Hounds plan on growing into season

FORT MADISON - Jamboree games mean nothing in the regular-season record, but the two Fort Madison High School’s boys basketball team played taught coach Ryan Wilson a lot.
He hopes his team picked up on the lesson as well after the Bloodhounds scrimmaged West Burlington and Iowa City Regina.
“We’re very raw right now,” Wilson said. “And we have to get better defensively.”
Wilson pointed to the 84-81 score against West Burlington as an example of that.
“It’s awesome to score 81 points, but at the same time, you don't want to see the other team scoring 84,” Wilson said. “There's not much defense either way or on either side of the ball there. But you know, those are  just the things we've got to correct.”
The Bloodhounds, who open the season Friday at Fairfield, bring back two starters from last season’s team that went 11-10 overall and 7-3 in the Southeast Conference.
Guard Julian Dear, a senior this season, averaged 6.8 points per game and led the Bloodhounds with 60 assists. Forward Dayton Lamar averaged 8.7 points and was second on the team with 128 rebounds.
They’ll be joined in the starting lineup by Kenden Bowie, a senior who played in eight games last season, along with senior Jackson Guzman and junior Nolan Guzman.
Nolan Guzman played in 20 games last season and was second on the team in steals. Jackson Guzman played in eight varsity games.
“After that, it’s kind of a tossup,” Wilson said.

Sophomore center Darius Foy won’t be able to play until after Christmas break, but Wilson expects him to be a key part of the rotation once he can play.
“From there, it’s a lot of sophomores and freshmen who will be in the rotation,” Wilson said.
Freshmen Brody Ulik and Reece Huey have impressed Wilson early in the preseason. 
“They work hard. They understand the game,” Wilson said. “They bring some athleticism. Not a lot of size, but just some athleticism and some smart play.”
Junior Daniel Seager and sophomores Rowan Benda, Lucas Helmick, Hunter Wiegand and Willian Scanlan are also on the varsity roster.
“Some of those guys will play junior varsity as well, but if we get into some foul trouble in (varsity) games they’ll mature and grow a lot quicker,” Wilson said.
Fort Madison’s schedule is quirky. The Bloodhounds play just four games before Christmas break, with only one at home. They don’t get their second home game of the season until January 11 against Central Lee.
“That’s five out of our first six on the road, so our younger players are really going to have to get used to playing in road environments,” Wilson said. “And hopefully, we’ll stick together and grow through it. There will be some trial by fire, though.”
The Bloodhounds’ success, though, will be determined by their defense.
“If we can play defense, get stops, force some turnovers, just be disciplined, that should allow us to get out and run like we want,” Wilson said. “But,trading basket for basket and allowing teams to set their defense or set their press, that could be an issue. We know what we have to work on.”