Mustangs Look For Better Results In '17-18 Season

RICK PECK SPECIAL TO MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS The 2017-2018 McDonald County High School boys' basketball team.
RICK PECK SPECIAL TO MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS The 2017-2018 McDonald County High School boys' basketball team.

When first-year McDonald County High School basketball coach Kyle Fields greeted his squad on the opening day of the 2016-2017 season last year, he saw not one player with any varsity experience.

Lost to graduation were the top seven players from the previous year's 21-6 Big 8 Conference championship team. Not only were those seven seniors gone, but top prospect Peyton Barton was out for the season after injuring his knee in the final football game.

McDonald County High School

Boys Basketball Varsity Roster

Number^Name^Height^Position

1^Blake Gravette^5-11^G

3^Peyton Barton^6-2^G

5^Boston Dowd^6-1^G

10^Dylan Allison^6-0^F

12^Cole DelosSantos^6-2^F

13^Cooper Reece^6-5^F

20^Kirby Townsend^5-9^G

24^Cade Smith^6-3^F

32^Andrew Landers^6-3^F

35^Saul Garcia^5-10^G

40^Bucky Harrell^6-0^F

50^Tim Shields^6-5^C

Junior Varsity

1^John Howard^5-10^G/F

2^Kevin Martinez^5-10^G/F

3^Cale Adamson^6-0^G/F

4^Ben Mora^5-9^G

5^Tae-Shaun Alik^5-7^G

10^Koby McAlister^5-10^G

13^Tyson Vallance^6-0^F

20^Erron Jones^6-0^G/F

21^Walker Keith^5-10^G/F

25^Dylan Allison^5-11^F

32^Cade Smith^6-3^F

35^Colliar Gottfried^6-3^F

McDonald County High School

2017-2018 Boys Basketball Schedule

Date^Opponent^Location^Time

11/17/17^Jamboree^Away^5:30 p.m.

11/20/17^Joplin High School^Home^4:30 p.m.

11/27/17—12/02/17^Carthage Invitational^Away^TBA

12/08/17^St. Mary’s Colgan^Away^4:30 p.m.

12/19/17^Shiloh Christian^Away^6 p.m.

12/21/17^Diamond^Home^6 p.m.

12/26/17—12/29/17^Neosho Holiday Classic^Away^TBA

1/09/18^Monett High School^Home^5 p.m.

01/12/18^Seneca^Away^5 p.m.

01/16/18^Webb City^Away^5 p.m.

01/18/18—01/20/18^Jay Tournament^Away^TBA

01/23/18^Carthage^Home^5 p.m.

01/26/18^Neosho^Home^5 p.m.

01/30/18^Cassville^Away^5 p.m.

02/02/18^East Newton^Away^5 p.m.

02/06/18^Lamar^Away^5 p.m.

02/09/18^Providence Academy^Home^7:30 p.m.

02/16/18^Mount Vernon^Home^5 p.m.

02/20/18^Aurora^Home^5 p.m.

02/22/18^Carl Junction^Away^5 p.m.

02/26/18—03/03/18^District Tournament^Away^TBA

With three starters from last year's 4-24 squad, along with Barton, the expectations for the 2017-2018 season are much higher.

"We are a lot farther ahead this year," Fields said. "We know each other much more than we did last year. The kids are more comfortable with knowing the system, and we feel things will be more natural and consistent this year. Our expectations are simple but sometimes very hard to do. The expectations for the team are to be accountable and show up every day eager to learn and get better. That is how we want our players to think and approach every day."

Returning starters from last year are Cooper Reece (6-5), Boston Dowd (6-0) and Blake Gravette (5-10).

Dowd and Gravette will interchange roles as shooting and point guards, while Reece will be counted on for scoring from inside even though he is a knockdown shooter from the outside.

"This year we are going to have a lot more length," Fields said. "All three of our returning starters are bigger and stronger than last year. They are quicker and their skills are much improved. Boston will be one of our floor generals. He is smart and picks up on things quick. His being bigger and stronger will allow him to defend a little bit better. He has also been shooting the ball well, so we will count on getting some scoring from him this year. Blake is a perimeter threat, but he can also put the ball on the floor and create for himself or someone else. Cooper has gotten stronger and his feet have gotten better. His moves in the paint have gotten better, and he has been shooting the ball well for us. He will put teams in a predicament on how they are going to guard him."

Also figuring to be in the mix for playing time with Barton are Cole DelosSantos, Tim Shields, Bucky Harrell and Andrew Landers.

"Peyton (Barton) being back will really help us," Fields said. "He is a quick, strong guard that will cause some possible mismatches. He is going to be an asset on both ends of the floor. Tim Shields has come a long way. He has gotten more athletic and has worked hard to be able to run the floor. He is going to add a new dynamic to the team. Andrew Landers runs well and jumps pretty well. We will look to him to guard some big people in certain situations. Bucky just continues to work hard and does a lot of good things for us. He is a great teammate. Cole will be a spot player for us. He has a very important role and is a contributor for us. He will have a 'dirty job' type role of picking up some trash baskets and rebounding and defending the other team's most athletic player. Every team needs those players."

One of the changes for this year is the Mustangs' tournament schedule. While McDonald County still travels to Carthage and Neosho, the Mustangs have swapped the Joplin tournament with the Four-State Classic in Jay.

"We had back-to-back tournaments at Neosho and Joplin," Fields said. "We had four games in the holiday tournament and then went straight to the Kaminsky in Joplin. We like playing that type competition, but we didn't have a chance to improve after playing four games at Neosho. We need to go back to the drawing board and get better and then go compete again. We are going to see some dang good teams at Jay."

Fields is a 2004 graduate of McDonald County High School. Returning home as head coach after assisting for four years before becoming head coach at East Newton is something dreams are made of.

"Last year was my first year at McDonald County High School," Fields said. "I had been the head coach at East Newton for the previous four years. I'm a McDonald County graduate and wanted to come back home to coach and be a part of its rich tradition. I love the people and the students at McDonald County and I hope to bring a culture and a passion that is tough and competitive. Our players and coaches are really looking forward to this season."

Fields is joined by assistants Jamey Gilion, Kyle Smith and Kolby Keller.

Sports on 11/30/2017