UNION CITY – The 2017-18 Mississinawa Valley boys basketball team will be a young and somewhat inexperienced squad, but the Blackhawks do return first team all-league performer in Ethan Bowman.
The Blackhawks were 8-15 and 4-8 in the league last year and hope to improve upon that this year.
The Hawks will be led by seniors Ethan Bowman and Matthew Slob.
Bowman is a 6-foot guard who can score off the dribble and knock down the outside shot as well. Bowman averaged 14 points per game last year and will more than likely eclipse the 1,000-point mark during the season.
Slob is a 6-foot 5-inch post player who will give the Hawks an inside presence both offensively and defensively.
D.J. Howell is a 5-foot 11-inch junior and provides a scoring punch inside as well.
Alex Scholl is a 5-foot 9-inch sophomore guard who will handle the rock and get the Hawks into their offense.
Cody Dirksen is a 5-foot 11-inch forward who can knock down the 15-foot shot and score inside as well.
Will Hall is a 5-foot 10-inch forward who is athletic and quick and can be disruptive on the defensive end of the floor.
Max Dirmeyer is 5-foot 5-inch sophomore guard who will help provide additional ball-handling support.
Rounding out the varsity roster are two juniors, 6-foot 1-inch junior Trent Collins and 5-foot 5-inch Kyler Guillozet, plus two sophomores, 6-foot 2-inch Blake Scholl and 5-foot 2-inch Josh Fett.
“We need to play as a team,” Mississinawa coach Tim Barga said. “If we can get that accomplished, I feel we can have a good year. As a coach, my goal is to get the kids to play together and play as a team. If I can get the boys to do this then I feel the boys will achieve their goals.
“I see Bethel, Ansonia and (Franklin Monroe) as most likely the top three teams in our conference with many teams being able to win on any given night,” Barga concluded.
