Team Preview:
Written by: Matt Harris
Mackay Miners head coach Chris Peterson understands the importance of his role on the team.
"I was fortunate enough to have the coaches I had as a young man," he said. "They taught me to correlate athletic effort into everyday life and tasks. It's my job now to pass that message along."
The key for Peterson and Miners this year is improvement - something which he hopes to instill in his team as the vision for each game.
"We want to focus on one game at a time," he said. "Every game is important to us in the sense of continued improvement."
Mackay brings back a wealth of experience this season, including 1st Team All-Conference selection Pat Magee, a 6'3 combo guard/post. Other seniors joining Magee include 5'10 guard Wes Roscoe, 6'3 post Naylan Whitworth, 6'2 post Andy Gregory, and 5'10 guard Jacob Green.
The Miners will be without the services of Trevor Johnson this season, who moved to Kimberly in the offseason. But they will be adding an intriguing prospect.
"Clancy Krenka is a senior that has never played organized basketball before," Peterson said. "He's a 6'1 post that is aggressive and a quick study. He certainly will help out team!"
Mackay hopes to improve on their offensive efficiency this year and Peterson believes their added experience will help.
"That experience now should help us in being poised while running the offense," he said. "Our rebounding offensively can improve too."
Peterson feels the same way about their defense this year, while noting that he felt they were much stronger on the defensive end last year.
"Defense was our strong suit last season," he said. "We played 80% man to man all season last year. The guys take pride in that fact, and we expect to do more of the same this year."
The third-year Miners head coach really emphasized their need for rebounding on the defensive side.
"If you out-rebound your opponent, you will win 80% of the time," he said.
Peterson said his squad has really matured during the offseason and that he hopes that maturity can help them in tough spots over the year.
"It's a long season," he said. "If we can stay healthy and mentally strong, we will have a chance to compete in March."
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