New-look basketball teams tipoff Friday

A new era begins Friday night for both Kingfisher High School basketball programs.

When Kingfisher tips off the 2021-22 season at Chisholm, it will mark the first game for new girls coach Taylor Young and the first game for a boys team that attempts to reload after its historic run.

What can we expect from the teams?

Let’s find out. In this edition, we’ll take a look at the KHS boys’ team:

Kingfisher Yellowjackets Last season: 25-1

Class 4A state champions

It’s well documented what Kingfisher lost to graduation and the legacy that group left behind.

In a nutshell: Coach Jared Reese and his staff return no starters from last year’s title team. Gone is the core that went 107-4, played in three state championship games, won two state titles and was favored to win another (the canceled COVID year).

“On the outside looking in, we’re starting over from scratch,” said Reese, who is entering his ninth season at Kingfisher.

“While, in a sense, that’s correct, but we know we’ve got a group that might surprise some people out there.”

While Kingfisher’s “new” roster may not currently have someone labeled as a “superstar” the likes of a Trey Green or Jett Sternberger or Matthew Stone or Bijan Cortes, it is littered with a number of players who have been waiting in the wings and sharpening the skills against those stars for years now.

“These guys have been practicing against the best team in the state every day for a couple of years,” Reese said. “They’re not going to see a team as good as they’ve gone up against everyday.”

That list of players could go 10 deep before, but has already suffered its first loss.

Senior Mason Snider tore ligaments in his knee in a scrimmage just before the Thanksgiving break.

“It makes you sick because he’s worked really hard and waited a long time for his opportunity,” Reese said. “And he had it taken away before he truly got his chance.”

That leaves Chase Davis and Braxton Mecklenburg as the lone seniors expected to make significant contributions.

Davis, who has battled a knee and ankle injury in the offseason, can shoot from the outside, but will also be relied on to provide KHS with an inside presence it’s otherwise lacking.

Mecklenburg provides athleticism and versatility that will fill multiple needs for the team.

The Jackets’ largest contributions by class will come from their juniors.

Seven from that class will likely see significant time this season, whether in a starting role or coming off the bench.

Guards Cash Slezickey, Xavier Ridenour, Drake Freisen and Maddox Mecklenburg are joined by forwards Jax Sternberger, Judson Birdwell and Caden Kitchens.

That group has shined in JV games for the past two seasons and advanced to the title game of the Ward Center Classic - a varsity tournament featuring smaller-school teams in Seiling - last year.

“They’ve been playing together a long time,” Reese said. “They know each other well and they also know what we expect from them.”

But what exactly should be expected this year?

There are still question marks, including who will be the first five on the court Friday night.

“I literally don’t know who will start,” Reese said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who are right there with each other. And the group that starts this week may not be the same five that start the next game or later on in the year.”

However, said Reese, starting isn’t what’s important to him.

“It’s going to take more than five guys for us to achieve what we want,” Reese said. “Everyone is going to have to contribute and that’s probably going to mean we might have a different leading scorer every night or different guys get more shots on different nights.

“These are just things that we’ll see as the season progresses and we see how guys react when we throw them into the fire.”

Although most of the faces this year are different, Reese still has a high level of expectation.

“Go back before 2017 when our run started… before we ever won anything,” Reese said. “There were still high expectations with this program. We still expected to win when we stepped on the court.

“We worked hard. We prepared. We played hard,” Reese said. “That never changed and it’s not going to change now.”

(Ed. note: Next issue will feature the KHS Lady Jackets and a wrestling preview with new coach Bryan Dutton is upcoming as well.)