By TYLER HENRY
Little Apple Post contributor
After a 9-13 campaign in which they took Abilene to OT in the sub-state championship, the Rock Creek boy's basketball team will look to reload and take the next step in 2022-23.
This year’s Mustangs will be under new leadership as first-year head coach Justin Smith takes the reigns for the upcoming season.
After graduating just three seniors over the offseason, Rock Creek will have several familiar faces in a lineup that should look something like this come tip-off.
G- Coley Burgess
G- Ethan Burgess
G- Logan Sturdy
G- Dalton Whitworth
G- Daegen Vinduska
The Mustangs will also look for big minutes off the bench from a deep rotation that will include Brady Schneider, Kade Welfringer, Ryker Zoeller, Payton McCarn, Yanci Spiller, and David Wilkinson.
Before the start of the 2022-23 season, we had a chance to catch up with Rock Creek’s new skipper to get his thoughts on this year’s squad.
Q: What is your vision for the culture of boys’ basketball at Rock Creek?
A: I honestly don't have to do much with it because there was such a great culture developed by Coach Johnston, but I want to make sure we continue to play as hard as anyone out there and compete for league and state championships every year.
Q: How excited is everyone to get back on the floor and back to playing real games after a long offseason?
A: Everyone is excited, we had a good football season and that bleeds into other sports. Also, the success we had at the end of last year helps and we had a good summer.
Q: Coming into the year what would you say is the biggest strength of this team?
A: We are extremely deep, I really feel like we have 15+ kids that have a chance to see varsity time and that makes practices extremely competitive.
Q: What are the biggest question marks about this team as we head into the first few weeks?
A: The rotation is going to be hard to figure out so I am hoping some kids separate themselves there. We also have to have some kids step up and be able to score consistently.
Q: What are the goals and expectations of this team for this 2022-23 campaign?
A: The goals and expectations will never change and that is to get better every day and every game and compete for league and state championships.
Rock Creek will kick off their new season on Friday, December 2nd when the Mustangs travel to Clay Center to tussle with the Tigers.
For continuing coverage of Rock Creek boys basketball all season long, stay tuned to the Little Apple Post.