They finished just 6-19, but won a Division IV sectional championship before falling in a district title game. Crider is already seeing positive signs heading into Year 2 and believes if the Eagles can get some wins early, they could surprise a lot of teams.
BOYS BASKETBALL SEASON PREVIEWS
» Ross looking for more big things after breakout year
» Chivington bringing more up-tempo style to Lebanon
» Young team showing promise for new Talawanda coach
» Experienced Hamilton learning new system with Higgins
» Pushing the pace part of Middletown’s plan for winning
» East hopes to keep winning with ‘wolfpack’ mentality
» Edgewood’s Thomas likes his team, even with greenness
» Leon wants Lakota West to get back to fun, winning
» Monroe focusing on intangibles in quest for more wins
» No returning starters, but Badin has much optimism
» Fairfield hoping to be ‘a fun team to watch’ this year
» Madison loaded for what could be a special season
» CCS expectations soaring with move back to Division IV
» Carlisle will have a more balanced approach this year
» For New Miami, the goal is to remain on the rise
» Fenwick aims high with good mix of size, quickness
» Franklin seeks success with continued up-tempo style
MCS opens the season Friday at home against Bradford.
“We put in a new system last year, and now they are starting to grasp the principles of what we’re trying to do offensively and defensively,” Crider said. “We graduated most of our scoring weapons and people that filled out the stat sheet, but we’ve got some young talent, so I think a lot is going to depend on how we start the season and how they can adapt to the varsity level. We saw a lot of improvement from our first scrimmage to our second one, and I think if we get some wins early, we can get something going and really surprise some people.”
The Eagles lost two double-digit scorers but return junior guard/small forward C.J. Money (6-foot-2), who averaged 11.1 points. Senior forward Jeremy Lindenschmidt (6-4) and junior guard Seth Wolfenbarger (5-10) also return and will likely start.
Others who will contribute include junior guard Alan Holtrey (5-10), sophomore guard/forward Silas Crawford (6-0), junior guard Jonathon Castle (5-9), junior forward Charlie Pagnard (6-1) and sophomore guard Trey Hamlin (5-11). Crider said there could be a lot of rotating in and out, but it’s hard to know who will step up among such an inexperienced group.
Pagnard, Hamlin and Crawford are all new to varsity, but most everyone else had limited experience last year.
“It’s a fun group to coach,” Crider said. “You know you’re going to get effort each time. We’ve got potential, but we’re not a team that can sit back and expect things to come our way. If we can work hard, keep injuries away, I think we’ll see some good things.”
MCS opened last season 1-9 and ended the regular season on a nine-game losing streak, but five losses were by five points or less, and Crider said there were eight games in which the Eagles had a lead in the fourth quarter and lost. They won two postseason games, including an exciting 101-99 overtime decision over Cincinnati College Prep Academy in the sectional final, but Fort Loramie was too big of a challenge in the district final.
Turnovers were a big part of the problem, especially early in the season, but Crider said his players have adapted better to the “read and react” offense and also are showing more patience this year, which should help. They seem to have better outside shooting ability as well and just an overall understanding they didn’t have last year.
“It’s a lot of live ball movement, taking what the defense gives you, but we didn’t have a lot of success with it until the tournament,” Crider said. “We didn’t do enough of the movements and presses really got to us, so we’ve been really working on our ball handling. But from our two scrimmages, we were looking a lot smoother moving the ball, so that was encouraging. I was surprised how quickly they are grasping it now.”
The same is true of the man defense concepts MCS struggled with last year but finally seems to be getting.
Crider expects the Eagles to continue to improve with experience, but some of the focus is on improving communication and fundamentals overall.
“It was nice how we ended last year, to get a good vibe going into the offseason,” Crider said. “I’ve already seen at practice that momentum has carried into this season. We just need to clean up some things and make sure we don’t start off sluggish. We’ll get more experience as the season goes on, and I think we can become more dangerous.
“If the guys who are back from last year come out strong and the guys who had success at younger levels can adapt quickly, we can expect to win. We’ve got talent. I just have to put them in position to be successful. Hopefully we’re ready to turn the corner because we want to be a team that takes another step forward.”
Middletown Christian Eagles
Coach: Jason Crider (second season)
2017-18 Record: 6-19 overall, 3-11 MBC (seventh place)
OHSAA Classification: Division IV
Schedule: Nov. 30 — Bradford, 7 p.m.; Dec. 7 — at Yellow Springs, 7 p.m.; Dec. 8 — Carlisle, 7 p.m.; Dec. 11 — Jefferson, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 14 — Emmanuel Christian, 7 p.m.; Dec. 15 — at St. Bernard, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 20 — Legacy Christian, 7 p.m.; Dec. 29 — Cincinnati College Prep Academy, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 4 — at Dayton Christian, 7 p.m.; Jan. 8 — at Miami Valley, 7 p.m.; Jan. 11 — Troy Christian, 7 p.m.; Jan. 12 — East Dayton Christian, 12:30 p.m.; Jan. 18 — Yellow Springs, 7 p.m.; Jan. 22 — at Jefferson, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 25 — at Emmanuel Christian, 7 p.m.; Jan. 29 — at Madison, 7 p.m.; Feb. 1 — Dayton Christian, 7 p.m.; Feb. 5 — at Legacy Christian, 7 p.m.; Feb. 8 — Miami Valley, 7 p.m.; Feb. 9 — Miami Valley Christian Academy, 7 p.m.; Feb. 12 — Cedarville, 7 p.m.; Feb. 15 — at Troy Christian, 7 p.m.
About the Author