Centre Cougars hope for winning season
Junior transfer
may add support
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
The key word for the 2004-05 Centre High School boys' 1A basketball team is "hope."
After a losing season in 2003-04, the team is aiming for a better record this year. They finished 7-13 overall and 3-4 in the Eisenhower League.
At least 19 students are on this year's squad.
Two returning starters are senior Justin Garrard and junior Bryant Gutsch.
As a forward, Garrard will be the most experienced player on the team, after starting the past two years.
"Justin is the tallest player we will put on the court at 6 feet 4 inches, and he has gotten a lot stronger over the summer. We will count on him for the majority of our inside game," said fifth-year coach Russ Hake.
The 5-8 Gutsch started in a guard position last year. Hake said Gutsch will have a lot more responsibility this year handling the ball and running the offense.
One newcomer is Dustin Burnett, a 6-2 junior transfer from Council Grove High School who saw much playing time as a sophomore. Burnett is coming off a football injury and may see limited playing time early.
"He should be able to step in and provide some help both on the perimeter and inside," the coach said.
Other returning lettermen are: seniors Andrew Hajek, a 5-11 guard and Trent Hajek, a 6-foot forward; juniors Scott Peterson, a 6-1 forward and Tad Remy, a 5-11 guard; and sophomore Seth Jirak, a 5-8 guard.
Many of these players saw limited time on the court. Coach Hake expects to see improvement as the season progresses.
"Early in the season the lack of experience could play a part," he said. "However, as these kids get used to playing together we can only get better."
Other team members are senior Tim Baker; junior Jeremy Kristek; sophomores Matt Leach, Lance Diepenbrock, Thieen Antoszyk, Alfonse Klenda, and Kevin Mueller; and freshmen Phillip Griffith, Bryant Brunner, and Steve Antoszyk.
Though the team is lacking in height, they hope to make it up in quickness. They also hope to do a better job of rebounding.
"With seven returning lettermen, we hope to be a little deeper on the bench than we have been in the past," Hake said. "This should provide us the opportunity to play aggressive defense all over the court."
Hope and White City are expected to be the toughest opponents.
"We should be able to compete with everyone in the league," Hake said, "but we could have some match-up problems with some of the bigger teams."
