Leopards ready to set competition on its heels

Liberty-Eylau

The Liberty-Eylau’s basketball squad is ready to shake up District 15-4A this year.

The Leopards (2-1) are off to a fast start and they’ve also replenished their roster with athletes who missed the first three games due to football responsibilities.

“I’m excited and the kids are excited,” Liberty-Eylau head coach Stasik Vaughn said. “I told them yesterday morning when they came over that I just want them to play basketball. I know they can play because I’ve seen them play and execute before.”

Vaughn is in his second year at the helm for the Leopards. Vaughn also sees his second year as one to be the year that his Leopards make a breakthrough within his system.

“I feel comfortable with this team,” Vaughn said. “I feel better this year than I did last year because they understand me. The guys that played last year are pretty much the same guys that I have this year. I understand what they can do and they understand what I expect of them as their coach.

“Last year was our first year together. We were kinda feeling each other out. It’s always an advantage when you have guys that have been in your program and know what to do. The offense we run isn’t going to change. We’re going to be fast paced and press.”

Vaughn has a plethora of athletic weapons at his disposal and he plans to use them all.

“I’m seven seniors deep on a 12-man roster,” Vaughn said. “The keys for our success this year are free throws, backside rebounds and layups. If we can fix those areas as we go along, we shouldn’t have too many problems.

“As long as the kids buy in, we should be fine. We had a dominant senior class last year. This season, it’s more of a team atmosphere than relying on one person or a few people to do all of the scoring. We run a motion offense. Opponents aren’t going to be able to set in the zone on us. They are going to have to man up. We plan to use our speed this season.”

The Leopards travel to New Boston to take on the Lions at 6 p.m. today.