With three starters among five rotation players?all returning seniors?the Peabody-Burns High School boys? basketball team appears primed to improve on the fourth-place finish they achieved in the Heart of America league in coach Brian Simmonds? first season at the high school varsity helm.
Entering Simmonds? second season, the Warriors will have ?a lot of experience entering the season,? he said.
?We are returning varsity starters Jacob Simmonds, Aaron Topham and Brian O?Neal, and two players?Martin?Hofkamp and Sean Jones?who split starting time last season,? he said.
The Warriors will also have more height than many of the teams they will face. The returning starters range in height from Topham (6-foot, 1 inch) to O?Neal (6-5). Hofkamp and Jones are both 6-3 and Simmonds is 6-2.
With more than 41 points and nearly 20 rebounds per game returning, Peabody-Burns will ?be looking for several players to step up and give us some depth at the varsity level,? Simmonds said. ?We should have a better mix of guard and post play this season.?
Vying for the available minutes are Isaac Burnett, Derek Price and Storm Pickens.
?Team chemistry should be a plus, as they have been playing together since grade school,? Simmonds said.
But even in an up year, the Warriors face an uphill climb in what promises to be a very competitive Heart of America league.
?Bennington, Sedgwick, Hutch Trinity and Berean Academy will be at the top,? Simmonds said.
The Warriors may be there, too. Their season begins Friday against Chase County.
