Nate Schneider
Sports Scene
Breckenridge is coming off a historic boys basketball season, but with some key graduations it came into the 2017-18 campaign with some questions.
The Huskies won the program’s first conference title in 30 years last February, taking the crown in their first year as part of the Mid-State Activities Conference.
Breckenridge head coach Jeff Ostrander believes it has helped catapult the program forward as there is plenty of motivation to remain at a championship level now and in future years.
“They believe,” Ostrander remarked. “They coach themselves. Losing is not an option. They pay attention and work hard. We will not lose a game for a lack of effort, I will tell you that.”
It is difficult to get a gauge on how good the Huskies might be thus far through three games as they have a 1-2 record, opening the season with a 50-31 win at St. Louis before falling at home against Ashley (52-40) and Bullock Creek (63-53).
Breckenridge graduated its two best players in Class C first team All-State center Jack Staley along with honorable mention All-State recipient Gavin Ostrander.
While it is impossible to replace that kind of production with one player, the Huskies do return plenty of talent including senior guard Caleb Hurt and junior Carter Staley. Senior Caden Foster has come on strong, posting a 20-point game against St. Louis in the opener which included four 3-pointers.
Hurt has a 19-point and 15-point game, while the steady Staley provides Breckenridge a productive presence in the paint.
“We only have two seniors so we’re getting a lot of younger players on the court,” Ostrander added. “We’re undersized and going to struggle with rebounding. We’ve tried to press a little bit with our height disadvantage and have struggled a bit, but we’ll get better with it in time. When you have speed and no height, you have to gameplan to your team’s advantages.”