Coyotes 2014-15 Season Preview

Last season, Mark Osina played mostly freshmen, planning for the future.
The future is here.

"We've got seven sophomores. Kids make a big jump from their freshman to sophomore year," said Osina. "Hopefully all that playing time as freshmen will pay off this year."

It almost paid off last season. The Coyotes narrowly missed a return to the Region V Tournament, finishing 14-14 overall and 6-6 in conference play.

Osina coached the Coyotes to national prominence during his first stint from 1991-2008, including a third-place finish in the 1999 NJCAA Tournament. He believes this is the season the Coyotes return to be among the top contenders in the league.

"If everything falls right, we'll be in the championship mix," he said.

The Coyotes return four starters from last season, although Osina is quick to note that no player is guaranteed a starting job. Topping the list of returners is last season's Conference Freshman of the Year Tonko Vuko. The 6-foot-8-inch forward/post averaged 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds.

"I'm looking forward to him being in one of these pictures here," said Osina, pointing to some All-Americans from years past. "He can do so much. He's just fun to watch."

Also returning as starters from a season ago are 6-foot guard Quentin Henderson (7.3 points, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals), 6-foot-2-inch guard Juozas Balciunas (8.1 points, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals), and 6-foot-4-inch guard Anthony Roberson (7.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks). Roberson and Henderson earned honorable mention All-Conference accolades last season.

Though he did not start, 6-foot-4-inch forward/post Fadil Yacoubou from the Bronx averaged 25 minutes and 7.3 points.

The Coyotes also have a sophomore transfer. Kendale Truitt, a 6-2 guard, played at a junior college in South Carolina last season. Two other sophomores are walk-ons: Chris Howard, a 6-foot-1-inch guard, is a third-year redshirt player, and 6-foot-3-inch guard Arthur Kimani comes to WC from The Colony.

Not only does Osina have faith in his returners, he believes the six incoming freshmen (and Truitt) will blend well with those players already here.

"This year I feel like our recruiting class fits in great with the guys coming back," Osina said. "Our workouts are so competitive. Our depth has increased. This group is good at getting in the gym on their own. I think the seven we brought in here are really going to push the returners."

Last season's team missed the postseason by one game, and this was featuring almost an entirely new roster.

"The biggest thing about last year is we got better as the season went on," said Osina. "You look at a missed free throw, or a missed shot there. We were very close."

The Coyotes will once again play an up-tempo offense, and Osina said the defense will be stronger. They should also improve in rebounding, especially team rebounding, Osina said.

"Overall team rebounds hurt us last year, but our philosophy is it doesn't matter who gets the ball as long as it's us," he said.

Osina cited the team's major strengths as experience and depth.

"With those two things you can have a lot of success," he said.

Osina said he expects other top contenders for the conference championship to include McLennan, Temple, Collin and defending regional champion Hill.

"Southwest Christian may have had the best talent last year," Osina said. "And Ranger was down last year, but Larry Brown is back to coach them.

"It all boils down to a lot of things, including injuries, discipline problems, or lack of, and you've got to have some luck," said Osina. "I think it's going to be another one of those years where everybody can beat everybody and there is no gimme game. But I believe we can win the championship if we take care of everything on our end."

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by Rick Mauch