Team Preview: Midwest City (6A)

<p>Coach Corky McMullen, who spent a season coaching the Lady Bombers, was announced as Midwest City’s next boy’s head coach in May.</p> <p>McMullen, though in a new role, expects his players to buy-in to maintaining the rich tradition of Midwest City success.</p> <p>"There’s a huge tradition here," McMullen said, "Circumstances change all the time, but the expectation never changes."</p> [caption id="attachment_1033653" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/DSC_0134.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1033653" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/DSC_0134-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="955382" first="Kevin" last="Overton"] (Noah Weber/Prep Hoops).[/caption] <p>To help support that tradition, McMullen made a point to appoint former Bombers as assistants; Torrey Noel, a second-year Midwest City assistant who graduated from Midwest City in 2014 before playing at Lamar University; and Kentrell Gaddis, a former State Champion at Midwest City who played at Rose State and Central Oklahoma, who also assisted McMullen on the girl’s staff in 2020.</p> <p>"We want the guys who have been here, who have walked the same halls and been in the same locker room," McMullen said.</p> <p>On-the-floor, junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="955382" first="Kevin" last="Overton"] will be expected to lead the floor for the Bombers in his third season as a starter, McMullen said.</p> <p>"That experience is huge," McMullen said, "not only verbally, but just with how he approaches every day. He’s very business-like in his approach, and he’s hungry to learn and the other guys kind of feed off that."</p> [caption id="attachment_1085662" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/Next-Level-Oklahoma-17U_Isreal-Hart-1.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1085662 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/Next-Level-Oklahoma-17U_Isreal-Hart-1-300x184.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="184" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="938861" first="Israel" last="Hart"] (Clare Reynolds/Prep Hoops).[/caption] <p>Also a returning starter, Oklahoma-State-football commit and senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="745364" first="Makale" last="Smith"] will rejoin the Bombers’ basketball team after the Bombers’ state-title run has run its course on the gridiron.</p> <p>"The thing with Makale is he kinda just has a knack for putting the ball in the hole," McMullen said, "and because of that, that attracts a lot of attention and allows him to make his teammates better.</p> <p>"The one thing [Makale] does really well is his presence, alone, is gonna help his teammates," McMullen said.</p> <p>A pair of seniors, [player_tooltip player_id="938861" first="Israel" last="Hart"] and [player_tooltip player_id="938860" first="Ethan" last="Ganaway"], will also play inflated roles from their junior year.</p> <p>"Ethan didn’t get a ton of playing time before. Israel got some," McMullen said, "but as seniors, they’re going to be a major catalyst to what this program does.</p> <p>"They’re both playing with a ton of confidence right now," McMullen continued. "Both of those guys are guys that all the guys in our locker room respect. . . and how they interact with the young guys is something that’s really important. I think that’s something the tradition is built on here."</p> <p>That torch will also be shared with some newcomers, McMullen said. In the paint, Jacobe Sebock and Keivon Hudson both stand above 6-foot-5-inches and will be important pieces to Midwest City’s success.</p> [caption id="attachment_1085663" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/Next-Level-Oklahoma-17U_-Ethan-Ganaway.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1085663" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/Next-Level-Oklahoma-17U_-Ethan-Ganaway-300x190.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="190" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="938860" first="Ethan" last="Ganaway"] (Clare Reynolds/Prep Hoops).[/caption] <p>"[Jacobe] is a guy who’s really versatile," McMullen said. "He’s pretty long strong, but he can step out and shoot the three. He handles it pretty well and makes good decisions.</p> <p>"Keivon has just a really high motor, really long and athletic, can really make a difference on the glass," McMullen continued. "He’s somebody who’s kind of a game-changer on the boards, but he has a pretty good knack for the ball and can go offensively, too."</p> <p>Another football player who will enter a major role once he returns is junior Artez Young.</p> <p>"We have eight guys that could start," McMullen said, "and we probably could go 10-or-11-deep."</p> <p>AJ Easlick will also play in a more exposed role for the Bombers, McMullen said.</p> <p>"He’s a senior who hasn’t played a whole lot," McMullen said, "but he’s really been an engine for us, specifically in practice. . . he’s earned himself some time because he’s really organized, plays with great effort, and he’s really just a team guy."</p> <p>To organize his deep roster into a winning team, McMullen said his focus will be to get better every day.</p> <p>"One of the things we say is ’we want to get one percent better every day,’ and that’s really our focus," McMullen said. "Obviously, I think everyone’s mission is <em>we want to win our last game. . . </em>but our expectation is to be our best every day."</p>