By Tiffany L. Rehbein
The District 10-C Chester Coyotes (0-1 overall) hope to improve every single day they touch the basketball, said second-year head coach Willie Schlepp.
"Right now, we are inexperienced and untested," Schlepp said. "We have four new starters who have never really played any varsity basketball."
Junior Jeff Graham is the one returning starter from last year's team. That team finished 25-2 overall and second at the State Class C tournament.
Graham is an all-state point guard who averaged 16.7 points, 4.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game last year.
With this year's youth also comes size, something the Coyotes have not had for many years.
Six-foot-11 Brian Schlepp, a senior, poses the greatest threat inside for the Coyotes. Schlepp averaged 4.4 points, one assist, 2.3 rebounds, and one steal per game last season.
"He gained some experience last year at tournament time," Schlepp said. "He will be tough down low, and can take some pressure off our guards."
Sophomore Matt Wolfe stands 6-foot-4 and junior Travis Wickum is 6-foot-6. Wolfe started the opening-season 73-50 loss to Class B Shelby on Dec. 10.
"He is going to be a good player," Schlepp said. "And, with Wickum, he hasn't played any varsity basketball, so we are going to see if we can get him some minutes."
Junior Brent Clark scored 16 points against Shelby, and will pose a scoring threat throughout the season for Chester.
"He is a tough defensive player who handles the ball well," Schlepp said.
Three other seniors, Taylor Therness, Adam Gherkiere, and Matt Hill bring age to the program.
Junior Jason Anderson, and sophomore Jeff Cicon round out the Coyote roster.
"We are trying to improve each day," Schlepp said. "We want to be ready to go by tournament time. We want to make it to the divisional tournament, and, if we keep coming along, we will be fine."
The Coyotes will play three games to round out the December schedule before Christmas.
Friday, Dec. 17, the Coyotes will meet the Belt Huskies at home in non-conference action.
Chester will travel to Valier Saturday, Dec. 18, to play its first conference game of the year, and, Monday, Dec. 20, Chester will play at Brady.
"They are a really young team," Schlepp said about the Bulldogs. "We should be able to get the win there. We could be 2-0 at Christmas time, and you can't get much better than that. That would create good momentum, and build confidence in the kids that we can play with the guys in our conference."
The varsity will return to action Friday, Jan. 7, when they play at KG in non-conference action.
"It's going to be an up-and-down season," Schlepp said. "We are going to have some good times and some bad times, but, we need to come together as a team. These kids are going to work hard to do that."
Chester Boys' Basketball Schedule
Dec.
17
Belt
Home
7:30 p.m.
18
Valier
Away
7:30 p.m.
20
Brady
Away
7 p.m.
Jan.
7
K-G
Away
7:30 p.m.
8
Blue Sky
Home
7:30 p.m.
13
J-I
Away
7:30 p.m.
15
Sunburst
Home
7:30 p.m.
21
Belt
Away
7:30 p.m.
22
Valier
Home
7 p.m.
28
Brady
Home
7 p.m.
29
Heart Butte
Away
7 p.m.
Feb.
4
K-G
Home
7:30 p.m.
5
Blue Sky
Away
7:30 p.m.
10
J-I
Home
7:30 p.m.
12
Sunburst
Away
7:30 p.m.
18
Heart Butte
Home
7 p.m.
19
Shelby
Home
7:15 p.m.
24-26
District
Away
Shelby
March
2-4
Divisional
Away
Shelby
9-11
State
Away
Butte
