The 2016-2017 McDonald County High School basketball team will definitely have a new look.
Gone from last year are coach Trent Barratt and his entire staff, along with seven seniors who dominated playing time in helping the Mustangs compile a 21-6 record.
Basketball Roster
Number ^Name ^Grade ^Height
1 ^Blake Gravette ^10 ^5-10
2 ^Rustan Lett ^11 ^5-9
3 ^Noah Jones ^12 ^5-9
4 ^Francisco Ledezma ^10 ^5-5
5 ^Boston Dowd ^10 ^5-9
10 ^Zachary Woods ^10 ^5-8
12 ^Cole DelosSantos ^11 ^6-1
13 ^Cooper Reece ^10^6-5
15 ^Kirby Townsend ^10 ^5-6
20 ^Sergio Dozal ^12 ^5-7
21 ^Joseph Brown ^10 ^6-0
22 ^Cris Monsalvo ^10 ^5-10
25 ^Brandon McAdams ^12 ^5-11
30 ^Devon Aubrey ^12 ^6-2
32 ^Andrew Landers ^11 ^6-2
33 ^Dillon Aubrey ^10 ^6-6
34 ^Jason Ayala-Estrada ^10 ^5-9
35 ^Saul Garcia ^10 ^5-10
40 ^Bucky Harrell ^11 ^6-0
44 ^Grant Cooper ^11 ^6-2
55 ^Tim Shields ^11 ^6-6
9th-12th Boys Basketball
Date^Opponent^Level^Location^Time
Dec. 5^Monett^Freshman ^Away^TBA
Dec. 13^St. Mary’s Colgan^9th/JV/Var.^Home ^4:30 pm
Dec. 19^ Mount Vernon ^9 Grade Boys ^Away ^5:30 pm
Dec. 20^ Shiloh Christian ^Var/J.V. ^Home ^6 pm
Dec 27-30^Neosho Classic^Varsity^Away ^TBA
Jan. 5-7^ Kaminsky Classic ^Varsity ^Away ^TBA
Jan. 10^ Monett High ^9th/JV/Var. ^Away ^5 pm
Jan. 13^ Seneca ^9th/JV/Var. ^Home ^5 pm
Jan. 17^ Webb City ^ 9th/JV/Var. ^Home ^5 pm
Jan. 20^ Republic ^ Var/J.V. ^Away ^6 pm
Jan. 24^ Carthage High ^9th/JV/Var. ^Away ^5 pm
Jan. 27^ Neosho High ^ 9th/JV/Var. ^Away ^5 pm
Jan. 30-Feb. 4^Mt Vernon ^Freshman ^ Away ^TBA
Jan. 31 ^ Cassville High ^9th/JV/Var. ^Home ^5 pm
Feb. 3 ^ East Newton ^9th/JV/Var. ^Home ^5 pm
Feb. 6^ Cassville High ^9th^Away ^7:30 pm
Feb. 10^ Providence^Varsity ^Away ^7:30 pm
Feb. 13^ Lamar ^9th/JV/Var. ^Home ^5 pm
Feb. 17^ Mount Vernon ^9th/JV/Var. ^Away ^5 pm
Feb. 21^ Aurora High ^9th/JV/Var. ^Away ^5 pm
Feb. 23^ Carl Junction ^9th/JV/Var. ^Home ^5 pm
Feb. 27-March 4^District Tourney^ Varsity ^Home ^TBA
Replacing Barratt at the helm of the Mustangs is Kyle Fields. Fields is no stranger to McDonald County, having graduated from MCHS in 2003. He served as an assistant to Barratt for one year before taking over at East Newton, where he compiled a 62-48 record in five years, including a 19-10 record on the way to a district championship last year.
"This is a position and a place I always wanted to be at," Fields said. "I spent a lot of time when I was younger thinking about it and never knew it would come about. I am excited about the opportunity to coach the Mustangs. My dad was a coach and that is something I wanted to do since I was little. I enjoyed my time elsewhere, but it is nice to be back home around family and the people that I grew up with. I am really looking forward to the season."
Fields greeted just one returning letterman at start of practice. Cooper Reece, a 6-5 sophomore, is the lone returner with any meaningful varsity experience. One other returning letterman, junior Peyton Barton, will miss the entire season due to a knee injury sustained in the final football game of the season.
Stepping up to the varsity from the junior varsity will be Devon Aubrey, Brandon McAdams, Sergio Dozal, Boston Dowd, Noah Jones, Grant Cooper Cole DelosSantos and Blake Gravette. Gravette, perhaps the Mustangs top outside threat, suffered a knee injury during the third practice of the season and his status for the season is unknown.
"There has been a lot of change," Fields said. "It seems whenever you have a lot of change and a new coaching staff, you take a step forward and then take three steps back, especially early on. But we have a lot of potential on this team and we are excited about it."
Fields said the Mustangs will have to be a blue-collar team in order to be successful.
"Our style will change depending on who we play," Field said. "Whether we play fast or slow, we will have to play hard in order to have a chance to win. We will need to defend at a high level. Our lack of experience will hurt us early on the offensive side. We will need to find a different gear going forward."
Fields said that with the lack of experience and the new system there is a lot of learning taking place at practices.
"It's going to be rough the first month, but we just have to keep our heads down and keep grinding," Fields said. "We are excited about our team. We have a group that cares about one another and are willing to improve every day."
Fields is joined on the staff by Jamey Gilion, also a MCHS graduate, Chris Potts and Blake Barrow.
McDonald County opened its season on Nov. 21 at Joplin. After the Thanksgiving break, McDonald County is at the Carthage Invitational from Nov. 28-Dec. 3 before taking 10 days off before taking on St. Mary's Colgan in its home opener on Dec. 13.
Other tournaments this season include the Neosho Holiday Classic (Dec. 27-30) and Kaminsky Classic in Joplin (Jan. 5-7).
The district tournament is set for Feb. 27-March 4 at McDonald County High School.
Sports on 11/30/2016