By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
After a third-place Class 3A state finish and a 20-6 record last season for Silver Lake boys basketball, there’s no sugar coating that the goal is to top what the Eagles accomplished. Not to mention, that was the first state tournament appearance for the Eagles since 2017.
Shannon Kruger's Silver Lake Eagles will be looking to improve on last season's third-place state finish this winter. [File photo/TSN]
Shannon Kruger enters year number three with Silver Lake and immediately flipped the script in putting the Eagles back to being a winning program. It was back in the 2018-2019 season where their last winning season occurred.
As the Big East League takes shape, Kruger said it’ll be a loaded conference again. He believes the Eagles will be up there but they have to earn it.
They lost five seniors from last year's team, but Kruger likes the young talent his team has and hopes to give them the opportunity to see more minutes at the varsity level.
“It’s a part of the culture that’s being established, it’s ongoing, we haven’t gotten there yet but the guys at the senior level the last two years have really bought into everything we’re coaching,'' Kruger said. "We talk about it all the time, 'It’s not what we do, it’s how we do it,' … and there’s a lot of high level competition for those spots and it trickles down.''
Kruger said with this season's group, they’re athletic but not very tall. However, they’re going to play fast to make up for that on both sides of the ball.
Rebounding will be a concern and Kruger said the Eagles have to commit to the technique of rebounding along with limiting opponents to one shot per possession because their defense will lead to offense.
Silver Lake has five seniors on this year’s team, including Hunter Rooks, who Kruger said will have the keys to the offense and won’t be off the floor much.
Kruger said his message right now is the cliche as he said, one day at a time and you can’t win a championship right now but the team can win the day.
“We’re embracing the hard stuff … doing the dirty work matters because that leads to getting a stop and a rebound which leads to a breakout and a bucket… we really break it down as every drill is a competition,” Kruger said.
Senior Dayne Johnson is back to help lead Silver Lake this season after earning All-Shawnee County Top 10 honors last winter. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Dayne Johnson, a returning All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick, said the Eagles are looking to make a run again and he feels that intensity from his teammates. He said Silver Lake will beat teams with effort and discipline and the Eagles want to continue the upward trajectory.
“Be patient, we got a lot of new faces that will be on the court and share the ball and when your shot comes, take it, don't be scared,” Johnson said.
“Brody Deiter, Jared Johnson, they were great players for us last year and showed how the game can and should be played and helped lay the foundation for us this year and (we want to) build off of that and finish better than what we did last year.”
