“We’re starting to execute some things on the defensive end of the floor,” said Rams coach Kyle Fulk. “Early on, we got by on some talent and obviously didn’t get by on some talent in a couple games. I think hopefully our kids are starting to realize that we need to be a little bit better defensively. Some things are starting to come together these last two games that hopefully keep trending upward.”
The Rams returned all but two players from last year’s OHC South Division championship squad, graduating Division Player of the Year Gabe Caudill and defensive stopper David Lehotay.
This year’s senior class has stepped up to fill that void on the floor this winter. Seniors Cole Allen (17.0 points per game) and Rhett Burtch (15.2 ppg) are leading the team in scoring, while Mason Witt and Isaiah Marvin have stepped into leadership roles, Fulk said.
Allen ranks among the league leaders in shooting percentage at 57 percent from the field.
“He’s shooting the ball really well and has a lot of confidence in his game,” Fulk said. “It’s been huge for us. We’re going to rely on Cole and Rhett to do a lot of our playmaking, but we’re also playing 4-5 sophomores who have a little bit of experience from last year and have gained confidence. The team is really coming together. Everyone has bought into that team mentality.”
The Rams hope to repeat as OHC South champions, but know the division is deep with talent. Five of the six OHC South teams have winning records.
“The South is very tough this year,” Fulk said. “There are no easy games. It’s a team goal. The team has mentioned that’s one of their goals, but as coaches we try to push that to the back of our mind and not really focus on that. We’re focused on the day-to-day stuff and how to get better.”
Fulk has emphasized defense and rebounding, he said.
“We’re a smaller team, so rebounding is really key,” he said. “With our size, we’re going to have to do the little things on the defensive end.”
After being upset in the first round of the postseason last winter, the Rams beefed up their schedule as much as possible. Greeneview’s last loss came against D-III second-ranked Worthington Christian 70-39 on Dec. 15.
“We told our guys that if you want to make a deep tournament run, these are going to be the types of teams you’re going to run into and the teams you’re going to have to figure out how to compete with,” Fulk said. “It obviously didn’t go well for us during the (regular season), but there’s still a lot of lessons to learn from that.”
The Rams recently entered the D-III state poll with a No. 16 ranking. Fulk called it ‘big for the kids’, but said the team is laser focused on getting better each and every day. The Rams are scheduled to travel to Kenton Ridge at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night before playing four straight OHC South games.
“Our group is really together and I think that’s big in a year where some weird things have happened,” Fulk said. “Everyone is going through the same thing as far as not having summer stuff. Everyone is trying to figure out everything on the fly. I think our kids are finally starting to find an identity. Two games, we’re trending upwards. Hopefully that continues, but we’ve got some tough opponents coming up the rest of the way. It should be pretty fun to see how our kids stack up and handle some adversity in those situations.”
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