Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Senior Jacob Lamm puts up a running floater in the lane during practice Tuesday at Worland High School as the Warriors prepared to get back into action this weekend with a game with Cody this evening and Big Horn Basin Hoops Fest in Lovell on Friday and Saturday.
WORLAND – After Worland's 1-2 start to the season at the Flaming Gorge Classic in Rock Springs, one blaring weakness stood out to boys basketball coach Aaron Abel.
The Warriors weren't playing well defensively.
They gave up 54 points in a win against Evanston and surrendered 63 and 66 in losses to Star Valley and Rock Springs, respectively.
"In Rock Springs we were able to get a lot of experience and figure out that we are not doing things as well as we need to, especially on the defensive end," Abel said on Wednesday. "Defensively we're giving up 45% shooting and that's not going to win you a lot of high school basketball games."
Granted, the Warriors did have a tough draw at the tournament with the quality of opponents they faced.
And despite their shortcomings, they still had opportunities to win both games down the stretch but fell just short.
Abel is hoping that doesn't happen again today as the Warriors travel to Park County to face No. 5 Cody.
The Broncs come into the matchup with a 4-2 record, having defeated Rawlins, Newcastle, Jackson and Wheatland while falling to Buffalo and Douglas – two teams that are currently undefeated.
Cody has been a tough place to play for Worland for much of the recent past and tonight's matchup won't be any different as Abel expects to face a good Cody Broncs team led by senior Blake Hinze.
"We expect a tough test, especially on the road," Abel said. "One thing you know about Cody – especially with Dean Olenik coached teams – is they're going to be good defensively, they're going to play mostly man-to-man and they're going to rebound like crazy.
"But something they've really done this year a lot better than they have in the past has been shooting the 3 ... We've really stressed closing out all week long and we've got to be good at it if we're going to win."
Hinze has spearheaded Cody's newfound long range attack as the main deep threat, shooting 46% from 3-point range while taking close to nine shots a game from beyond the arc – helping him to average 19.7 points per game which is second in 3A behind Worland's own Hoyt Nicholas at 28 per game.
Cody doesn't have much scoring behind Hinze, so part of Abel's plan is to harass him defensively with different players every second he's on the floor.
Nicholas will guard him a lot of the time as will fellow senior Mauricio Caballero, according to Abel.
Scoring has never been a problem for the Warriors as they're second in 3A averaging 65.3. But if the Warriors are to come away with a win it will take a concerted effort on defense.
Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
