This was already going to be one of coach Bob Fontana’s most inexperienced boys’ basketball teams at Ankeny Centennial.
Now, the Jaguars are dealing with a rash of injuries too.
“We had four players injured during the fall either in an open gym or our fall league,” said Fontana, who is beginning his 34th season as a head coach. “Usually, you have a concern of guys getting injured in football, but none of these guys were fall sport athletes. One player (Sean Tunks) had one of the worst high ankle sprains I have ever seen. That happened in open gym. He is still not 100 percent and has been very limited in practice so far.”
Tunks, a senior guard, transferred to Centennial from Des Moines Christian and was expected to make an immediate impact. He averaged 19.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 steals while leading the Lions to a 16-5 record last season.
Tunks shot 49.5 percent from the field (150-of-303) and made 29 3-point goals.
“He’s a talented kid, but the CIML is a whole different level of basketball,” Fontana said. “It’s going to be an adjustment for him.”
The Jaguars return no starters from a team that posted a 17-7 record last season. The top returnees are seniors Rex Jensen, Cabryn Klingner and Will Smith and sophomore Evan Abbott.
Smith, a wing player, averaged 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high 12 points in a loss to Waukee.
Klingner, a guard, averaged 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds. He made 7-of-18 3-point attempts.
Jensen, a guard, played in 12 games as a junior. Abbott, a post player, saw action in six games as a freshman.
Some of those players have also been banged up.
“We had one shoulder separation, a hyperextended knee and a broken ankle–all on three consecutive Sundays in the fall league,” Fontana said. “Those three players are back, but one of them has been limited. All of them were projected to be in our top seven-man rotation.”
Senior Devin Vessely is also battling for playing time along with juniors Kolby Bechen, Cayden Clark and Owen Liechti, sophomores Luke Mitchell and Hunter Runchey, and freshman Keaton Kasperbauer.
“This will be one of the two most inexperienced teams I have coached at Centennial,” said Fontana, who has been the Substate Coach of the Year in each of the last two seasons. “But even though we are inexperienced and young, their work ethic and coachability has been very good. We’ve been able to take a look at a lot of kids and get an idea who are top 10-12 players are. One of our goals is continuous improvement as a team and to have the big picture in mind.
“Our standards and culture haven’t changed, and this team understands that and that is what makes this group fun to coach,” he added.
The Jaguars will open their season on Tuesday by hosting a CIML Conference game against Waukee Northwest. Then comes a trip to crosstown rival Ankeny three days later, followed by four more road games before Christmas.
“Our opener will be a barometer for where we are,” Fontana said. “Waukee Northwest is very talented and with four transfer guards coming in, that gives them a very solid group. Then after that we need to be road warriors because five straight road games will test your resiliency. It will hopefully make us battle-tested as we progress through the season. We want to focus on one day at a time and show continuous improvement as the season moves on.”
The keys to success for the Jaguars won’t be any different than any other season.
“We will have to be very good defensively and on the boards along with taking care of the basketball,” Fontana said. “And we will have to win in the margins as well.”
