Panthers push to make strides
■ The Siloam Springs boys basketball team is coming off a 10-19 season in 2016-17.
The Siloam Springs boys basketball team has enjoyed a productive summer.
The Panthers will wrap up summer workouts this week before taking off the rest of the summer until the start of school in mid-August.
“We had a really good (month of) June,” said head coach Tim Stewart after the Panthers wrapped up a workout session on Thursday morning. “The kids worked hard and learned a lot. We had really good attendance. July it’s a little more hit and miss with vacations and the (Arkansas Activities Association) dead period and all that stuff. It’s been really good. We’ve been proud of the kids with their work ethic and growth in that short period of time.”
During June, the Panthers had workout sessions along with some jamborees against local teams.
“It’s an easy way to use our facilities and get our games in,” Stewart said, “and it’s inexpensive for the kids.”
On June 16-18, the team attended at team camp at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan.
The Panthers got to play at the storied Allen Fieldhouse — the home court of the Jayhawks, who are a national powerhouse in men’s basketball.
“That was fun,” Stewart said. “(Assistant) coach (Chris) Cameron was over the top for a couple of weeks after that.”
Stewart said the Panthers also had a bit of a turnback to yesteryear in their time at Allen Fieldhouse.
“No one told us that Allen Fieldhouse was going to be 102 degrees,” he said. “It’s old school, and that’s good. We joked with the kids that they don’t even know what a non-air conditioned gym is. They don’t even play in any old gyms, so it’s good.”
The Panthers did not work out as a team for a stretch at the end of June and the first of July for the dead period. They resumed summer workouts in mid July.
“We go hard in June and have a break,” Stewart said. “Then we go another couple of weeks here and have a break. So they’re still kids and get to go fishing and swimming and mow some yards.”
The team is coming off a 10-19 season in 2016-17. Siloam Springs was tripped up at home by Greenwood in the second round of the 6A-West Conference Tournament to end their season short of the state tournament.
The Panthers must replace the bulk of their scoring from a year ago and must replace All-Conference selections Noah Karp, Josh Hunt and
Harrison Kretzer, and AllConference honorable mention selections Charlie Jones and Josh Heinrichs.
Only senior guard Spencer Lashley — another All-Conference honorable mention selection who averaged 7.1 points per game — and junior Murphy Perkins return significant varsity experience from a year ago.
“Our seniors have done really good (this summer),” Stewart said. “Spencer Lashley, Tyler Pettit and Diego Flores have done really good and have been good leaders. We look for them to really pick up the slack.
“We’ve got a good sophomore group that’s right there and really going to push the upperclassmen, the juniors with Murphy and Karson (Clement) and Dyson Bagsby, who’s a new move-in. It’s been fun. The kids know they have an uphill climb and have really accepted that challenge. We’re excited.”