Southwest coach excited for foundation laid this season

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

The Southwest boys basketball team turned in an 8-17 record this season, and when considering their youth and the progress made, Coach Jeff Treat graded the campaign at a B+.

“I saw our biggest improvement on the offensive end,” Treat said. “We struggled to put the ball in the hole earlier in the season. Our younger players started gaining some confidence, and we figure out who we needed to go during crunch time.”

Treat said the team’s youth showed in late-game situations.

“I would like to see us be better in pressure situations and finish games off,” Treat said. “Being a young team, we were able to learn a lot from those situations, but next year, for us to be successful, we are going to have to win more close games.”

Treat pointed to a key early-season victory as a highlight.

“Our Diamond win in December was the most exciting win,” he said. “They beat us in districts last year by 26, and they returned the majority of their team. To be able to upset them showed how we have made improvements over the last year.”

Treat said the team’s seniors contributed to its development throughout the season.

“Our seniors helped our growth as a team this year,” Treat said. “Jacob Pierce did great job when we need someone to create or handle the ball during key situations to help gave our team confidence.

“Ivan Suchowski helped us with size and length, and when Lane Hendrix got in foul trouble, Dylan Frost was a key part to a couple of our wins this year, getting a few buckets to help us closeout games.”

Treat said underclassmen gained valuable experience that will benefit the program moving forward.

“Two of our Sophomores, Ayden Flippo and Dominick Sierra, both started for us, and Race Pippin is a freshman who came off the bench and will bring great on-ball defense and experience for us,” he said. “They all had a good year for being underclassmen. They are going to keep on growing and gain more confidence through the next few years.”

Treat said the team met its internal goals despite the record.

“My biggest goal was to have a good attitude and play hard for the whole year,” Treat said. “Were we going to make improvements throughout the year? I thought we did that.

“We built a foundation for the returners for next year, and we are more process-driven than result-based. We all got better as individuals and as a team, and I am very proud of each one of them.”

Looking ahead, Treat said the focus will remain on daily improvement and representing the school.

“My goal for our team is to continue to get better each and every day, and to represent Southwest School District in a positive way,” he said. “If we do those two things, then I think we can compete for a district championship.”

Treat said the team remained competitive throughout the season and returns a promising core.

“This year’s group never gave up, we were very competitive in most games,” Treat said. “I am very excited for the group I have coming back. Lane Hendrix had a great year, averaging 14 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game. Skyler Reines had a great year being our point guard, averaging 7 points per game and 2.5 assist per game. We will also have Elijah Keeney coming back, who had a couple games with double-digit points. I am very excited for the coming years of the Southwest Boys Basketball program.”