By Jordan Burton (for OzarksSportsZone.com)
West Plains has quietly been one of the most consistent teams in the Ozark Conference despite being one of the smaller programs.
The Zizzers have topped .500 in eight of the past 11 seasons, but haven’t won a district championship. And, with three players with starting experience and seven total men of letters, this group is talented enough to compete for a district title.
Last year, West Plains won nine of its last 15 games, including five by 10 points or less. They will be looking to build on that finish entering this season.
“A lot of our boys play football and they’ve had long playoff runs for a number of years,” West Plains head coach Shane Benson said. “It normally takes us a while to transition into basketball form. Last year was no different. Our footballers only had four training sessions before the start of the season, so we finally had some training time over Christmas. We also moved Briggs Hughston from the joint venture in January, which definitely gave us a boost. I felt like our team was improving throughout the season.
Although struggling with a late arrival to football will again be an obstacle, there is no denying that the physical tools are there.
Junior Briggs Hughston returns after averaging 9.4 points and 3.8 rebounds as a junior. At 6-foot-5, he has one of the heaviest frames, weighing over 200 pounds.
“We’re counting on Briggs to be both a defensive and offensive force,” Benson said. “We lost most of our scoring and our rebound from last year. Briggs was very close to double digit average and we need him to step up and be our top scorer consistently.
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What will make this team special is its abundance of size, especially in the senior class.
Seniors Watson Hafer and Garrett Mahan are both 6ft 5in tall and both have tall athletic frames. Hafer averaged 3.7 points and 3.5 rebounds. Mahan gained valuable experience playing in 12 games.
His classmates Aiden Simpson and Jesse Hudson played 27 games each, averaging around three points. Fellow senior Blake Harris also saw college action last year.
“We want to be the most aggressive and physical team every night we play,” Benson said.
Benson is also excited about a pair of sophomores who are expected to see major roles this winter.
Alex Judd and Ethan Tuma are a pair of highly skilled guards who have had great summers. Both will see college reps this season.
“Alex is a very strong and smart player,” Benson said. “He has worked hard this summer and we expect great things from him. Ethan has a good skill set and gives us someone who can break his dribbling man.
West Plains has proven over the years that it can hang with the best teams in the CO and locally in Class 5 (projected). WP beat Webb City, Sikeston, Camdenton and Glendale, while giving Helias, Rolla and Bolivar a battle.
This team has championship aspirations. To get there, they’ll have to navigate one of Missouri’s top conferences and overcome the challenges associated with an elite football program.
All the turnover of coaches in the CO will present yet another obstacle.
“We’re playing in one of the toughest conferences right now,” Benson said. “It makes planning a bit more difficult when there’s a new coach, so we just try to plan for the staff. I’m sure all the new coaches in this conference will do a great job. That’s one one of the things that makes this conference so difficult is the quality of the coaches we face every night.
“Because so many of our boys play football, we will never be able to catch up with the skill level of some of the teams we play. We try to compete by being braver, tougher and playing harder than the people we play with. let’s play. Health is also a key. We hope that all of our players will come out of football at 100%. Probably the most important thing is that we are going to have to make sure that some boys step up offensively. We think that Briggs will have an average at two digits, but we need 2 or 3 more to move up a gear.
West Plains will participate in a jamboree with Fair Grove in Norwood before opening the 2022-23 season on December 1 at the Republic Tournament.
