SILOAM SPRINGS — The Siloam Springs boys basketball team has been working since the end of last season to keep history from repeating itself.
The Panthers won four of their first five 5A-West Conference games in 2009-10 and looked like a lock to make the Class 5A State Tournament.
Siloam was unable to ride that momentum, however, and lost seven of its last nine to miss the postseason.
Second-year coach Johnny Taylor said a common misconception is that the Panthers collapsed in the second half of the season.
“We were actually playing really well,” Taylor said. “It’s just that everyone knows everyone (in the 5A-West).
“It doesn’t matter in the 5A-West if you win them all to start and lose them all to finish, or if you lose them all to start and win them all to finish. All that matters is who’s in that final four (that makes the postseason).”
Siloam will turn to a pair of seasoned veterans to try and bring the Panthers back in 2010-11.
Senior point guard and leading scorer Kyle Teague (5-foot-10) returns after averaging 17.0 points per game in conference play last year. Also, 6-6 sophomore Payton Henson is back after averaging around 10 points per game as a freshman last year.
Teague had a season-high 40 points in a game against Shiloh Christian during the Har-Ber Holiday Tournament over the holiday break and can score all over the floor.
“Kyle is somebody that never gets rattled,” Taylor said. “I think he’s someone that everyday tries to learn and get better at the details of his game.”
Henson played an inside-outside role as a freshman, and he’ll do the same again this year. However, Henson’s first priority will be to control the paint and use his size to his advantage.
“What he’s been able to do is really improve his footwork and his post presence,” Taylor said. “I think he gives us a whole new dimension to our team, which is being able to travel in the 5A-West and throw the ball inside consistently and make people have to stop him. I think if you can do that, then it opens up the perimeter. We’re hoping we can start inside and work our way out.”
Senior guards Tyler Tiger and Nicholas Eshnaur each saw significant amounts of playing time last year and return to this year’s squad.
The Panthers also are excited about the emergence of sophomore sharp-shooter Shane Carlson (5-10), who averaged around 15 points per game last year for the ninth grade team.
“Carlson’s going to be somebody that makes an immediate impact,” Taylor said. “He can shoot it. Every time the ball leaves his hand we feel like it’s got a chance to go in. He’s the only kid that we have that we think if he gets an open look he’s going to make that shot.”
Lady Panthers
This season will be Debbie Sharp’s 25th year as a high school basketball coach, including her 20th at Siloam.
As many highs and lows and Sharp has seen over the years, she’ll tell you nothing was tougher than how the Lady Panthers’ season ended last year.
Siloam was a team with state title aspirations, but the Lady Panthers were upset by Nettleton in the quarterfinals of Class 5A State Tournament in Alma. They finished 23-3 overall.
“There’s been some tough ends to seasons before and there’s been some heartbreaks,” Sharp said. “But the expectations we had for ourselves and the way that we finished was very disappointing.”
The Lady Panthers will try and make another run at it in 2010-11.
Siloam returns All-State guards Laken Grigg (14 points per game) and Shelbi Honeycutt (12 ppg) along with all-conference honorable mention Allie Wade.
Sharp said the team hopes to play a up-tempo style of basketball.
“We’ve got good guards that have some size on them,” Sharp said. “We’ve got some good inside players that have versatility and some outside skills as well. With that mix, that’s the style of play I enjoy coaching the best. That’s the style of play we’ve traditionally been successful at. I think it’ll be good for us to get back into that style.”