The only thing better than closing a season with momentum is having enough players returning to continue building off of it.
That’s the position Greenwood boys basketball coach Bruce Hensley finds himself in heading into this season.
After a 4-7 start, the Woodmen finished off the 2015-16 campaign by winning eight of their last 13 games — a run punctuated by an overtime victory against heavily favored host Martinsville in the opening round of the sectional.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryFour starters — all juniors who scored at least 9.5 points per game last winter — are back in the fold, and any and all of them are capable of lighting it up on a given night. That balance is something that Hensley hopes can make his team dangerous.
“We’re deep, and we’ve got more than one or two or three guys that can score,” he said. “That should be a good thing, and hopefully it will be. We’ll always be able to get two or three guys that are having a good night offensively or maybe have a mismatch that they can take advantage of.
“You definitely have to concentrate on all of our players and not just one or two.”
Greenwood should be particularly explosive around the perimeter. Point guard Braydon Kincaid averaged 12.6 points and four assists, and backcourt mate Max Raker was close to double figures as well. Wing Eric Moenkhaus (13.3 ppg) is the top returning scorer.
On the inside, 6-foot-6 Jeffery Reynolds (11.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) gives the Woodmen some balance offensively and a rim protector on defense.
Add to that quartet senior forward Adam Rapp, who was a consistent contributor two years ago before missing almost all of last season due to injury, and Hensley feels very good about his starting five.
“His leadership and his intelligence are just so valuable to us,” the veteran coach said of Rapp. “He’s definitely just like a coach on the floor — he knows exactly what we want done. So I’m really looking forward to having him on the floor all the time this year; I think just that, what he brings will make a big difference for us.”
Scoring shouldn’t be a problem for Greenwood — the team returns almost all of its point production from an outfit that averaged more than 62 points a night last season and topped out at 92. The keys to improving on last year’s .500 record, Hensley said, will be bolstering a defense that was too generous at times and also becoming a bit more cohesive as a team.
“We want to be very competitive,” Hensley said, “and we’d love to win the conference and win the county, but that won’t be easy by any means; that’s not going to be easy. And for us to do that, it’s going to take all of us collectively playing for each other.”
If the Woodmen can manage to do that, the sky’s the limit.
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Date;Opponent;Time
Nov. 25;at New Castle;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 26;Greenwood Christian;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 2;at Martinsville;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 9;Franklin;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 10;Indianapolis Herron;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 14;at Triton Central;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 17;Speedway;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 20;Beech Grove;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 30;at Center Grove;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 6;Whiteland;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 10-14;Johnson County tournament at Whiteland;TBA
Jan. 18;Perry Meridian;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20;Decatur Central;6 p.m.
Jan. 27;Shelbyville;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 28;Roncalli;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 2;at Edinburgh;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 4;at Greenfield-Central;1:30 p.m.
Feb. 10;at Plainfield;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 17;at Mooresville;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 21;Indian Creek;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24;at New Palestine;7:30 p.m.
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Coach: Bruce Hensley
Last year: 12-12, 2-4 Mid-State Conference; lost to Franklin Central in Martinsville Sectional semifinal
Who’s back: Braydon Kincaid, Jr. G (12.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.0 apg, 28 steals); Eric Moenkhaus, Jr. G/F (13.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 29 steals); Max Raker, Jr. G (9.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 29 steals); Adam Rapp, Sr. F (1.9 ppg in 2014-15); Jeffery Reynolds, Jr. C (11.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 70 blocks).
Who’s gone: Michael Bailey, Justin Conley, Garrett Henderson
New kids on the block: Jackson Beckham, Sr. F; Isaiah Drew, So. G; Sean Moss, Sr. G; Will Wolf, Sr. F
Outlook: While many of the area’s teams are restocking after some heavy graduation losses, the Woodmen are ready for action with four starters back from a squad that upset host Martinsville in last year’s sectional opener. Moenkhaus, Kincaid and Raker give Greenwood a strong trio on the perimeter, and the 6-foot-6 Reynolds provides a skilled post presence. Rapp, who missed almost all of last year with a knee injury, fills out a veteran starting five. Beckham and Wolf add size off the bench, and the team has backcourt depth as well with Moss, a new arrival from Missouri, and Drew. The Woodmen should be fun to watch and could be a threat to contend for county, conference and sectional titles.
Hensley says: “We pushed the ball last year, and we’ll do that again. I think with this group we’ve got, we’re fairly athletic; all five of these guys can handle the ball, got some skill, so I think more possessions will definitely favor us this year. So we’ll try to push the ball as much as we can.”
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