MANKATO — Now that his basketball skills have been developed, it’s time for senior guard Preston Grams to step into a leadership role for the Mankato Loyola boys basketball team.
“Preston is one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever been around,” Crusaders’ coach Sam Carlson said. “He’s not the loudest kid, but when he talks people understand and listen because he leads by example. He’s super strong, he can handle the ball, he can shoot it and he can defend bigger guys because of how strong he is.
“This year, I need him to be more of a vocal leader and to rebound a little bit more. He’s a kid when you coach him up that says ‘yes sir, I’ll do it.’ Preston is also one of the better shooters I’ve been around as well. He can really extend his range because he is so strong. He’s gotten a lot better at driving the lane. He’s the perfect senior leader you want so I am excited to see what he can do.”
Grams averaged 11.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists last season while converting 37% from 3-point range as the Crusaders compiled a 14-14 record.
“Last year was my first year of having a bigger role,” Grams said. “I started out kind of slow, but I figured it out and got better individually, as did the team. This year, I expect to have even a bigger role and improve off that. I got better with my rebounding and defense. I feel I am a pretty good shooter and my ball-handling is better.
“I want to keep getting better at getting to the hoop and rebounding. We’ve put a lot of work in this summer in the weight room vs. other years. I like the intensity we’ve shown in practices and we also have more depth than we’ve ever had, so the competition is always going to be there. There’s a lot of guys who can step up and make plays. … Our chemistry is good and we work very well together.”
Two other regulars — senior guard Chase Kijenski and junior guard T.J. O’Malley — put up some good numbers a year ago while freshman Covin Winter averaged 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds. Kijenski averaged 9.3 points, 2.1 boards and 2.5 assists, while O’Malley tallied 8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals.
Four other players — senior guard Camden Winter, senior guard Soren Kelly, senior post Eli Blace and sophomore post Christian Barker — will also see plenty of action when the Crusaders open their season Dec. 2 at Madelia.
“Our goal every year is to play our best at the end of the year,” Carlson said. “This might be my deepest team since my first year and there’s plenty of competition for different spots. We just have to figure out what combinations we have and which ones will work.”
Senior post Taiton Moore, junior guard Mitchell Bubholtz, junior guard Cameron Fogal, sophomore post RJ Beal and freshman guard Bram Godfrey complete the varsity roster.
The Crusaders open their season Tuesday at Madelia.