Roster
Player Pos. Ht. Yr.
Patrick Boyle G/F 6-4 Sr.
Byron Brown G 5-10 Sr.
Josh Haeseker G/F 6-3 Sr.
Brad Miller G 5-11 Sr.
Zack Denny G 6-0 Jr.
Jake Harshberger G 6-1 Jr.
Koty Johnson G 6-1 Jr.
Cooper Nolte G 6-0 Jr.
Jeff Pierce F 6-6 Jr.
Charles Wilson F 6-3 Jr.
Gage Wilson F 6-1 Jr.
Andrew Zellner F 6-2 Jr.
Schedule
Date Opponent
Dec. 2 Brookville
Dec. 9 Oakwood
Dec. 10 at Twin Valley South
Dec. 16 at Monroe
Dec. 17 West Carrollton
Dec. 20 at Bellbrook
Dec. 28 at Mariemont Holiday Tournament
Dec. 29 at Mariemont Holiday Tournament
Jan. 3 Madison
Jan. 6 Franklin
Jan. 7 at Waynesville
Jan. 13 at Eaton
Jan. 20 Monroe
Jan. 24 Bellbrook
Jan. 27 at Franklin
Feb. 3 at Carlisle
Feb. 4 at Dixie
Feb. 7 Eaton
Feb. 10 at Brookville
Feb. 17 at Oakwood
GERMANTOWN — The Valley View boys basketball team is back to square one again under second-year head coach Ben Buehner.
Last year, Buehner came in as a new coach and directed a senior-laden team to a 14-7 overall record and a second-place finish in the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division with a 9-3 mark. But those seniors graduated and all Buehner is left with is two returning starters and no one else with any significant varsity experience.
“We lost five seniors from last year’s team and we only had a seven-man rotation,” Buehner said. “We spent a lot of time implementing stuff and we’re kind of there again, but it’s not completely back to basics.
“We have to redefine how we are going to play,” he continued. “We’re a scrappy group and we should be athletic, but we’ll be looking up to Franklin, Eaton and Bellbrook in the league this year.”
The one thing Buehner and the Spartans have going for them is that one of the two returnees is junior Zack Denny, a 6-foot guard who averaged 24.3 points per game last year as the top scorer in the area.
Denny’s postseason honors last year included being the SWBL Southwestern Division Player of the year, as well as a member of the Division II District 15 Underclassman team, the Division II Southwest District second team and a Division II All-Ohio honorable mention player.
“We’ll go as far as he takes us,” Buehner said. “He’s gotten so much stronger, both mentally and physically, and he’s such a good defender and ball handler.
“Everything will start with him,” he continued. “So it’s just a matter of getting the other guys going.”
The other returnee is senior Brad Miller, a 5-11 point guard.
“Brad is a leader by nature,” Buehner said. “We talk all the time about what those guys need to do and how to handle themselves.
“Brad has to run the show and Zack has to do everything he did last year and not try to force too many things,” he continued. “There is always a fear we might try to do too much, but if everyone understands their roles and lets the system unfold, we’ll be OK.”
One thing Buehner likes about his squad is its versatility. He said he has several players that can guard about any position on the court.
“We have a lot of interchangeable guys,” Buehner said. “Our strength is our athleticism and our weakness is our lack of experience.
“I think we are going to have to will ourselves to some wins early on by getting every loose ball and every rebound,” he continued. “But it’s all about how bad they want to win. Some of them got a taste of it last year and we showed we can compete with some teams. These guys want to prove that wasn’t just a fluke.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852, or sweaver@coxohio.com.
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