Ahead of a season opener against Burns Flat/Dill City, Geary Bison boys basketball coach spoke to the Watonga Republican about the season, what he is looking for and what his expectations are.
Christian Finney said he knew Burns Flat was a tough team. That did not dampen his spirits.
“We hope to come out strong and get a win to start the season. We’re looking to build on what we had last year,” Finney said. The win wasn’t in the cards for the Bison, taking a 43-59 loss, but the team still has a lot to build on.
The team has a fairly even spread between classes, with four seniors, one junior, and five freshmen.
“That’s a lot of freshmen,” Finney admitted, “But we are looking to see some development from these young guys.”
Of the freshmen, two haven’t suited up before, while three are bringing some experience with them.
Looking to lead those young players are a pair of strong senior leaders, Elijah Pollard and Matthew Martin.
Martin is the starting point guard and has recently had surgery and the season is still a big question mark for him. He leads anyway, Finney said.
“He shows up every day and supports the team. He has a sense of leadership and offers guidance for the younger players.” Finney said Martin leads by example. “He is the first to get there and the last to leave. He makes sure the locker room is picked up and he is a leader by example.”
Pollard has his own style of leading, too.
“Elijah is more vocal. He gets the guys together, rallies them up and makes sure they are on the same page,” Finney explained.
Pollard is a positionless player.
As far as the season goes, Finney has a plan in place.
“We are looking to play fast,” he said. “We are going to look to the guards to push the pace, to get out and run.” He went on to describe the team as not too big as far as size or height, but the bench is young and that lends itself to a fast game.
“We will look to them a lot for breaks (for the winded players) and rotation to keep everybody fresh,” Finney said. Everyone is fairly healthy going into the season, he added.
There are some teams on the schedule Finney is looking forward to, knowing they are worthy opponents.
He named Calumet, Union City and Binger as being on that list.
Binger, although a small school, is one Finney expects to bring everything but the kitchen sink.
“Their coach played under Coach Gore at Hydro. They aren’t big guys, and it is a small school, but he gets the best out of them,” the coach explained.
Finney is in his second year as a coach and high school English teacher at Geary.
Up next for the Bison boys is Gracemont away at 8 p.m. Nov. 29. The girls’ season tips off Dec. 6.