BROWNSTOWN

There’s not just a changing of the guards occurring at Brownstown Central. The forwards and centers are new, too.

The boys basketball team has undergone a massive roster overhaul, with just two players boasting varsity experience returning to the 2017-18 squad.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

Click here to purchase photos from this gallery

Brownstown Central graduated 10 of its 12 players from last year’s team, a squad that claimed a Class 3A Sectional 30 title and regional berth while finishing 24-3.

This year, the Braves have seven players listed on the varsity roster, featuring two seniors and five juniors.

Brownstown Central coach Dave Benter, in his 20th season at the helm, said while the personnel has changed, the expectations haven’t.

“Our goals don’t change just because of who walks in and out of the doors here,” he said. “We want to compete at a high level here every year, but there are sacrifices that guys need to make. Hopefully, our guys are learning nightly of the sacrifices they need to make.”

The Braves have a successful group coming up to varsity.

Last season, the Braves’ junior varsity team went 19-4, outscoring its opponents by 400 points throughout the season, while the freshman team finished 13-3.

While there are many new faces on varsity, Benter said the guys know what’s expected of them.

“There’s teaching you need to do, but these guys have been in our program for a long time,” he said. “It’s not like everything is new to them. We have some limitations because of our size, but we weren’t huge last year. We’re just not blessed with that here, but we’ve been able to win with smaller teams in the past. Hopefully, our guys will continue to get better in other areas so we can compensate for that.

“I don’t think our style of play is going to change a whole lot this year. We’re going to pretty much play how we have the past couple years.”

Right now, the Braves are experimenting with rotations on the floor. In their first game against Salem on Tuesday, the Braves played 10 different boys.

“We’ve tried some different combinations,” Benter said. “We’ve tried smaller and bigger lineups. Those are some things that need to get worked out. I can see 11 or 12 different guys during the year getting minutes. We’re not sure.”

Lacking size, with the tallest three players listed at 6-foot-1, the Braves will look to push the ball and rely on fundamentals.

“I think we’re going to have to play an up-tempo game,” Benter said. “Our personnel, it’s going to fit us the best. This is a group that has kind of always played that way. We have several juniors with athleticism. We want to pressure the basketball and not allow teams to dictate tempo and jam the ball inside.”

Benter said minutes will have to be earned, and nothing is set in stone.

“We always tell them that they have to fight,” Benter said. “They can’t get comfortable once they think they have a position on the team. We’re going to be willing to reward somebody if, halfway through the season, one of our younger kids passes someone else up. We’re going to reward kids who work hard, get better and put the time in.”

With a young team, one of the biggest challenges Benter and his staff has found thus far is consistency in practices.

“One thing we’ve talked about in practice is that there’s not been the consistency out of guys,” Benter said. “We’re hoping that gets better as the year goes on. There are some nights where one kid will look really good, and others, it’s a different one that comes out and practices really well.”

Junior Michael Boshears and senior Cameron Luedeman both earned varsity minutes last season off of the bench for the Braves.

This fall, the two, along with senior Stuart Hayden, look to lead the team on and off of the court.

Boshears said fans should get excited for the team-minded approach of this year’s group.

“I think we have passion,” he said. “We’re team-minded. It’s not just one-on-ones. Everyone is contributing. I think we have a deep bench.”

Luedeman also said the team is going to bring energy to the floor every night.

“We put all of our effort into it,” he said. “We try our best to compete every day.”

Benter said he wants to see the three get more vocal on the floor.

“Cam, Stuart and Mike are all quiet kids,” he said. “Our seniors and returning guys are really quiet-type kids. That’s one area they need to get better at. It’s one thing to lead by example, but at some point, you need someone on the team who has a pulse that’s willing to talk. That has been a weakness so far. We have to communicate better.”

As the season progresses, Benter expects the team to get better with experience.

“I think we’ve gotten better as practices have gone on,” Benter said. “We’re not as experienced as we have been for many years here. Some of it is just our guys understanding how hard you have to compete every night at practice to get ready for the games. We talk about the importance of every possession, and we need to get better in practice so the games are the easy part.”

The Braves (1-0), ranked No. 5 in Class 3A, will play at Seymour (1-0) Friday night. Seymour hasn’t beaten Brownstown since the 2007-08 season.