Team Preview:
Written By: Ryan Lee
Capital is coming off a season where the Eagles went 17-7, and capped off their season by beating rival Borah in the third-place game at the 5A State Tournament. Entering the 2015-16 season the Eagles will be missing a lot of key pieces and will be under a new head coach, Scott Moore; after fifth year head coach, Paul Rush, moved up to the college level and took an assistant coaching job for Northwest Nazarene University. Moore is coming from Vallivue High School in Caldwell, where he coached the Falcons the last five seasons. Moore knows he has big shoes to fill, but he says he is up for the task to keep Capital at the top tier of the 5A Southern Idaho Conference.
Coach Moore will be without a couple of key players from last year including honorable mention SIC, Connor Poulson, and reigning player of the year, Derrick White; who has since graduated and is playing for Lewis-Clark State College. Capital also lost a key transfer in point guard Talon Pickney, who transferred over to conference foe Centennial during the offseason.
Returning for the Eagles this season are senior guard, Cam Daron, junior guard, Harrison Ashby, and junior guard, Justin Saunders. Coach Moore knows they have a great coaching pedigree at Capital and he is really excited to join the staff. “This year’s team excites me greatly because they have been so well coached in the past. These boys already have high expectation for themselves and the team, and they know what it takes to be successful at the Varsity level.
Offense: With plenty of guards on the roster, Capital will look to exercise its strengths of speed and athleticism. The offense might be a little bit different under a new coach, but Coach Moore wants the core group of returners to lead out and be patient and efficient in their offensive sets to get good shots. Taking care of the ball and ball movement will be empathized in the new offense.
Defense: Capital in the past has always played great pressure defense and they want that to continue. The key for Capital to get back to the state tournament is to play together and communicate. The Eagles are always one of the faster paced teams in the conference and they want their defense to feed their offense into getting easy buckets.
Wrap-Up: One thing to keep your eye on this season will be on the Junior Varsity level. Capital will have twin brothers on the JV team, Tanner and Terrick Foote. During the offseason, Terrick had major surgery to remove a blood clot in his shoulder. He will miss significant time this season, but it’s always scary when
someone so young has to go through that kind of surgery. By watching Terrick this season I believe it will be a great reminder that no matter the circumstance or situation, we can all press on and accomplish our goals with confidence and without any fear.
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