By Ryan Davenport, WSON Sports Correspondent
The Henderson County Colonel Boys Basketball team is looking to be in the mix this season with some returning starters and improvement in the bench.
The Colonels went 22-9 last season, going 9-3 in the 2nd region and 4-1 in the 6th district, as the Colonels won in the 6th District Tournament Championship game by taking down the Webster County Trojans 60-54. Then in the opening round of the 2nd Region Tournament the Colonels defeated the Trigg County Wildcats 50-40 at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School to advance to the semifinals and then suffered a 69-60 loss against the Hopkinsville Tigers that ended their season.
Head Coach of the Colonels Tyler Smithhart is in his 12th season as the Varsity Head Coach of the Colonels basketball team. I was able to sit down with him and ask him several questions about this 2023-2024 Colonel team. The first thing Coach Smithart talked about was what his team has done this offseason to improve coming into season, “I definitely think our guys have invested time on their physical strength. I mean the weight room has been really good for us this offseason, had a lot of guys that improved their vertical leap, (improve) their max squat. I think from a physicality standpoint we know we’ve got to be bigger and faster and stronger and I think, obviously, a year of maturity for a lot of our young men helps that but also just the time invested in the weight room has paid dividends there as well. This summer playing a tough schedule, we always believe in that in the summertime and during the season, but you know this summer I think we played five or six top 25 teams over the course of the summer and it gave us a sense of where we need to improve, it gave us a feel of who are going to be our go to guys. Obviously losing G (Gerard Thomas), you know we’ve got to figure out where that scoring load is going to come from. Losing G and Jake (Rideout) both and then obviously those are our top two leading rebounders from last year so just playing a tough schedule helped us to figure out who those guys could possibly be and then trying to make sure we invest the time in addressing some of those areas in the offseason from a physical standpoint and a skill development standpoint. So I think those are the things that we’ve done to lay the foundation for this season,” Smithart said.
Coach Smithhart discussed some of the new coaching staff additions this season and Smithhart responded with this, “We obviously hit some home runs. I mean not just one but three this offseason. We got Coach Ryan Haile (to) come home from Webster County and I know that wasn’t an easy decision for him because (of) the team he was bringing back and that group of seniors he had had since they were in middle school and they were a really talented group, a group that played hard. Especially what I respected so much was how hard they played for him, you could just tell those were his guys and they played super hard for him… but we’re really glad to have him and his expertise up here and it’s made us better. It’s already paying dividends I think in terms of some offensive execution as far as our ability to handle pressure, break pressure, things that I’ve always respected that he did at Webster County, you know I think we’re starting to see that show up with our guys. Ervin Miller, one of the best to ever play here at Henderson County and a guy that I was fortunate enough to coach with a few years back before he went to fly solo over in Evansville and be his own head coach. The opportunity for him to come back and come back as a head coach as the head JV coach this year is exciting for our program, for our young men. He takes a very straightforward approach to the game. He keeps basketball pretty simple, he expects guys to play hard, he expects guys to give great effort, he expects guys to want it. You know if that expectation is there, he’s going to teach them the rest and I think his demeanor, very even kill, and I like that. I think that’s going to help our young guys because it’s a rollercoaster to be a sophomore and a freshman at a big school and a program like ours, there’s some highs and there’s some lows, and I think he’ll do a great job of keeping those guys level headed and looking to the future. And then Antoine Calhoun is kind of a special hire for me just because he played for us in this program and so it’s the first guy that I’ve really had back that played as a part of the staff’s that I’ve been on. I think his youthful enthusiasm, his passion for the game is obvious, and he does a great job of working with our post players especially. He can do things that I can’t do anymore or at least don’t want to do anymore. I see him everyday he’s out there, dribbling, post feeds, I mean he’s breaking a sweat on almost everything he does out there and I love that. Really excited about the additions we have to what I felt like was an already great coaching staff.”
Coach Smithhart talked about some of the team goals for this season, “I mean without a doubt every year our goal is to play at Rupp Arena, that doesn’t change. We know the hill that that is. It’s not a tough hill to climb but we’re not doing these guys any justice if we don’t set the bar as high as we can set it. Ultimately, you know, and everybody in the second region is going to tell you the same thing, here’s our goal: we’re trying to play at Rupp. Ultimately what it comes down to is being focused on our goal everyday and being about the work that it requires everyday and I think this group has that. We will have to have some things fall right, we’ll have to play well. We’ve got a tough team that many people have number one in the state in Lyon County in our region, some of the best players in the state of Kentucky out of the eighth district in our region. We’re excited about that challenge like we are every year but without a doubt our goal is to play at Rupp in March,” Smithhart added.
I was also able to interview Colonel senior guard Alec Satterfield and ask him a few questions. Satterfield talked about some of the improvements he made in the offseason to better his play this season, “I’d say my strength and a little bit on my shooting and my jumping ability to be able to get into the lane and finish up top, finish high.”
Satterfield talked about some personal goals he has in his senior and final year of playing in a Colonel uniform, “I’m going to say region championship for sure, make a run for state, beat some really good teams, some top ten teams in the state, and have fun.”
Satterfield discussed what it means to play in a Colonel uniform and the impact it has had on him as a player and in his life, “Everything man. I love the people that come out and watch us play. I love practicing everyday after school, getting to be with your friends, doing the stuff that you love and I mean everything is great here, we get along well, the fans are great, they show out a lot every night.”
Another player I was able to interview was junior forward Trajdon Davis and asked him a few questions. Davis talked about some of the improvements he made in the offseason to better his play this season, “I think I’ve definitely improved my ball handling so I can help my team out playing more towards the forward position instead of the center so I think that will help us a lot.
Davis talked about what he might need to improve on going into the season to better help his game, “Ball handling for sure and also my shooting. A lot of people know my shooting is not the best but that’s something I definitely need to work on.”
Davis talked about what it means to play in a Colonel uniform and the impact it has had on him as a player and in his life, “Its had a very big impact on me. I love the community that backs us and my teammates are always supportive of everybody and yeah I love being a Colonel, very thankful.”
Another player I was able to interview was junior forward Lacon McKinney and asked him a few questions. McKinney talked about some of the improvements he made in the offseason to better his play this season, “I think I’ve improved a lot on my athleticism and my three point jump shot. I think adding those parts of my game, expanding that part of my game will be really helpful for me going forward.”
McKinney talked about team goals his team has this season, “I think we want to make a run for Rupp of course and I think we want to win more games than we did last year.”
McKinney talked about what it means to play in a Colonel uniform and the impact it has had on him as a player and in his life, “It means a lot, to see a community come around people and really support people, it means the world. As a little kid growing up, seeing those players and being that player now is a really cool thing.”
The final player I was able to interview was junior guard Cooper Davenport and asked him a few questions. Davenport talked about some of the improvements he made in the offseason to better his play this season, “I feel like the main thing that I’ve really worked on is just in the weight room, getting stronger, and definitely extending my range shooting, and also just becoming more of a threat to drive the ball and score.”
Davenport talked about team goals his team has this season, “Definitely win a region championship and go to Rupp and I think just overall have joy while we’re playing and have fun while we’re playing and win.”
Davenport talked about what it means to play in a Colonel uniform and the impact it has had on him as a player and in his life, “Its really a lot of memories I’ll never forget for a lifetime and be able to tell, hopefully my kids one day, and just something I’ll never forget and cherish every moment of it.”
The Colonels open up the season with Daviess County tomorrow night, November 28th, at home at Colonel Gym at 7:30 P.M.
Live video stream on the WSON Radio YouTube Channel.
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