Meadowdale boys basketball coach Chad McGuire got a good look at his 2007-08 team in June and July, seeing how the pieces of the puzzle might fit together.
The Mavericks made the semifinals in the Mountlake Terrace Summer League and participated in a team-building camp July 6-8 at Central Washington University.
“This summer we weren’t so concerned with our win-loss record,” McGuire said. “Most importantly, we were trying to evaluate talent.”
“We wanted to get guys confidence,” McGuire said. “Guys that are coming back that didn’t necessarily have to score last year. Get them confident scoring this year.”
The three starters back include senior-to-be Teagan Dooley, a 6-foot, 3-inch guard; junior-to-be Roger O’Neill, a 6-3 guard; and senior-to-be Matt Gorman, a 6-3 guard.
All three also played on the Meadowdale baseball team that made it to the state Class 3A semifinals last spring.
Meadowdale also returns forward Jake Clampitt, a 6-3 senior-to-be, who was the first player off the bench last year.
Senior-to-be Evan Matteson, a 6-8 center, is expected to play a much bigger role. He can shoot from the outside and score inside as well as defend and block shots.
“He improved a lot last year. He’s starting to come into his own and play real well,” McGuire said.
Senior-to-be Paul Werner, a 6-2 guard, had a good summer and McGuire hopes that carries over to next year.
McGuire said one of his team’s strengths is the ability of its lineup from top to bottom.
“One of the things we did figure out this summer is we have a lot of depth,” he said.
The Mavs lost their top two scorers, Milan Moncrief and Nero Threet, III, to graduation.
“That’s one of the big questions next year,” McGuire said. “Who is going to pick up that big scoring slack.”
Meadowdale needs a balanced attack offensively, with multiple players scoring eight to 12 points a game to be successful, he said.
“When we played our best basketball this summer that’s what happened,” he said. “It’s not all going to fall to one person.”
McGuire plans to stick with the same strategy that has worked for his team in the past.
“I envision we’re going to have a team that fast breaks well but at the same time has the ability to execute in the half court,” McGuire said. “We’re going to be smart and take good shots and play good defense. It’s been a good recipe for us.”
“We have a lot of guys who are between 6-2 and 6-4,” he said. “We have some good height and length. It’s a matter of using that length to our advantage.”
McGuire and the Meadowdale players ran a youth camp July 16-19 at Meadowdale High School to conclude their summer activities.
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