Team Preview: St. Stephens (Hickory)
Team Preview: St. Stephens High School (Hickory, NC) Head Coach: Murphy Post Conference: Northwest 3-A/4-A Last Season: 5-20 (3-11 in conference) After a down year last season, St. Stephens returns seven players from last year. Head Coach Murphy Post has…
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Continue ReadingTeam Preview: St. Stephens High School (Hickory, NC)
Head Coach: Murphy Post
Conference: Northwest 3-A/4-A
Last Season: 5-20 (3-11 in conference)
After a down year last season, St. Stephens returns seven players from last year. Head Coach Murphy Post has been at St. Stephens since 2011 and is a 2007 graduate of Appalachian State University and is a graduate of Watauga High School.
Head Coach Murphy PostReturners:
6’3 SR F Will Shumate: versatile forward with good shooting range and a variety of post moves; 3rd year on Varsity; leading returning scorer at 10 PPG
6’5 SR F Kollin Klingenberg: long and athletic big; good touch from 15 feet and in; solid rim protector
5’10 SR W Noah Brown: long distance specialist; team captain and vocal leader; will be expected to be the primary leader on the floor
5’10 SR W Aaron Teague: good athlete and capable of playing 1-4. Injured part of last year in his first year of high school basketball; D1 or D2 baseball prospect
6’1 SR F Wyatt Berlin: very hard worker and a classic football bruiser; brings an attitude and edge off the bench
5’7 JR PG Carter Powell: solid PG who was playing well before a wrist injury ended his season in mid January; expected to be a facilitator and shooter
6’2 JR F Teavius Henry: split time between Varsity and JV last year; great athlete and offensive rebounder; will be a real factor on the defensive end of the floor and on the glass
Newcomers: A lot of rising juniors and will be a difficult cut line for making the team.
Season outlook:
A veteran team with good chemistry and between 7-10 newcomers expected from a JV team that was successful. St. Stephen’s has good experience and depth in the front court and despite some relative inexperience, they will be good in the back court. Multiple defenses will be their backbone and in order to be successful they need to hold teams to fewer than 60 PPG and rebound the ball well. St. Stephen’s non conference schedule is challenging and road heavy and their conference is always tough with the likes of Hickory/Freedom/Hibriten, but they expect to compete and win a lot of games.
Key Games:
Bunker Hill (twice)
Catawba Valley Classic (Dec 27-29)
Hickory