Down but not out

THERMOPOLIS - It was a tough season for the Hot Springs County Bobcats jumping from 2A to 3A basketball. The faster game took its toll on a squad that lacked varsity experience even with five seniors but despite ending the season on a 14-game losing streak, they never turned on one another or mailed in the season.

"It was tough this season but never did I feel like they faltered or attacked each other. I was proud of them for always stepping out on the court and playing as a team. Again I was just proud of the boys all season long. They played hard and never lost their heart. I hope they got as much out of the season as I did," said HSCHS boys basketball coach Kevin Gerber.

The Bobcats (2-21 overall, 0-6 3A East: West conference) season ended with a 51-38 loss to the Rawlins Outlaws in the 3A East regional tournament in Buffalo. Their two wins this season came against 2A opponents and while their 3A opponents got the better of them, the Bobcats were often a quarter away from flipping those L's into W's.

"I think the initial thought moving up to 3A we weren't going to compete very well. Those looking at it in a broad spectrum they'll look at our record and say, see," said Gerber. "But when we took the whole season into account, we were in so many games, minus a few games like the Lander tournament where we saw our first 3A action. Most every game felt within reach and to me that was a positive. I think our boys and our fans really recognized that hey we can compete at this level and do some good things."

A bright spot for the Bobcats this season was the play of junior guard Hudson Roling. Averaging 11.8 points per game and led the team in assist (3) and steals (2.1) while shooting a team leading 33 percent from beyond the arc, Roling was selected to the 3A East All-Conference team.

Starting the season Bobcat seniors Logan Bartholomew, Trey Davis, Will DeVries, Jake Maksin and Brett Nicodemus did not have much varsity experience. Being thrust into starting roles and/or logging big minutes was new but as the season proceeded, the seniors, like Maksin and DeVries, grew into their roles and flourished out on the court.

"I was excited to see how they were going to perform with not a lot of experience and they stepped up this season. Will (DeVries) missed a few games for us but really began to play well down the stretch. Jake (Maksin) put a lot of time in over the summer, worked hard and he got a lot out of that effort," said Gerber.

Watching his seniors move on to the next level would be nice but for coach Gerber watching them become productive members of society is what he wants most for his departing players.

"I'd like to see them go on and play at the next level but more important to me is that we're graduating really good young men. I want to see them go off and be good dads, husbands, employees and employers. To me it's more important what kind of young men are we putting out into society and hopefully they learned a lot along the way," said Gerber.

Rough season and all, Gerber still had some memorable moments from this campaign.

"The last couple seasons since I've been head coach we start the season with a retreat. We'll begin with an overnighter or a real late night as a team. That's when we put our team into team families and go through some team building stuff. That to me is a great kickoff to the season and always a favorite part of the season because you learn more about your teammates than just riding on the bus," said Gerber.

Along with Roling returning to the Bobcats will be the team's leading scorer Noah Schwalbe, who scored 307 points, averaging 13.3 points per game.

"I'm excited that we have a lot of guys that love the game of basketball that are coming back. We'll have a smaller freshman group but as far as I know everyone that played this year will be back. That just builds the program that much stronger," said Gerber.

He added, "The way this season ended wasn't ideal by any means. [Assistant coach Ryan Shaffer] and I were ready to get to work for next season as soon as this season ended. What we have talent wise is exciting but if we're going to improve it's going to be because we put in the work this summer. We've planned what we want to do this summer with workouts and team/individual camps. We have a good group that's going to be committed to the program, which is exciting because that's something we've lacked the past couple years."