Lee's Summit winter previews

Boys Basketball
By KARL ZINKE
karl.zinke@examiner.net

Lee’s Summit boys coach Keith Miller likes to adjust his system to fit his players.
So, with a load of talented guards, the longtime Tigers coach is switching to a perimeter-based offense this season.
“What we’re working on is running a spread offense that features the dribble drive and gives you the option to spot up and shoot the 3(-pointer),” Miller said. “We’ve had a lot of high-low sets with two post players in the past, but our strength is at guard, so we decided to go with this.”
Miller said the new system is the one made popular by University of Memphis coach John Calipari. He said the switch is out of necessity.
“We don’t have the kids to put in the low post,” Miller said. “We probably have three kids total who can play the post. The philosophy of it is a lot of dribbling, which a lot of basketball purists don’t really like. It’s different, but I think it’s what fits our personnel best.”
And that starts with senior guards Luke Sealer, Trey Cox and Anthony May, who will have to learn a new system again. But Miller said they have handled it well so far.
“Three out of their four years we’ve had a different system, so they’re used to it,” Miller said. “It plays to their strengths anyway. Anthony is a good penetrator and Luke and Trey are good outside shooters, so it works.”
And Miller said the trio has working hard to make the team its own.
“They’ve been working real hard over the summer,” the coach said. “We talked about that with them last spring, that it was their team now and what they need to do to lead. They’ve done a good job with that so far.”
Sophomore Corbin Berkstresser and junior Ladarrius Whitehead, a pair of 6-foot-3 forwards, have been competing for starting time, and 6-6 junior center Nathan Schumacher should handle most of the lone post duties when he returns soon from a knee injury.
“And we can use Anthony in the post too,” Miller said. “Though he’s not real tall, he’s real strong and plays well in the middle.”
The Tigers have a lot of depth at guard with senior Matt Huston, junior Sean Green and sophomores Skylar Arbuckle and Sam Sealer vying for playing time there.
Miller plans to stick with his trademark man-to-man defense, too.
“We may play a little more zone than we have in the past,” Miller said, “just because it will be hard to guard the tall posts in the middle with the guys we have. But we still want to make it a full-court game, put pressure on them and wear them down to get them at the end.”
Miller said his team comes in with a better mind-set than it had in previous years, and that’s due to their success last season. After a few seasons with records well below .500, the Tigers finished 17-7 and went 9-1 to claim the Suburban Big Six title last year.
This year they’re back in the larger Suburban Big Seven.
“It helps to have a winning attitude,” Miller said. “With all those losses we had the two previous years, last year showed the guys that all the hard work they did in those years was worth it. Now they’re bringing an attitude in that they can be competitive and win against the good teams.”

Girls Basketball
By KARL ZINKE
karl.zinke@examiner.net

The Lee’s Summit girls are in a position they haven’t seen in awhile.
The Tigers, after an 18-11 record and 8-2 second-place finish in the Suburban Big Six last year, will try to make the return to the Suburban Big Seven with only one returning starter – 5-foot-10 junior forward Desiree Smith – and Smith missed half of last season with an illness.
But that’s not to say that the youth will necessarily be a disadvantage. Though it will be young, Lee’s Summit has a lot of depth and some talent, coach Brian Bubalo said. He plans to use that in their style.
“Overall, we are young, fast and aggressive,” Bubalo said. “We will be playing an up-tempo game at both ends of the court to try to take advantage of our athletic ability and our depth.
“With so many new players this year, we will need to develop some consistent scorers, work on our rebounding and develop our team chemistry.”
Smith, who also can play guard, averaged six points and four rebounds. Junior forward Lexi Carlile (5-9) and senior guard Rachel Craig (5-5) saw significant time off the bench last season and will see more minutes this year.
The Tigers also are blessed with height with three freshman post players 5-11 or taller, including Azia Washington (5-11), Ali Patterson (6-0) and Rachel Oziomek.
“Our post players are young but talented,” Bubalo said. “Azia has shown the ability to score and rebound during the summer and should be a major contributor for us.”
Samantha Gilkey, a 5-2 junior, transferred from St. Louis Metro Academy and is expected to battle a pair of 5-5 freshmen, Breana Washington and Aly Mosier, for time at point guard.

Girls Swimming
By JASON TARWATER
jason.tarwater@examiner.net

Last year, Lee’s Summit’s girls swimming team took a step in the right direction, sending a swimmer to state.
The year before, the Tigers had no representation at the state meet.
Now, with that state qualifer back, the Tigers are looking to take the next step thanks to a large number of swimmers.
The Tigers have about 40 swimmers and six divers out this season, which is exciting for coach Bruce Holder.
But Holder is quick to point out that most of those swimmers are newcomers without much varsity experience.
“We will be a young team trying to compete with those that are bringing back multiple letter winners,” he said.
Rachel Reynolds was the lone qualifier for the Tigers last year, but she is back. Also returning are Erin Adams, Jenna Stidham, Claire Bohlman, Sarah Bohlman, Rachel Cott, Sarah Grace Miller and Taylor Rodriguez.
“I expect these girls to be leaders,” Holder said of his returners.
The Tigers will also shift to the always-tough Suburban Big Seven this year after two years in the Suburban Big Six.

Wrestling
Lee’s Summit’s wrestling coach did not submit preview information.