Monticello High basketball preview part three

This week, we asked Monticello High School girls basketball coach Marcia Shumway the same questions we asked boys coach Josh Keyes last week. Both coaches were gracious enough to answer these pesky questions and we thank them for their time and candor.

Q: Understanding this is your first year coaching varsity, what is your coaching philosophy?

A: We will be focusing on the basic fundamentals of basketball, communication, and teamwork. We want to instill a level of confidence in the girls so they can compete at the level they are capable of playing to.

Q: What will the style of play be for this team?

A: We only have two practices under our belt but it looks like this team is ready to come out and play the game with a lot of energy. They are working hard and playing as a team.

We want to be aggressive, play solid defense, and move the ball effectively on offense. We are conditioning hard to be competitive all four quarters of every game.

Q: What is the experience level of this year’s team and is depth a concern?

A: Depth is always a concern going into every season. We lost seven seniors after last year. We have four returning seniors: Saydee Adams, Olivia Chamberlain, Kennedy Brewer, and Darian Thomason.

All of them have seen minutes on the varsity court, as well as juniors Kylie Rogers and Ciara McArthur and sophomores Ali Barry and Avery Shumway.

We have a total of 21 girls this year, although junior Jesse Slack is still rehabbing a volleyball knee injury. Her continued support from the bench is a big part of our team.

Q: Who do you expect to be the key contributors on the team?

A: I believe every girl has the opportunity to come out, work hard and be a key contributor.

Q: What are the strengths of this team?

A: Based on what I have experienced with these girls in the past and what I have witnessed in practice, they have a lot of talent and speed, they communicate well, and they involve each other.

That indicates good teamwork skills although I feel we have many strengths and each girl brings their own strength individually to the court. Adding each individual strength, good communication, and teamwork will form a highly competitive team.

Q: Which are the teams in 2A to watch and where does Monticello fit in that mix?

A: We are a new team this year. We lost seven seniors after last season, we have new coaches, and we have gained athletes we haven’t played with before.

It is a new beginning for all of us so every game will be important for us to watch and prepare for so we can compete at our best.

Due to the governor’s recent COVID-19 mandate and the inability for teams to prepare and practice, the Lady Bucks’ December 1 game at Grand County was postponed. They are set to begin the season on the road at San Juan Tuesday, December 8 with a home game on Thursday, December 10 against the Green River Lady Pirates.

Boys basketball
This capsule for the Monticello boys basketball team was published in the Deseret News this week:

Head coach: Josh Keyes (first year)

2019-2020 record: 8-15 (tied for fifth in Region 16 with a 2-8 record)

2020 postseason: Lost to Kanab 85-47 in the 2A second round

Returning starters: 3

Returning contributors: Cedar English, Senior Guard, 13.5 points per game, 0.3 rebounds per game / Devin Hatch, Junior Forward, 7.4 ppg, 0.3 rpg / Boston Freestone, Junior Guard, 6.1 ppg

Coach comment: “We are looking forward to playing some basketball. We bring back experience with senior Cedar English and juniors Devin Hatch and Boston Freestone.

“It will be important for us to find a balanced approach offensively and defensively to be competitive night in and night out in a very tough region.”

Due to the governor’s COVID-19 mandate, the boys’ December 1 home game against Grand County was postponed. They’ll travel to Richfield to play the Kanab Cowboys in the Central Utah Preview this Friday, December 4 and they face the #2 Enterprise Wolves on Saturday. The following week, on Tuesday, December 8, the Bucks will host the Green River Pirates in Monticello.