Bancroft-Rosalie Boys and Girls hoping to be competitive

Team: Bancroft-Rosalie

Mascot: Panthers

Colors: Blue and Silver

Class: D-2

Conference:  East Husker

Head Coach:  Cory Meyer (2nd season)

2014-2015 record: 27-2  (lost to Exeter-Milligan in state championship)

Returning Starters: 2

  
Overview:

The Bancroft-Rosalie Boys lost quite a bit of experience from last year's state runner-up team, but still hope to have a successful season.

Returning as starters for 2nd year Head Coach Cory Meyer are Mario Aldrich and Dayne Wortman.

The Panthers will have to make up for the loss of Carsten Tietz, Ian Nottleman, and Kenny Appleton.

Meyer feels there are six newcomers who could make an impact, and they include Aaron Ras Post  6'0  Jr, Trent Gatewood  Guard  5'11 So, Kenyan Lovejoy  Post  6'1  So, Jacob Zuhlke  Guard  5'9  So, Wyatt Hennig Guard  5'6  Jr, and Michael Snyder Guard 5'11 So.

Meyer says this year's team has to step up and believe in what they're doing to have the same kind of success last year's team had. "It's always difficult to fill big shoes. We need to have players step in and fill those shoes and also understand their role on this team.  It does take hard work and players to understand and buy into the system."

Meyer says speed will definitely be a team strength, but rebounding and running the offense could be a challenge, and his team will be young. "I think rebounding will be a key issue that needs to be addressed. I can do rebounding drills every day (which I do), but if a player(s) aren't determined then it will show and really hurt us as a team. Also, as of now, running the offense could very well haunt us but I'm hoping the more we practice the better we will get as being a unit. We are also young and have several new faces that will not only play but be in the starting line-up as well."

Bancroft-Rosalie definitely has their work cut out for them this season. However, the Panthers had a lot of success last year and the year before, and I look for this year's team to step up and win some games.

I don't know if Bancroft-Rosalie will be as good as they have been the past couple of seasons, but I still look for the Panthers to be competitive.

Playing together as a team and developing players throughout the season will be critical to this team's success, in my opinion. Bancroft-Rosalie has to play team ball and continue to improve as the season progresses.

If the Panthers can keep getting better as the season goes along, and peek at the right time, don't be surprised if Bancroft-Rosalie finds themselves in Lincoln again.


Season Outlook:

The Bancroft-Rosalie Panthers hope to have a lot of success this season, and build off what past teams have done.

Meyer says there's a lot of uncertainty heading into this season. "I'm not sure what to really think, I have so many questions myself because it's early in the year and we do have a lot of inexperience.  I do think we could have a very good season and I feel we will be competitive, we just have to get better day by day - game by game."

The good news for Bancroft-Rosalie is the schedule isn't the hardest early on, at least when comparing it to how some of those teams fared last year.

Homer, Clarkson/Leigh, Cedar Bluffs, Wisner-Pilger, West Point-Beemer, Winnebago, and Omaha Nation could provide stiff challenges for the Panthers.

Bancroft-Rosalie plays a good amount of C-2 and C-1 teams, and that should be to their benefit.

This team should definitely be battle tested by the end of the season, and ready to make another postseason run.

The big thing for the Panthers could be getting out and running. Bancroft-Rosalie may need to rely on their transition game to get them easy points.

This season could provide some interesting challenges for the Panthers, but I fully expect Bancroft-Rosalie to rise up to the occasion, and have a good season.

The Panthers will have to rebound well, especially against teams that are bigger and stronger than them.

Bancroft-Rosalie also has to communicate well, and execute at a high level.

The Panthers open the season at home against Omaha Christian Academy on Friday.

2015-2016 Bancroft-Rosalie Panthers Boys Basketball Schedule:

12/04/15	Omaha Christian Academy	D1
12/05/15	Lyons-Decatur Northeast	D1
12/08/15	@ Emerson-Hubbard	D1
12/15/15	@ Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family	C2
12/18/15	@ Homer	C2
12/22/15	Clarkson/Leigh	C2
12/29-12/30	(To Be Determined)							Homer Holiday Tournament	Homer
01/05/16	Cedar Bluffs	D1
01/07/16	@ Wisner-Pilger	C1
01/09/16	West Point-Beemer	C1
01/15/16	Oakland-Craig	C2
01/16/16	Mead	D2
01/19/16	Wakefield	C2
01/22/16	@ Ponca	C2
01/26/16	Winnebago	C2
01/29-02/06	(To Be Determined)							East Husker Conference Tour	TBA
02/09/16	Howells-Dodge	D1
02/12/16	Omaha Nation	D1
02/19/16	@ Pender	D1

Team: Bancroft-Rosalie

Mascot: Panthers

Colors: Blue and Silver

Class: D-2

Conference:  East Husker

Head Coach:  Rod Peters (4th season)

2014-2015 record: 10-13 (lost to Lyons-Decatur Northeast in Sub Districts)

Returning Starters: 3


Overview:

The Bancroft-Rosalie Girls look to build off last year's 10-13 season that saw the Panthers play well at times.

Bancroft-Rosalie returns three starters in Vicki Gatzemeyer, Tess Nottlemann, and Kassidi Browning.

Two starting positions have been determined as Head Coach Rod Peters says Gatzemeyer (5’6”, 10, G, 1) and Nottlemann (5’11”, 11, F, 1) will start.

The Panthers will have to make up for the loss of Jerrica Tietz and Suzanne Ras. 

Helping Bancroft-Rosalie's cause figures to be newcomer Paige Peters (5’6”, 9, G).

Rod Peters says offensive execution will be critical to being consistent this year. "We are going to have to do a better job of passing the ball and handling pressure from defenses. Hopefully we have improved our shooting."

Peters says his squad has to perform well on offense and plans to mix things up defensively. "Offensively we are going to have to execute our offensive sets better than we did last year. Defensively we are going to throw out some different defenses to hopefully confuse the offense."

Regardless of what defense the Panthers are in, whether it's man-to-man are zone, contesting shots and boxing out to rebound will be critical.

Bancroft-Rosalie gave up over 50 points in 9 of their 13 losses last season, and held teams under 50 in every one of their wins. Defense will play a big role in whether the Panthers win or lose on a given night, in my opinion.

Peters says togetherness is a team strength. "Team unity. We have a group of athletes that will always give a great effort."

On the flip side, Peters says certain areas of the offense are weaknesses. "Passing the ball. Our execution on the offensive end of the court."

It will certainly be important for Bancroft-Rosalie to continue to get better on offense as the season progresses. The Panthers only scored over 50 points three times last season.

Bancroft-Rosalie has to bring it night in and night out to have success. The Panthers can't expect to win if they don't show up to play. Hustle and effort has to be there every game.

Season Outlook:

Bancroft-Rosalie definitely has to be better on offense than they were a year ago, and has to play well defensively as well to have a successful season.

Peters says he's anxious to see what his team can do. "I look forward to the upcoming season and to see the improvement these girls have made in the off season."

Shooting from the field well will be important for this team as will shooting free throws well.

The Panthers have to create as many opportunities as possible for themselves offensively, and must play well defensively every game as well.

Bancroft-Rosalie will be challenged right off the bat by Lyons-Decatur Northeast, Emerson-Hubbard, Homer, Pender, and Hartington Cedar Catholic.

Other tough games for the Panthers include West Point-Beemer, Ponca, Winnebago, and Howells-Dodge.

The schedule will definitely be difficult for Bancroft-Rosalie this season, but that should strengthen this team for the postseason and give them a chance to be successful in the long run.

I think the Panthers can have similar success to what they had last year, but it's not going to be easy. 

Bancroft-Rosalie has to play at a high level offensively and defensively if they want to win games. The Panthers have to be better on both ends of the floor to at least duplicate, and eventually better, last year's win total.

Bancroft-Rosalie opens up the season on Saturday, hosting Lyons-Decatur Northeast.

2015-2016 Bancroft-Rosalie Panthers Girls Basketball Schedule:

12/05/15	Lyons-Decatur Northeast	D2
12/08/15	@ Emerson-Hubbard	D1
12/10/15	@ Hartington Cedar Catholic	C2
12/12/15	@ Pender	D1
12/15/15	@ Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family	C2
12/18/15	@ Homer	C2
12/22/15	Clarkson/Leigh	C2
12/29-12/30	(To Be Determined)							Homer Holiday Tournament	Homer
01/07/16	@ Wisner-Pilger	C2
01/09/16	West Point-Beemer	C1
01/15/16	Oakland-Craig	C2
01/16/16	Mead	D2
01/19/16	Wakefield	C2
01/22/16	Ponca	C2
01/26/16	Winnebago	C2
01/29-02/06	(To Be Determined)							East Husker Conference Tour	TBA
02/09/16	Howells-Dodge	D1
02/12/16	Omaha Nation	D1