The Aberdeen boys basketball team’s entrance back into the Evergreen 2A Conference may not be big, but the Bobcats are hoping it’s grand.
Aberdeen went 15-5 last season and shared the Evergreen 2A/1A League title with rival Hoquiam, but the Bobcats fell one point short of making an appearance in the District IV 2A tournament. Aberdeen dropped a play-in game to Chehalis 42-41 to see its postseason hopes dashed early, but with reclassification the Bobcats are back in the Evergreen 2A Conference for the 2016-17 campaign and ready for a chance to show they can play with the best 2A teams.
Aberdeen graduated a trio of players who averaged five points or more including two who were 6-foot-5 or taller, but the Bobcats return a trio of seniors that averaged 6 1/2 points a game or more. Although the Bobcats bring back plenty of offense, they lack the height they had last season. Aberdeen’s tallest player is 6-foot-3 post Braden Castleberry-Taylor, yet coach Mark Buckman said the team is ready to compete with any opponent.
“What excites me about this group is they are a group that has a positive team spirit,” Buckman said. “We are returning four seniors from last year with three impact guys. Some of the younger guys are looking up to those varsity guys and they are really learning from these players.”
Castleberry-Taylor averaged 6 1/2 points last season and will be the inside presence when the Bobcats travel to Forks on Nov. 30 to start the season. Returning as wing players for Aberdeen are seniors Josh Collett and Victor Gomez. Collett was the leading scorer for the Bobcats last season, averaging 9 1/2 points, while Gomez added more than eight points a game.
Brayden Roiko will look to step up from his spot coming off the bench in 2015-16 to sharing guard duties with sophomore Ben Dublanko. Buckman said the guards will share the role of point guard to lead the offense.
Coming off the bench will be seniors Harlan Troy and Jake Metke helping in the post, while junior Alonzo Coburn will add depth at guard.
“Being an undersized team, we do plan on playing an up-tempo style,” Buckman said. “We plan on putting pressure on teams like we did back in 2014-15, because our team is built in such a way that we are more a speed team than a team of size like last season… Because it is pretty guard heavy our guys do a pretty good job of keeping the floor spaced. They are smart players and can rely on their basketball knowledge to create action on the floor.”
Buckman said he sees defending league champion Tumwater as the favorite to repeat again with Centralia being in the mix for the league title. However, Buckman said he believes Aberdeen will be in the mix when the postseason rolls around.
“We’re excited to be back in this league,” Buckman said. “There are no nerves, but we are certainly going to get our players prepared for that tougher competition.”
