Ten wins, with just three in Kansas Jayhawk Conference play, a year ago brought a changing of the guard for the Neosho County Panthers men this offseason.
“It comes down to the Jimmys and the Joes, not the Xs and Os. Last year, we weren’t able to compete,” Neosho County head coach Taylor Shaffer said. “Recruiting wise, we made a lot of changes with what we looked for and wanted. We also simplified a lot of things and changed our defense to be more aggressive.”
Just three of the 17 players on this winter’s roster were on the Panthers’ squad a year ago.
“We needed a fresh start,” Shaffer said. “The three we returned are guys that are bought in. But we certainly needed a fresh start after last year.”
Scoring the ball was painfully difficult for the Panthers last year as they averaged 69.3 points per game, which ranked 138th out of 159 schools nationally.
“Last year, we had a lot of guys that we had to design looks for,” Shaffer said. “About midway through the first half of the conference schedule, teams figured out that if you switched everything, we can’t beat you. It’s a copycat league and we didn’t have guards that could take advantage of mismatches. That made things difficult. This year, we have two of the best point guards we’ve had since I’ve been here. They can create their own shots. That helps a lot.”
Champ Powaukee, who led the Panthers in scoring a year ago with 10.1 points per game, is one of three returners. The sophomore from Pullman, Washington also posted 4.2 rebounds a night and shot 46% from the field.
“We’re trying to get him to understand that he has the ability to go be one of the best players in the conference,” Shaffer said. “His biggest issue that he fights is that mentality. From time to time, he can be a little passive. But he’s really shooting the ball well right now. He can do a little bit of everything. We just need him to be more aggressive.”
Swingman Adyn Prophete is another returning sophomore. The St. Louis native averaged 10 points and 6.4 rebounds as a freshman.
“Adyn is always going to give you 100%. You never have to worry about his effort,” Shaffer said. “He’s really good on the glass and teams have a hard time keeping him out of the paint. He’s learning how to make the right reads. But he’s so strong and teams collapse on him when he gets inside. He just needs to make the right play.”
Jakub Pasieczny, a big man, rounds out the familiar faces for Neosho County.
“We can do a lot of different things with our lineups this year,” Shaffer said. “When the other team has a dominant big, he’ll probably start at the five.”
New to the roster includes two initiators of the offense that Shaffer is elated about — Navarro transfer Raziel Taylor and freshman Zachery Lewis.
“These are two of the best pure point guards we’ve ever had,” Shaffer said. “Raziel is shorter, but he can really get after the ball and really pass it. Zachery is a guy who can really score.”
Jayce Cooper adds depth to the backcourt.
“We hang our hat on the defensive end and I haven’t had a kid like him, ever,” Shaffer said. “He has a knack for getting his hands on everything. And the ball finds him in the right spot offensively.”
Neosho County’s local flavor this year is Erie graduate Reid Duff.
“Reid’s got a chance to be a really good player,” Shaffer said. “He can score it in bunches. The biggest thing with him is getting used to the speed and physicality of the game. In high school, he was the guy. He’d never heard of a bad shot before he got here. He’s learning where his shots are going to come from.”
Others on Neosho County’s roster include George Mercer (Brisbane, Australia), Eriq Caraballo (Muskogee, Oklahoma), Colby Newton (Valley Center), Ty Jackson (Shawnee), Tom Pekaj (Gold Coast, Australia), Russell Paul (Grapevine, Texas), Ilan Da Silva-Alp (Thiers, France), Deondrey Akono (Cessy, France), Jaxton Weedn (Stuart, Oklahoma) and Cooper Weeks (Lufkin, Texas).
Neosho County’s non-conference slate is a balanced diet of Division I, Division II and JVs.
“My whole philosophy was that I wasn’t going to say no to any Division II JUCOs,” Shaffer said. “In an ideal world, that’d be my whole schedule. We don’t have the budget to make that possible, so I filled in the rest as best I could. As far as schedules go, this is the toughest we’ve had since I’ve been here. We’re going to be tested and find out who we are early. Our hope is that we take our bumps and bruises early so we’re ready to go come conference play.”
Neosho County was picked to finish sixth out of seven teams in the KJCCC Division II preseason poll.
Johnson County is tabbed as the league favorite, followed by Kansas City Kansas, Highland, Fort Scott, Allen, Neosho County and Labette.
“We have a lot of new faces so we have a lot of room to grow,” Shaffer said. “This is one of the more talented rosters we’ve had. We’ve got more depth. I’m excited. Seeing teams around our region, I think we can compete.”
The Panthers open the season on Friday and Saturday against a pair of JV opponents — Southwestern College on Friday then Kansas Wesleyan on Saturday.
