Dogies look to build

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Graduating four starters which included the leading scorer, and returning only one player with extensive varsity experience to the court this season has Dogie head basketball coach Allen Von Eye looking to rebuild.
“We have a very inexperienced roster with Zach [Purviance] as the only player who started and played most of the games last season,” Von Eye began. “After that, there are just a handful who worked in minutes here and there as role players throughout the season.”
Purviance averaged about eight points per game last season, and really started to come into his own as the season drew to a close, and Von Eye is looking to the senior to be a leader for his squad. Other players who saw some minutes as role players last season will also be asked to step up their play and transition into more encompassing roles for the team.
“Landon Engle came on strong toward the end of the season, but there was some inconsistency with injuries which kept him from getting into the flow of things early,” Von Eye stated. “Aidan Chick played some really key reserve minutes at the guard spot last year. He knew his role and he did it well, but this year he’s going to have a lot more thrown at him with being a main ball handler, as well as being asked to score and also distribute the ball. He put in a ton of work in the off season so I think it’s his time to step in and do some things.”
Von Eye went on to note that Tate Engle also got a lot of minutes as a freshman last year. He admitted that coaches put a lot on Engle’s plate at the beginning but then kind of scaled it back. However, this season, the sophomore will be asked to contribute more.
“Tate and Aidan have battled each day in practice and they
go at each other pretty hard every day, which is great,” Von Eye nodded. “Realistically, there are just those three kids who got time on the court. Christian Santos did get some reserve minutes here and there too, so there will be a big growth curve as these guys learn their new roles.”
Without having a “go-to” guy on the floor this year, Von Eye has altered his approach and is looking to build and establish a different game plan in order to be successful.
“Our goal as a team and as a staff is to have everyone on the floor find their niche and contribute to the overall team,” he declared. “We’ve got guys who can score, but not really anyone who can put the team on their back and carry them when needed so we’re going to be looking to several guys to take on that responsibility. All of the guys will need to complement each other, and will have to be threats within their abilities.”
Defense is going to be key for the team, and Von Eye is confident his squad will be very good at that. Without much size, pressure defense is going to be vital in order to stay out of a slow half-court game. As such, fans will probably see a lot more zone than they usually see from Von Eye’s squad. 
There are 21 young men out for basketball this year, so numbers are a bit lower than in previous seasons. With fewer numbers, and a great deal of inexperience and Covid-19 rules limiting the number of players on the bench to 12, Von Eye is planning to incorporate the most dynamic roster he’s ever had with players rotating from week to week. 
“I generally like to start the year with 13 or 14 guys so I can give some of the younger players a chance to at least sit on the bench to see the speed of things,” he explained. “I feel obligated to help those kids grow, so our roster is going to change quite a bit and it should add some good competitive nature to practice as players will realize nothing can be taken for granted. We’re hoping that is the right way to approach this unique season, but we’ll see how things play out.”
In the conference outlook, Rawlins will be the team to beat this year with a long, solid, well-coached squad, while Buffalo will be strong as usual. Thermopolis graduated quite a few from their team but have some talented younger players returning, and Douglas will suit a roster that is similar to Newcastle in that they also lack a star player, but have several who can do good things on the court.
“The 3A East is always a fun conference, and this year will be no different,” Von Eye anticipated. “Covid is going to make this year an interesting one, and our number one goal is to keep everyone healthy, stay on the court, and build as the season progresses.”