Young Mustangs looking to run in 2022-23
Youth is the one word to describe the Central Arkansas Christians boys basketball team in 2022-23, with two juniors and a sophomore representing the returning starters. The team, which went 22-8 overall last year and 12-3 in 3A-5 Conference play, graduated its two leading scorers in May, and head coach Matt Hall, who will be assisted by coaches Louis Bonner and Kevin Williams, said he is relying on his band of youngsters to grow up and assert themselves quickly.
“Our two leading scorers both averaged about 15 or 16 points a game, so we lost a big chunk of our scoring,” Hall said. “But we bring back three returning starters, and we’ve moved up three freshmen already that will all play and will help this year. We’re going to be young, but the talent is there. Sometimes youth gets in the way of talent, but we’ve got some good pieces to work with.
“Early on, we’ll be looking for who’s going to be those two other solid starters, so our rotations will go a lot deeper early in the year than post-Christmas, when we get into conference time. That’s just the nature of having a young team and figuring out who can do what and who’s going to be your solid seven or eight when conference season rolls around.”
Hall credits CAC’s junior high program for producing athletes who can contribute at the varsity level during their early years of high school.
“The junior high coach, Louis Bonner, is one of my best friends in the world and a former head college coach,” Hall said. “I don’t think he gets enough credit in the success of our high school program with what he does with our junior high program.
“I’m getting guys who know exactly how we want to defend and exactly how we guard certain situations. Louis does such a good job with seventh, eighth and ninth grades, and he just doesn’t get near enough credit for how good our program has become.”
Returning starters include Sam Maddox, a 6-foot junior guard who earned all-conference and all-state honors last season. Maddox averaged 8.2 points and shot 71 percent from the freethrow line during his sophomore season.
“I expect Sam to have a breakout year this year,” Hall said. “He’s one of the best shooters I’ve ever coached, and he can shoot it deep [and quick]. Sam had 27 points as a sophomore in the quarterfinals of the state tournament against Osceola, who won the thing last year. I think he hit seven 3s in that game. He can make some noise in 3A.”
Also back is 6-3 sophomore Grayson Wilson, an all-conference forward who scored 8.6 points and snagged 4 rebounds per game as a freshman. The team’s third returner, forward Webb Watson, is looking to take on a larger share of the offensive and defensive load in this, his junior campaign.
Hall said that as with many small schools, flexibility is key to his offensive scheme year to year, as he adjusts to the size and athleticism of each squad.
“Last year, we were big, and our leading scorer was a hybrid post/guard,” he said. “We really needed to slow the game down to be able to get him involved. This year, Grayson is super athletic, big and can run, and our skill players are smaller, but more athletic. If you watched us play last year to this year, you’re going to say we’re doing all new things offensively, which really, the tempo is just changed.
“Offensively, what we want to do is very
I’m getting guys who know exactly how we want to defend and exactly how we guard certain situations.”
MATT HALL CAC MUSTANGS HEAD COACH
simple; we want to play in space, and we want to shoot 3s and layups. I try to make things as easy as I can so kids don’t have to think. Let’s face the floor, let’s get open 3s, and let’s get open layups.”