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Rossville boys basketball setting sights on return trip to Class 2A state tournament
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Brandon McDonnell said one thing he thought about, and even brought up to his team when he took the head coaching job three years ago, was why should Rossville boys basketball be two easy wins on anyone's schedule?
Rossville senior Jakoby McDonnell helped the Bulldawgs reach the Class 2A state tournament last season. [File photo/TSN]
“I wanted to make sure that we would be the ones that people look at the schedule and say, ‘Oh we play Rossville, it’s going to be tough for us.' We wanted to switch it around,” senior Jakoby McDonnell said.
This past season, Rossville finished 16-8 and made it to the state tournament before losing in the first round to Ell-Saline. That was the Bulldawgs' first state tournament appearance since 2011.
“They want that again,'' said Brandon McDonnell, a former Topeka High standout and Topeka West assistant. "For us to go down there and play at Bramlage, that was an experience in itself. It was amazing and that’s all I can say. For these guys, especially this group this year that are seniors, they were freshmen when I got hired.
"To see this development, and to see what has transpired as they get older, their IQ becomes a little wiser, getting bigger, taller and stronger, you’re seeing the benefits that we’ve worked so hard to get.”
McDonnell won seven games in his first season as a head coach and has won a combined 31 games the last two campaigns. Before that, the last time Rossville had double-digit wins was the 2016-2017 season.
Brock Bush, Tayson Horack, Cam Budura were some key pieces Rossville lost to graduation off last year's team, but McDonnell said the kids understand how much work goes into what they’re building and they had more numbers turn out this year than his first year on the job.
As the football team prepares for its state championship game on Friday, Rossville has been short-handed for the start of preseason practice, but he’s thrilled for some of those guys to take home some hardware this weekend and incorporate them after football season.
No. 2-ranked Washburn men race past Friends 105-51 for seventh straight win
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Tuesday's non-conference home game against NAIA foe Friends was definitely one that No. 2-ranked Washburn University was expected to win, and probably by a sizeable margin.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen scored a game-high 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting from the field in Tuesday's 105-51 win over Friends. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Jack Bachelor scored 16 points with four 3-pointers, six assists and five steals in Tuesday's 105-51 win over Friends. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But with the start of MIAA looming next week, Brett Ballard's Ichabods still had plenty of things they wanted to work on against the Falcons.
And it's safe to say the 7-0 Ichabods reached most all of those objectives in a 105-51 rout over the Falcons at Lee Arena.
"I thought we approached this thing with the right mindset and were pretty professional about how we executed tonight,'' Ballard said. "A lot of positives, and I thought that there were some things that we'd emphasized in practice this last week that stuck and we were able to accomplish a lot of the things that we had worked on.''
Washburn delivered its highest point output of the early season with its 105-point outburst while five Ichabods cracked double figures.
The Ichabods controlled all 40 minutes, building a 25-point halftime lead (46-21) before exploding for 59 more points in the second half.
Washburn forced 20 Falcon turnovers, turning those mistakes into 29 points, while surrendering only five of its own.
Washburn piled up 66 points in the paint, 33 second-chance points and 25 fast-break points.
The Ichabods shot 52.5 percent for the game (42 for 80), while holding Friends to just 28.3 percent shooting overall and hammering the Falcons on the glass as well with a 52-35 rebounding advantage, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen led the way with 19 points, hitting 9 of 11 shots while adding six rebounds, two steals, and a block, while junior Jack Bachelor had 16 points, six assists, five steals and three rebounds, while hitting four 3-pointers.
"I felt like we did what was expected of us,'' Claussen said. "We were supposed to win that game, but like coach has been saying the past couple of games, we have a ton to work on and our ceiling is way higher than we're at right now.''
"I thought we came out and played with good energy,'' Bachelor said. "Defense was a big emphasis in this game and I thought we guarded well. I thought we played hard, played together and shared the ball. I thought it was a successful night for sure.''
Bryson Smith added 14 points, three assists, and three steals, while Tyson Ruud came off the bench to tie his career-high with 13 points and freshman Amalachi Wilkins had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench, reaching double figures for the second straight game.
Topeka High girls basketball hoping to push needle further this campaign
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Ron Slaymaker, one of the best basketball coaches in Kansas history, will turn 89 in December, but you wouldn’t know it when you attend a practice or game. Slaymaker is still having fun with it.
Topeka High junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton is a returning All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick for the Trojans, who posted a 14-8 record last season. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka High senior Keimara Marshall is back for her fourth season as the Trojans' point guard, earning All-Shawnee County Top 10 recognition last season. [File photo/TSN]
In Year 2 with the Trojans and his 12th overall coaching girls basketball, Slaymaker will have four of his starters back after a 14-win season last year. That came after Slaymaker was told his team would be lucky to win seven at most.
“We’ll be expected to win more this year, no question about it,” Slaymaker said. “Now, we just have to meet expectations.”
The one starter Topeka High graduated was Jo'Mhara Benning, who Slaymaker said was a great presence down low and a rebound warrior and they have to replace that.
“I think we have four or five girls that are knocking at the door to be able to replace her,'' Slaymaker said. "Not replace what she did, but replace her with a good player.''
“We are very quick and you have to take advantage of what you are. I think we can be even quicker than what we were last year.”
Slaymaker said when he came to Topeka High there were two things he wanted to accomplish -- play defense and run a lot. Slaymaker saw those changes over the course of the season and knew the girls had it in them.
He said during this year's practice window, the Trojans are starting with that attitude and he hopes they’ll take advantage of that early.
Hailey Caryl made an immediate impact for Topeka High last season as a freshman, earning All-Shawnee County Second 10 recognition. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Keimara Marshall and junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton were both All-Shawnee County Top 10 picks last season while sophomore Hailey Caryl was a Second 10 pick.
Caryl and Rayton said Slaymaker is always upbeat, giving them high-fives and keeping the energy at a high level. Slaymaker laughed when TopSports.News asked him about that.
“I’m a little more grouchy this year in our one week of practice, but I’m glad they feel that way,'' he said. "If I don’t have energy, then I need to get out of here. I still have passion for what I’m doing and that’s energy and if that’s passed along to them that’s good.”
Caryl and Rayton are excited about the up-tempo pace they’ll play with and the speed they bring. The competitive nature the team brings is a trait that they like, too.
“Last year we had a lot of deflections,'' Rayton said. "Slay loves defense, quick hands. He drills that into our heads.”
“We need to push for more rebounding and take advantage of the fast break that Slay likes us to do,” Caryl said.
Slaymaker said he’s focusing on making practice better to play better. Last year, he said they played well but didn’t practice well so they’re trying to turn that around, and believe with that, they could be a really good basketball team.
Slaymaker said they’ve turned around the recent down years and had more girls turn out for tryouts -- 27 to be exact, compared to 16 last season.
“That’s the culture everybody seeks, you can’t always get it easily but you have to have some success along the way and maybe girls basketball at Topeka High will be right up there again,” Slaymaker said.
