Grain Valley winter previews

Boys Basketball
By BILL ALTHAUS
bill.althaus@examiner.net

Andy Herbert has a dilemma. Actually, it’s a good dilemma.
“In years past,” the Grain Valley boys basketball coach said, “we usually have a clear-cut top seven or eight guys who will be in the varsity rotation.
“This year we have 12 or 13 guys who could get thrown into the mix. That is going to give us some good competition for jobs during practice, but with a limited number of practices before the season starts, we’re going to have to make some decisions pretty quickly.”
The Eagles are coming off an 11-15 season in which they were 4-5 in the Missouri River Valley Conference.
They return five varsity lettermen in T.J. Cosper, Nick Niemann, Jake Talamonte, Greg Spartz and Derreon Parker and have some newcomers who really excited Herbert.
They are Brandon Booth, Mike Perkins, Kaleb Graham, Cody Sanning, Derek Bowlin and Michael Draper, the son of former Eagles head coach Randy Draper.
Cosper and Niemann are the only seniors among the group.
“I look forward to getting to coach this group of young kids,” Herbert said. “We had a successful summer and have had good numbers throughout pre-season conditioning.
“This is a hard-working group that will make up for a lack of size with an intense work ethic.
“We’re going to need our two seniors, Nick and T.J., to be more aggressive offensively and to provide consistency for the team. Greg and Jake have struggled with injuries and we need them to stay healthy.
“They will give us much needed scoring help and athleticism. Derreon Parker returns to the point, where he started all but two games as a freshman last season and he has added a more consistent outside shot.
“He does a great job leading our team and he should pick up where he left off last year.”

Girls Basketball
By BILL ALTHAUS
bill.althaus@examiner.net

How do you follow up a 22-4 season in which your girls basketball team finished a perfect 9-0 in Missouri River Valley Conference play?
“Good question,” said Grain Valley girls coach Steve Broughton, grinning. “Right now, we’re not thinking about anything but getting the girls together and helping to put all the pieces together.
“We lost some good girls, but I like the girls we have on this team. They are as hard a working a group as I’ve coached and we have some key players back from last year’s team.”
The top returnee is 5-6 guard Taylor Lipps, a two-year starter who has enjoyed a great career with the Eagles.
“She brings a lot of intensity to everything she does,” said Broughton of Lipps, who is also a standout softball player for the Eagles. “We really have a talented group right now, but they are mostly young and inexperienced.
“Give us some time, and we’re going to be all right.”
Joining Lipps are 5-10 centers Shelby Johnson and Megan Yates, 5-6 forward Jessica Robb and 5-5 guards Whitney Broughton and Ashley Bundren.
“Shelby and Megan are going to give us a nice presence in the middle,” Broughton said. “We’re not a small team, but we’re not really a big team, either. There are a lot of areas we need to work on. I want the girls to be mentally tough, and last year, that was certainly the case.
“Taylor will be the team leader. We’re going to be scrappy and up-tempo and we’re going to have some fun. It’s too early to really have a feel for the team, but I like the girls we have back, we have some promising newcomers and I think we’re going to have a successful season.”
Broughton also looks forward to coaching his daughter Whitney.
“Sure I look forward to coaching Whit,” he said. “She’s a typical coach’s kid who really hustles and loves the game. She’s going to fit in nicely with the rest of the girls on the team.”

Wrestling
By JASON TARWATER
jason.tarwater@examiner.net

A new coach and a new conference await the Grain Valley wrestling team this year.
But with three returning wrestlers with state experience, coach Jarrod Steffens is hoping for good things out of his squad.
The lower weights in particular should be strong. Jake Martin returns for his junior year after qualifying for state each of the past two years.
In addition, Dalton Miller qualified for state a year ago. Jordan Friend, who missed most of last year with an injury but qualified in 2007, is also back.
But what Steffens is most impressed with so far is the number of wrestlers he has out this season.
“Our numbers are tremendous,” he said. “We’ve had around 40 wrestlers in the first two weeks. And more than 20 of those are freshmen, so I’m really excited about this young group. We have only seven juniors and seniors, with only one senior. So this is good for the future.
“Of that freshman group, about six to eight could see varsity time.”
Another reason for Grain valley’s optimism could be the new district.
Instead of fighting for spots at the state tournament with perennial powers Platte County, Excelsior Springs and Oak Grove – the latter two tied for second place at the state tournament last year – the Eagles will head south.
Though defending state champion Monett is at that tournament, as well as a tough Bolivar team, Steffens said he is confident his team will be able to compete a little better down there and bring more wrestlers to the state tournament this season.
“With Bolivar and Monett, they each have around 5-6 really good kids,” he said. “We’ll have more opportunities in some weight classes, because we won’t be stacked up against Platte County and Oak Grove, who will probably qualify 10 or 11.
“We’re setting the goal of qualifying six or more. Our goal is at least six. We have those three we expect to make it back. We need to get three more.”
One thing that will help the Eagles will be competing in the new Missouri River Valley Conference West.
In addition to Oak Grove and Excelsior Springs, the Eagles will face good programs in Odessa, Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville, where Steffens was an assistant under former Grain Valley head coach Eric DeVenney each of the last two seasons.