BY JACK BULLOCK It is another ABV Preview of the Midland Trail Conference and yet another year in which the bottom nine will look up at those Woodlawn Cardinals. This club has won every conference title and has won every MTC Tournament championship since it entered the league in 2009. Don't look for anything to change in the MTC this season as the Cardinals have reloaded the title gun and should once again find themselves in possession of the league's top piece of hardware. Head coach Shane Witzel has presided over a championship caliber surge since this school joined the league and the Cardinals have taken advantage of this situation by going 107-22 overall in the past four seasons. That is an astonishing .829 winning percentage. However heading into this season there will be some question marks for the Cardinals that will be addressed on down the page. There is a gap to the rest of a conference field but that's not to say there isn't talent roaming the hallways of the other member schools. Herb Williams has gotten some things turned around at Sandoval and the fans of the Black Hawks should have something to cheer about this winter. This program has never been a basketball power but this season they are going to try and build on a 19-9 season from 2010-11. The Wayne City Indians are coming off of one of the best season's in the school's history and will have three returning starters back from a club that went 25-5. Unfortunately for Coach Russ Gerlach's club, there of those “L's” came at the hands of those pesky Cardinals mentioned above. South Central finished 5-4 in the Midland Trail last season but struggled a bit in non-conference play. Head coach Rick Simmons lost three starters but the two coming back were the top to scorers on the squad. North Clay sent away seven seniors from last season's team including all five starters. Coach Brian Wattles has a lot of work to do this winter with a new group of players but this program is in good shape. Odin and head coach Mike Finkbone will also has seven seniors wave goodbye from last winter's club. Clay City-Noble had just one senior and no juniors on last season's team that didn't win a game. This season those sophomores and freshman that played last season are a year older and this should help out the morale of this program. Webber Township has felt the crunch of the numbers game with very few kids coming out but new coach Jamie Lee will try to piece together a varsity team for 2011-12. As for this season, look for Woodlawn to continues its championship run.

1. WOODLAWN It isn't a big secret what Coach Shane Witzel and the many good people around this program have done in the past four seasons. No team in this state has had a better run. Four regional titles in a row; three consecutive sectional titles and two supersectional championships. A second place finish in 2009 and a third place finish in 2011 highlight Woodlawn's domination of 1A boy's basketball in southern Illinois. The Cardinals have to replace a couple of stars from last season that are really not replaceable. Dawson Verhines, a four-year starter, and Josh Wiggs who started and came off the bench since his freshman season are gone via graduation as well as classmate Jeremy Aparicio. Verhines was named ABV Class 1A “Player of the Year” while Wiggs was an ABV first-team pick. Verhines finished his illustrious prep career with 1,287-points while Wiggs ended up with 1,085-points. Replacing not one, but two, one-thousand point scorers is never easy. Nevertheless like all of the high school teams that have built up their respective programs to a high level, Woodlawn will rebuild this season around three returning starters and some promising underclassman that will try to continue its usual flight to the 20-victory plateau. Coach Witzel has a junior guard that has been a part of the mix since he was a freshman. Gabe Owens is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard that has had plenty of television “face-time” since he won the Country Companies “Three-Point-Showdown” in his first season wearing the Cardinals' uniform and was part of the Final Four last season. Owens averaged an even 10 points a contest as a sophomore as he was a huge part of the Woodlawn 30-4 run to Peoria. He also was one of the best assist men on the floor for the Cardinals, handing out 2.8 “A's” an outing as well as grabbing nearly three rebounds a game. Those totals should go up a bit considering most of the rebounds last season by Woodlawn were snagged by Verhines and Wiggs. Christian Hollenkamp is a 6-foot-4 senior who was a starter last season. As much as this one blossomed into a varsity performer last winter, look for even more improvement this season. Hollenkamp contributed a lot to the stats as a junior (8.2 p.p.g., 3.7 r.p.g.) and he was a viable scoring option when Verhines and Wiggs were in need of help. His importance to the offense is more amplified this season and look for Hollenkamp to respond with a big campaign. Another senior who has been part of this success story is AJ Webb, a 5-foot-11 guard, who turned out to be more than just a defensive standout. Webb added 4.3 points a night while coming up with a lot of big plays on both ends of the floor last year. Webb, along with Hollenkamp, provide senior leadership that is always a big part of the success of any good program. Coach Witzel is very impressed with the other returning players and he believes they will be productive with more varsity minutes this season. Logan Isaac, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, got into all 34 varsity contests as a sophomore and he will likely find himself in the starting line up when Woodlawn heads to Okawville for the Post-Thanksgiving event to open the 2011-12 season. According to Coach Witzel, 6-foot junior Kris Harlow will also get a starting spot. Six-foot Matt Kennedy and 6-foot-1 Brendan Peterson will also push for playing time. The sophomore group at this school has the look of a great future. Two of them will contribute immediately after strong freshman seasons. Jayson Hapeman is a 5-foot-10 guard and his classmate 6-foot-2 Jake Robinson have been very prosperous at each stage of basketball development. Those two should help make the reserve unit the strongest in this conference. There will probably be a few more kids from the sophomore class that will get a look this season. One of the good things about playing in a league in which you are clearly the best program is that you will get to throw underclassman into varsity games during the final quarter of blowouts. Woodlawn will have that luxury again this season as several of the MTC teams appear to be down. The more PT youngsters get in the varsity action, they better they will become in the future. The present and the future look as bright as the immediate past at Woodlawn. “We have three returning starters that gained some valuable experience in last year's postseason run,” said Coach Witzel who is now 311-126 in 15-seasons running the Woodlawn program. “These three will be expected to lead the way but we are optimistic about the development of Logan Isaac and Kris Harlow who have earned the other two starting positions. “Jayson (Hapeman) also made some big strides as a freshman and will garner significant minutes.” OUTLOOK – This program didn't reach this point without a lot of hard work. The hard work continues at this school and you can bank on another successful season. The Cards schedule may appear soft in the league but this coach (athletic director) has bulked up the non-league games that include Herrin, Breese Mater Dei, Okawville, Sesser-Valier and a yet to be determined opponent at the Nashville Shootout. Owens, Hollenkamp and Webb are vets who have played meaningful games in March while other kids and programs watched. Look for this club to take advantage of their situation again in 2011-12. The goal of any successful program is to reach the state finals. This team has a shot at a return trip to Peoria. The Cardinals are a lock in the Midland Trail.

2. SANDOVAL It has been a long time since anyone could look to a basketball season at this high school with a lot of optimism. But head coach Herb Williams has worked some real magic and has the Blackhawks thinking about a 20-win season. This isn't one of those happenings every year. It is more like a Haley's Comet sighting. Sandoval finished a 19-9 season with a loss to rival Odin in the first round of the Woodlawn 1A Regional last February and the folks back (which includes nearly everyone) are hungry for a better finish. It was the first time that Sandoval won 19-games since 1984. Just three seniors left the program last season and although they were important to the process last season, the ones remaining are the important fixtures in rebuilding this situation. Coach Williams has his top three scorers returning and the immediate future looks very good considering that this club hasn't had much to brag about in its entire history. One of the top scorers in southern Illinois is back for the Red and Black attack. Warren Jones hopped into the program last season and shined. The 6-foot1 ½ senior averaged a gargantuan 24.3 points and 9.1 rebounds a game for Sandoval as a junior. Those numbers, as scary as it might be, could increase as a senior. He has the potential to garner some all-state recognition and some local media all-area teams. He is definitely first-team MTC material. But they may not have to rely on Jones scoring as much this season as he will have a lot of help including four other seniors that saw substantial playing time for Coach Williams last season. Trevor Gore, a 6-foot senior, scored 14 points and grabbed nearly six rebounds a contest last season. Gore is coming off of a knee injury (ACL) but according to the coach is showing no ill effects. According to Williams, Jones and Gore are both on pace to reach 1,000-points for their respective careers. Throw in the name Dillan Marcketti to the starting line up as this 5-foot-10 senior returns after averaging 8.2 points a game for Sandoval. He is a defensive specialist who Williams believes is one of the keys to his team's success. Those three are the top three scorers from that team last season that won the Christ Our Rock Lutheran Invitational Tournament and finished second at the Mulberry Grove Thanksgiving Tourney. The Blackhawks have some size to clog up the middle with 6-foot-5 senior Jacob Wooters back after scoring five points a game and hauling down six rebounds a game. The sixth man for Coach Williams is back this season as well. Dylan Justin is a 6-foot-2 senior who played a lot of minutes last season and helped out (three points, five boards) and should end up starting for the Blackhawks. If Coach Williams goes with that lineup, it appears to be solid enough to compete with most everyone on the schedule. A schedule that took a big jump in class with the addition of playing in the Columbia/Freeburg Holiday Tournament in December. But in Sandoval's case, the bench might be even more important if they are going to improve on last season's big effort. Coach Williams listed four juniors that he feels can help out in reserve minutes. Six-foot junior Paul Bosler, 6-foot-1 junior Travis Michaels, 5-foot-10 junior Zach Rudolph and 6-foot-1 Matt Walton must be ready for the Blackhawks to give the starters some rest. This mentor also added the names Nick Rodriguez and Caleb Carter to the contestants for varsity minutes. Rodriguez is a 6-foot-2 sophomore while classmate Carter is 6-foot-1. Like the juniors, these two sophs better be ready as well. Coach Williams is very high on this team. “The biggest asset that we have is quickness. If we can run the floor and defend we could have a break-through year,” said Williams, a Centralia native with a college coaching background at Michigan State under legendary head coach Jud Heathcote along with high school stints at Rich South, Centralia, Evanston and Hillcrest. “This could be one of the best season's in Sandoval history but the key will be to stay healthy and for this group to depend on each other.” OUTLOOK – It is good for high school basketball as a whole when teams that have been down for a long time suddenly put it all together. The Sandoval Blackhawks have the pieces together to reach 20-wins. They lack overall size so they will have to use their quickness to get the job done. Jones is a true scoring threat each night and the Blackhawks look to have just one weakness, the lack of a true post player. If they can keep from having to dig too deep into the bench, Sandoval could attain a lot of moderately set goals in 2011-12.

3. WAYNE CITY Coach Russ Gerlach saw his club have an outstanding season in 2010-11 but a switch by the IHSA to the 1A Regional lineup hurt his clubs postseason chances. After spending the first three years of the four-class situation with schools to their immediate east, the Indians were assigned a regional west of them in Woodlawn where they reached the title game before losing their third consecutive time 37-25 in the finale at Woodlawn. That loss closed out an outstanding 25-5 season for this coach who has helped improve his overall head coaching mark to 66-47 at Wayne City. The Indians lost two very key starters from that team and it will be difficult to replace those two in the numbers game. Zach Merritt averaged 17.5 points a game as a senior last winter and was named to the first team ABV 1A All-South. He had some very huge games, including back-to-back high scoring contests against Okawville in the regular season finale and then a regional semifinal. Merritt scored 34 and 23 respectively against a very good defensive Rockets' club. His 45 points in the title game of the Wayne City Holiday Tournament against Crab Orchard in a 102-94 win set a single game scoring record for that 57 year old event. He finished his career with 1,186-points. Mark Feather was a 6-foot senior starter on that club and he to will be missed for his contributions. This season the Indians will regroup and will be ready for action when they attempt to defend their title at the Christopher Turkey Tournament. Three starters are back which include 5-foot-9 senior Haden Smith. Smith was the second leading scorer last season with just over nine points a game as one of the starting guards. The third leading scorer from 2010-11 was Arminius Caldwell, a 5-foot-11 senior. With two veterans back it makes any transition into a new season a better journey. Returning starter number three is Cody Manahan, a 5-foot-9 senior who chipped in four points a contest as a junior. Manahan inherits the point-guard job. Coach Gerlach will dip into the JV talent pool from last winter to fill in the blanks. Six-foot-two senior Brandyn Johnson will step into the varsity situation along with Dillon Sharp, a 6-foot senior. Both Sharp and Johnson were junior varsity starters and their transition should be a smooth one. Eric Alvis is a 5-foot-10 senior who moved into the district from Webber Township and should help out things. Coach Gerlach will also look to a pair of sophomores (Billy Irwin and Brenden Haile) for some minutes off the bench. “We have a good core group of returning players,” said Coach Gerlach. “They had a good summer and these kids have played a lot of games together going back to junior high. I think we should be over .500 again with a chance to compete for some trophies.” OUTLOOK – One thing that is noticeable about winning. It's very contagious. When talented underclassman witness their predecessors have success, then it is easy for them to get motivated to play well themselves. Coach Gerlach has done a bang-up job in turning the program into a very respected one in 1A southern Illinois circles. Although a lot of points left the building in the spring, look for this Tribe to be one of the better small schools in the South in 2011-12.

4. SOUTH CENTRAL After finishing just 13-17 overall last season the South Central Cougars look to improve on that mark with sever key elements returning from a club that bowed out of the St. Elmo Regional in the semifinals against MTC rival North Clay. Head coach Rick Simmons must replace six graduated seniors (Andrew Snow, Taylor Cain, Derek Harmeier, Nathan Hill, Ross Stock and Jacob Linder) from last year (21.4 p.p.g.) but the group returning looks very capable of getting above the .500 mark this winter. Fisher Tharp is a 6-foot-3 junior who has been around the basketball block as a two-year starter for the Cougars. Tharp topped all South Central players in scoring and rebounding as a sophomore with 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds a contest in 2010-11. Tharp, according to Coach Simmons, is a player that can do “a bit of everything on the floor” and those kind of kids are very valuable to have on your side. This junior spent most of his last two seasons fighting off double and sometimes triple teamed defenses but still managed to shoot over 50 percent from the floor. He is going to be a much stronger threat to score from the outside as he has worked on his perimeter game in the off season. Tharp could become one of the all-time leading scorers in this school's history by the end of the 2012-13 campaign. The other kids that Coach Simmons will turn two to start are a pair of seniors and two more juniors. Five-foot-eight senior Colby Bushue and 5-foot-11 junior Rudy Hablewitz will be the starting backcourt duo for South Central and these two will have to come up big this season for the Cougars to have a successful run in the Midland Trail. Bushue was the second leading scorer for South Central last winter (8.1 p.p.g.) and his offensive production will be sorely needed again. Hablewitz added 2.1 p.p.g. in just seven games that he appeared in as a sophomore. The backcourt looks sound so one of the question marks will be the play of the other two starters up front. Tharp should get some help from 6-foot-1 senior Colton Wilkins who, other than Tharp and Bushue, is the only other returning letterwinner from a year ago. Wilkins added 1.8 points per game in the 18 varsity ones he played in as a junior. Myles Yates, a 6-foot junior, is a player that can also step out and provide some offense along with Wilkins. Both of these kids will generate more offense this season as they will be asked to do more. Coach Simmons calls these two “vitally important to the overall success of the team.” Those five appear to be the starters when South Central hits the hardwood against a pair of tough games at Vandalia and at home to 1A Regional winner from 2010-11 St. Elmo. The reserves at this level of basketball has an importance factor that can't be measured. Coach Simmons will look to four seniors to help out when needed. Cody Heinzman is a 5-foot-10 senior who got into 10 “A” games as a junior carrying a mop but those minutes should increase. Five-foot-ten senior Cameron Eischens didn't play much as a junior in the varsity games but this will change this season. Six-foot-one senior Luke Krajefska, and 6-foot-5 senior Rickey Rector are newcomers to the varsity and they will get a opportunity to get some PT. Rector could be very valuable in providing some size to the lineup when he gets his named called. “As a team we do not have much size to speak of nor are we exceptionally quick, but I believe we can develop the type of work ethic and team chemistry that will bring about the improvements that we are seeking. I am a team oriented person who expects everyone to do their part and strongly believes that everyone has something to offer to the team. One question mark for this team is leadership. This team lacks a true leader at this point and the hope is that someone will rise up and grab the reins as the season progresses,” said Coach Simmons, who has paid his dues ten-fold in his years coaching in this school district and the ones in the area before and after the consolidation. “My plan is to re-establish the type of characteristics in our players that have been the trademark and the tradition of South Central. Hard work, hustle, discipline, teamwork, and desire to win are a few that come instantly to mind. Our plans are not to look at who we are playing, but rather at how we are playing. We want to continue to improve each game and develop our skills and overall knowledge of the game in hopes of making a late season run. Regardless of the outcome, I want our opponents to feel like they have been in a battle and walk away with a renewed respect for our players and coaching staff.” OUTLOOK – This club had some glaring weaknesses last winter but those are some things that can be improved on. But the biggest one was that the Cougars simply didn't shoot the ball well enough to win games (under 50 percent) but ABV thinks that number will rise in 2011-12. Tharp is going to get his points, no matter who or whom is guarding him. As a junior this season he should garner some award consideration in the area and perhaps state-wide. The backcourt and the help in the frontcourt will need to step up. The Cougars were just 6-21 in 2009-10 but added seven addition wins last season. South Central should improve even more this season than last.

5. CISNE Head coach Kevin Bowen has done a terrific job at this small school. Not blessed with the greatest talent in the world is a motto for a lot of schools around this size but that hasn't stopped this program for having success. The 2011-12 edition of Lions' basketball will feature kids who played a lot of minutes last season as underclassman. One should start with the ones missing this season as Coach Bowen sent away a quartet of seniors who hauled off a lot of minutes from the 15-14 (4-5 MTC) club that lost to Red Hill, 54-37, at the Red Hill 1A Regional. But part of the good news is that Cisne returns its top three scorers and two of its top three board men from that club. One of the kids back was a double-digit scorer with 10.7 points per outing. Dustin Atteberry is a 6-foot junior who topped the Lions in points and also rebounds, grabbing 5.5 a night. Look for Austin Atteberry to also return to form as this 5-foot-11 junior was second on the list with 7.5 points per contest. Those two twin brothers are pretty good athletes and have the look of a good core to build around for this season and next. After those two, Coach Bowen can turn two other kids to make a difference this season. Aaron Billington is a 6-foot-1 senior. His contributions last season included 6.9 points and 2.3 rebounds a game for Cisne. Five-foot-ten Erick Powell is part of the good junior class for Coach Bowen and he chipped in a few points a game last season as a sophomore. The fifth starter will be either 5-foot-9 senior Travis Hughes or 5-foot-10 senior Nic Alllison. Coach Bowen will go with either one this season depending on the situations. The top reserves look to be 6-foot-1 junior Jeff Wilson and 5-foot-10 junior Travis Howard. Five-foot-eleven senior Joshua Faber will also see minutes and the rest of the reserve unit should come from preseason practice but according to this coach the roster looks plentiful with names. “We will be pretty solid with four returning starters and four or five guys playing without any varsity experience,” said Coach Bowen, who is 118-85 in seven seasons at Cisne. “We will need those guys to fill their roles if we are going to have success. If we can figure out how to play and a consistent (high) level then we will be competitive in the conference. OUTLOOK – This club has been very competitive in this league over the years and that won't stop this season. The fourth vets should step up and lead the others. This team will finish above .500 for certain and will be a factor in the Grayville Thanksgiving Tournament that they will start the season in. As for the league, they could finish anywhere between second and sixth. The wide-open part of the conference is in the middle.

6. NORTH CLAY Coach Brian Wattles and his coaching staff will feel the graduation sting perhaps more than any other program in this conference as the Cardinals sent away seven seniors that represented all five starters and top two reserves from the team that finished 15-10 and 5-4 in the MTC. North Clay made it to the title game of the St. Elmo 1A Regional before falling to the host Eagles, 40-35. Coach Wattles will have to replace two double-figure scorer Andrew Grahn (18.1 p.p.g.), Dalton Zimmerman (11.9 p.p.g.) among the missing players from last winter. In fact the total of those seven who graduated in points add up to 87 percent of the 55 points per game that North Clay averaged a game last season. Add to the deficit is two players that this mentor believes will be lost for the season. Six-foot-four junior Logan Hillerbrand was expected to be a starter while freshman Andrew Cox was also going to be part of the Cardinals' game-plan. Both are lost for the season due to injuries before the season was to begin. That is big hole to fill for any program at any level. But be certain that Coach Wattles and Co. will roll up their collective sleeves and get to work to try and produce yet another successful team coming off back-to-back regional championship game appearances. The rebuilding process begins with some kids who got their feet wet in varsity waters in 2010-11. Four of the players are seniors, led by 6-foot-2 Quade Coble and 6-foot Quinn Bible. This pair played the most minutes of the returning Cardinals, having gotten into 23 of the 25 North Clay contests last winter. Coble averaged 2.3 points an outing when called upon while Bible added 1.3 p.p.g. It goes without saying those numbers need to spike if North Clay is going to be in the hunt for this conference crown or to collect any regular or postseason hardware. Six-foot-three Cole Smith and 5-foot-8 Dylan McKnelly added a handful of points in their limited duty as juniors. All four of these kids will need to lead by example and Coach Wattles feels that they will. Six-foot junior Cody Yoho and and 6-foot sophomore Garrett Rubsam also appeared on the 2010-11 final stats so those two will likely be in the running for PT. “This team could really improve as the season progresses as they work hard on defense and they have shown an ability to rebound,” added Coach Wattles. “We will have to execute our offense and get scoring from multiple players in order to have success this year.” After that, this coaching staff will have to line up the ducks for reserve minutes. “The Midland Trail should be very competitive again this year. Woodlawn is the team to beat until someone can beat them. Sandoval returns almost everyone and Wayne City, Cisne and South Central will be in the hunt for the top spot,” said Coach Wattles, who is 57-43 in four years at the helm. “Both Grayville and Clay City-Noble will return some experienced players from last season and should both be improved while Odin and Webber Township lost a lot of experience and will be playing a lot of younger players.” OUTLOOK – These Cardinals will get a baptistism by fire this season as most of this roster haven't even dressed for varsity before this season. But there is some talent in this program and the staff has done a pretty good job of keeping things together. The injuries hurt because both of those kids looked to be part of the starting mix. The four that are back with experience will need to mature fast. By the time the season ends, the Cardinals should above .500 and will likely be a part of a regional that they can compete in.

7. CLAY CITY-NOBLE When you look at a situation where a team is coming off of an 0-25 season, the motto should be there is no where to go but up. That is the case of the Clay City-Noble West Richland cooperative from 2010-11. The Wolves went winless for the season and took it a beating from good teams. “Wolves thrown to the Wolves” sums up the campaign. Sometimes though good can come out of a bad situation. Coach Shawn Taylor returns as do most of the kids that survived that cold winter. Also in the program are some newcomers to go along with the vets. If you are looking for a team that just might improve by a bunch of games from a year ago then this might be your club. Coach Taylor has a team leader and his name is Jordan Brown, a 6-foot junior guard. Brown averaged 10 points a game as a sophomore, one of the players who muddled through 2010-11. Brown connected on 45 3-point shots last winter and he should improve on those totals. It seems like this program always has someone named Wolf and this year is no exception with Dylan Wolf returning after averaging eight points a contest last season. Wolf is a 6-foot junior and was one of the top board men on the squad. Another junior on the list of starters back is 6-foot-1 Nathan Dulany who added six points a game to the quantity. Six-foot-one sophomore Andy Klingler is back and he was also right at six markers per try. The next group of players in the running for playing time are transfers. Five-foot-ten junior Ethan Brown comes in from Louisville North Clay while 6-foot sophomore Dakota Cartwright transferred in from Flora. There have been a lot of good players named Cartwright that have played at Flora. If this one is anything like the others, he will help out immediately. The culture shock award will go to the next two kids coming in as Clay City-Noble traveled a long way to Clay County. Cody Collins is a 5-foot-10 sophomore who came from New Jersey. A foreign exchange student from Germany, 6-foot junior Fabian Schulbert also should help matters. Once these two get over the culture shock of living in rual America, they should make Clay City-Noble a lot better. Coach Taylor took is kids to a team camp in Jacksonville this past summer and held their own by going 4-1. Although summer ball can mostly be taken with a grain of salt, any wins in any season are a step in the right direction. “We will be a young team with Jordan (Brown) leading the way for us,” said Coach Taylor, who stepped into the situation after coaching previously at the junior high level. “With transfers Ethan Brown, Dakota Cartwright and Fabian Schulbert and returning starters Dulany, Wolf and Klinger, we will win games this year.” OUTLOOK – No one wants to see teams go through a win-less campaign and Clay City-Noble should be much better than they were a year ago. It appears that the Wolves have a leader and some talent that must be mixed together that hopefully will produce the right kind of chemistry. The schedule, besides the ones at the top of this list, isn't “Murderer's Row” so look for some victories and some smiles this season in the pack.

9. GRAYVILLE The Bison have three returning starters back from a 4-18 unit that was eliminated from the state tournament 61-31 by Hutsonville-Palestine in the opening round of the Red Hill 1A Regional. Will Knight stepped down as head coach at the end of the season and has been replaced by newcomer Richard Nelson who has some young talent to work with to get ready for the Bison to host its annual Thanksgiving tournament. Christian Neeley, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, returns after starting a year ago. Five-foot-eleven senior Daniel Gray is also back for another season as a starter as is 6-foot-3 junior forward Logan Bell. After those three, this coach will have some decisions to make as far as who will get their name called on opening night. One junior back is 5-foot-6 Joshua Burdin and three other sophomores, 5-foot-7 Connor Neeley, 5-foot-7 Chris Collier and 5-foot-6 Colton Alldredge could be in line for early season minutes. Coach Nelson also mentioned sophomore Caleb Penner and what he feels is a talented freshman group that could get into some varsity games this season. OUTLOOK – ABV projects some additional wins this season but not enough in the league to make a major move up the ladder. Having those three starters back and to have some solid numbers in the roster is a plus for a school with this small of an enrollment. Coach Nelson will have a shot of seeing how good his team is the first week of the season with four games.

9. ODIN In the ten years prior to the most recent four seasons at Odin, this basketball program produced just a 40-205 won/loss record. In the next four seasons this squad went 73-26. Unfortunately for Odin most of the talent that led this program on that ride have departed. Seven seniors are gone with the most important ones missing being Travis Shaffer, Tyson Minor and James Hodge. Those three plus the four other seniors represented most of the minutes from the 18-win team that lost to Woodlawn, 67-35, in the Regional semifinals at Woodlawn last February. Coach Mike Finckbone starts over with sophomores and freshman jumping straight into the varsity fire. None of the probable starters for Odin reach the six-foot level in height some these Eagles had better be quick. The list from Coach Finckbone starts with 5-foot-9 freshman Devin Williams. Also on the starting probables are 5-foot-10 sophomore Ryan Niepoetter and 5-foot-10 freshman Austin Perkins. Odin will also have 5-foot-11 freshman Chase Horton and 5-foot-11 sophomore Anthony Parrish. Coach Finckbone added the names Colton Wood, Toby Simpson, Jamie Moore and Seth Slusher to the prospective roster of kids who should see varsity playing time. Wood is a 5-foot-10 freshman while Simpson is a 5-foot-10 sophomore while Moore is also part of the freshman class. Slusher is a 5-foot-9 senior. “I see the Midland Trail Conference being a three or four team race with Woodlawn being the team to beat and South Central and Sandoval returning all their players. Even tho we are so inexperienced I feel we will be in middle of the group,” said Coach Finckbone. OUTLOOK – Sometimes when young teams get thrown right into varsity play they get better in a hurry. For the Eagles to have a successful season these underclassman will have to play like senior veterans. Nearly every team in this conference has more returning players than Odin. So the ones wearing Red and White need to grow up fast in 2011-12.

10. WEBBER TOWNSHIP New head coach Jamie Lee steps in for former head coach Sam Root and inherits a program that has lacked numbers in recent seasons. In fact at the end of last season the Trojans were forced to play just varsity games because of not having enough warm bodies to play two. But this season Webber Township has 12 players in the program, which is good news for all concerned. Coach Lee is from Oakland, Illinois which is just north and west of Paris. Oakland has given us a pair of southern Illinois coaches with coaches' Jeff Mandrell at Meridian and Matt Mandrell at Egyptian. In fact Lee was a senior and played for Jeff Mandrell when Mandrell was coaching at his Alma Mater. Lee's background includes coaching at the grade school level at Oakland while also spending time at Hume-Shiloh high school. Lee will look to a senior, three juniors and a freshman to start for him as the season begins at the Christopher Turkey Tourney. One of those juniors started last season, 6-foot-6 forward Ty Henderson. The senior of the group is 5-foot-10 Brian Gregory. Other juniors as part of the lineup will be 5-foot-10 classmates Alex Lynn and Greg O'Dell. The freshman mentioned by Coach Lee is 5-foot-9 Mark Knepler. This team last season went 4-20 after losing to Okawville, 73-40 in the opening round of the Woodlawn 1A Regional. “We are a very young inexperienced ball team. My goal as a coach is to develop discipline and develop confidence that will result in progression throughout the year. W,” said Coach Lee. “We have a team based attitude. What I mean by that, no one will be zeroed out as being the top player. We start together, we run together, we end together, we win together, and we lose together. A unified team, in all realms, will be the key to our success as a team and will be the focus to our season. If there is going to be any improvement it will take effort by all involved. However if you look at just numbers, Webber is ahead of where they were last season when the campaign began.” OUTLOOK – Look for more wins this season. The Trojans will find some people on the slate that they will be able to hang with. The depth, which they lacked a year ago, could end up being a plus by the end of the season.