By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
After closing out another impressive 14-7 season, the Wabaunsee boys basketball team will look to restock after graduating a ton of talent over the offseason.
Christian Ulsaker returns to lead the Chargers, entering his fifth year at the helm with an overall record of 54-38.
Zach Frank will be the only returning player from last year’s squad, and will headline a fresh-faced starting five that should look something like this come Friday.
PG- Caden Frank (Jr)
G- Zach Frank (Sr)
G- Cole Frank (So)
G- Rhett Perry (Jr)
F- Connor Strait (Jr)
The Chargers will also be in search of more depth throughout the early goings of the season to fill out their varsity rotation.
Ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, we had a chance to catch up with Coach Ulsaker and get his thoughts on this year’s squad.
Q: When you had a chance to look back on it, what were your overall thoughts on last season?
A: I was very happy for our Seniors who will go down as one of the winningest classes in Wabaunsee history. I'm sure they had goals and expectations that they wanted to achieve last year that got cut short, but the team as a whole has nothing to hang their head about. They came in, got to work, and made the community proud.
Q: Entering this year, what would you say are the biggest known strengths of your team?
A: I would say one of our biggest strengths this year is the number of boys that came out for basketball. This will be the largest team I have ever coached (27) and it doesn't look like it is a one-off situation. Our junior high program will have the most out in recent memory (26), and we have some really hard-nosed kids who aren't afraid to get after it.
Q: What are the biggest looming questions or challenges that you’ll look to sort out in these first few weeks?
A: I don't know if I will be able to answer it in the first few weeks, but our varsity experience this year is lower than in years past. We graduated seven seniors and returned just one player (Zach Frank) with any Varsity experience. It will be a great opportunity for our younger players to hit the ground running.
Q: What are the biggest goals and expectations for this group heading into the new season?
A: Our biggest goal is just to continue to improve each and every practice and game. I have a strong feeling the product you may see in the first week will be vastly different from the product you see playing in February.
The Chargers open their season in Alma with a home game against Manhattan Chief on December 5th.