in that regard, getting those kids to compete everyday against each other.”
No matter how they’ve looked in practices, though, Smedley said he wouldn’t really know what kind of team he had until the regular season starts.
“There’s just something different about playing in front of a varsity crowd,” he said. “There’s a bit more pressure on a Friday or Saturday night. It’s too early to tell what type of team and what type of season we’ll have.”
The Argylls will look to their veteran guards to provide leadership this year, and Cornelious, entering his third year as a starter, said he’s ready for the challenge.
“I know I can handle it. I think I can help the team out being a leader,” he said. “I’m not feeling any extra pressure because I’ve been here the past three years. It’s nothing new for me.”
Madison-Grant opens its season on the road next Saturday night against Wabash. After another road game at Lapel on Dec. 5, the Argylls will play their first home game against Lakeview Christian on Dec. 8.
