ANSONIA – The Ansonia boys basketball team enters the 2017-18 season with nine returning varsity lettermen, including all five of last year’s starters.
Senior Trevor Alexander, senior Aydan Sanders, junior Hunter Muir, junior Andrew Rowland and junior Devyn Sink all return for the Tigers after playing starting roles last season. Senior Brayden Swabb, junior Matthew Shook, sophomore Hunter Buckingham and sophomore Matthew Farrier also return after contributing off the bench last year.
Newcomers to the varsity roster this season include senior Cody Sanders, sophomore Logan Alexander and freshman Reece Stammen.
At this point, coach Chad Cramer said, it’s too early to tell which of Ansonia’s players will earn starting spots this year, but the Tigers have plenty of options.
Ansonia’s top six scorers from last season all return to the lineup this year. Sink led the team with 16.8 points per game, Muir scored 12.3 points a game, Aydan Sanders averaged 8.8, Trevor Alexander averaged 6.6, Swabb averaged 6.6, and Buckingham averaged 1.6.
The Tigers also have their top five rebounders back from a year ago. Muir averaged 9.1 rebounds per game, Trevor Alexander averaged 3.5, Sink averaged 2.6, Swabb averaged 2.6, and Aydan Sanders averaged 2.4.
The top five distributors also return for Ansonia. Muir averaged 2.2 assists per game last year, Trevor Alexander averaged 2.0 assists, Aydan Sanders averaged 2.0, Sink averaged 1.5, and Swabb averaged 1.1.
With so much talent back, Cramer said one of the Tigers’ big strengths this year will be their experience. He also likes the team’s shooting ability.
One thing the Tigers will do differently this year is they’ll try to get into transition more often. In the half court they’ll run a motion offense, and on defense they’ll mix in man-to-man and zone looks.
Cramer’s goal this season for the Tigers is to continue to get better. To achieve that, they’re currently working on improving their defensive rebounding and defensive activity.
