With two of the best basketball players in Elmore County, sophomore guard Terrence Collins and junior guard Kaleb Sanders, Stanhope Elmore plans to come back in full force on the basketball court this season.
Under second-year coach Austin Moncus, the Mustangs are settling into the system and working hard in the offseason. Three seniors, two of whom were starters, graduated last year so there are starting lineup spots up for grabs.
“We knew going into the summer we were going to have to play a lot of basketball,” Moncus said. “We have some guys that played really well this summer and just stepped up and started working hard. We’ve really been in the weight room since the end of last season. We’ve gotten bigger, faster, stronger, I think that’s going to help us moving forward.”
As a Class 6A school, the Mustangs are set to play against some of the strongest basketball programs in the state. One major component to compete against these schools is roster depth. That means having a team full of players prepared to go in and work hard against any type of opponent at any point this season.
Stanhope Elmore’s offensive strategy is shifting going into this season with Collins and Sanders set to be at the center of it. Moncus has decided to stick with a dribble-and-drive motion offense tailored to work against zone and man-to-man defenses.
“We’re really going to try to run some stuff to try to get (Collins and Sanders) the ball and get them some shots,” Moncus said. “They’re both really, really good basketball players and can score the ball really well.”
Strong defense, however, will still be a crucial part of winning games for this team. Moncus has especially emphasized rebounding, physicality and communication on defense as, without the height of other teams, the responsibility will be shared by everyone on the floor. The Mustangs’ showing this summer has been good, with players improving and taking to a new lineup.
“They did a great job this summer,” Moncus said. “They were really coachable throughout the summer and we had some guys that stepped up and played really well this summer, and we’re kind of doing some things that we were coaching them to do, and we won some games this summer. I was really, really happy with the way we progressed.”
