With a preseason outing complete, the Wakefield boys basketball team will turn their attention to game one Thursday night.
Head coach Austin Galles will be entering year number three leading the Trojan boys program of 18 players.
"We traveled to West Point, Tekamah and Morningside for varsity team camps," said Galless. "We also picked up scrimmages with some other area teams and played in a Ponca JV team camp. Altogether, we played anywhere from 15 to 20 games, as well as spent time putting up shots this summer."
Assisting coach Galles, who has 15 years of overall coaching experience, will be Colton McCreary and Brent Schmidt.
This years seniors are Jacob Borg, Cael Johnson, Jacob Birkley, Benny Palma and Brandon Paredes.
Wakefield boys basketball players began lifting shortly after the football season.
"This is a group of boys who love to compete amongst each other," said Galles. "So any chance they could get some gym time, they have an open gym game."
The Trojans have been working on getting everyone on the same page offensively and defensively with some new faces who will need to step in to play.
First official NSAA winter sports practices began on Nov. 17 as the group has been working on the basic fundamentals to sharpen their skills, along with getting into basketball shape.
Coach Galles sat down with his five seniors as well as the coaching staff to develop some goals.
"I loved to hear how hungry they are," said Galles. "We are hoping to win a conference title and advance to a district final. We are also hoping to have a 20-win season and to hold opponents to around a 40-point average."
The Wakefield boys lost key defensive players from last year and will be searching for guys who want to take on that role.
Last year's seniors were successful at bringing physicality and energy to the game to spark their team. Coach Galles will be looking for the same out of this year's group of seniors to step up to fill those roles.
Coach Galles went through his list of top returners.
Cael Johnson and Jacob Borg- "have seen significant playing time since they were a freshman and sophomore."
"Cael has that spark that can lead the team energy-wise so we will rely heavily on his defensive and offensive talents this year."
"Jacob Borg does an excellent job calming the team down and organizing us on the floor. We will need him to help get us started offensively by finding open shots for his teammates."
Jacob Birkley - "started last year as a junior and has such a great basketball IQ. He knows where to be and when to be there on the court so it will be fun to see him grow a little more comfortable this year as a senior."
Additional players being highlighted by coach Galles include Benny Palma and Brandon Paredes who are really itching to show everyone what they are capable of. They help bring the chemistry of the five seniors together and play with a little chip on their shoulder.
"Benny is an explosive player with an energizer work ethic on defense that we will need. Brandon has a great basketball IQ and is long and lanky, which will create some matchup problems for our opponents."
Matthew Metzler and Colt Johnson - "showed a lot of potential this summer and the first week of practice. They gel well with my group of seniors and play with a fire like they have something to prove. I am excited to see them grow as underclassmen."
The Trojans are coming off a 13-10 season which included a series of seven straight wins between Jan. 13 - 30.
Cael Johnson, a senior power forward, first started playing basketball in third grade.
"I have mostly been working on shooting and the team has been working on pushing the ball and getting to the rim," said Galles.
It's an all or nothing year for Cael and his senior teammates who will be giving every ounce of effort and hustle they have.
The players highlighted qualifying for the district finals, holding teams to under 40 points and winning a conference championship (East Husker) as their goals this season.
Cael Johnson is also excited about getting to play with the 'guys I have been playing basketball with ever since I started'.
"Having fans and family who show up no matter where we play means everything," said Johnson. "Your support pushes us through tough moments, and we are grateful for all of you."
This year's Wakefield boys have played together since third and fourth grade.
Coach Galles would like to see additional chemistry out on the floor.
"So far, they do a great job playing off of each other's game," said Galles. "I need to see them buy in defensively for each, and we need their confidence to continue to grow on the offensive side. Any one of them can be an offensive threat, and developing a relentless mindset on offense will be huge this year."
Wakefield visited Plainview on Dec. 1 during a pre-season jamboree as the Trojan boys will join their girls program on Dec. 4 opening their season hosting Pender. Girls varsity will open around 6 p.m. followed by the boys.
"Pender is a physical team that plays sound defense and takes care of the ball," said Galles. "We need to continue cutting to get open and focus on taking care of the ball. With an athletic bunch of boys, we also need to figure out a few ways to cause some havoc to their sound play."
The Trojans will then visit Howells-Dodge on Dec. 6 in Dodge with girls action opening at 6 p.m. followed by the boys around 7:30 p.m.
"The boys are excited to play this year and absolutely love your support," said Galles. "We had a few games last year that, because we had a good crowd following, the atmosphere was electric. The boys have made several comments about how fun it was to play in a game like that."
