Coming off a disappointing 10-19 season where they finished fifth in the Cahokia Conference, the Red Bud Musketeers look to surprise a few teams this year with just two returning starters.
“We didn’t expect to have that record last year but with the injury to Jake Hoffman took some wind out of our sail,” said Red Bud coach Dave Gillingham. “Adam Kunkel capped off a very good career and will be hard to replace. But what I saw this summer has given me optimism. I thought we made some great strides individually and collectively. No question, we will be flying under the radar coming off a subpar season and returning only two starters. However, we do have some experience and if we bring a burning desire to get things turned around, we should compete well and be a tough out in February.”
The Musketeers will rely heavily on returning starters seniors Alex Phegley (6’1) and Jacob Kueker (6’4).
“Alex is an intense, aggressive and physical competitor who should really benefit from last year’s experience as a starter,” said Gillingham. “He does all the little things well and is an excellent post defender for his size. Jacob was our leading rebounder last year and our second leading scorer at 11 points a game. He needs to be the aggressive impact player for us every night. Can play the post or the perimeter.”
Other potential starters and contributors include seniors Garrett Salger (5’11), Jordan Schneider (6’0), Travis Schwartz (5’11 and Jason Greer (6’4) and juniors Kenny Wilson (6’1), Greg Godier (5’10) and Mace Groves (5’10).
“Garrett is one of our best athletes and a very good anticipator on defense with quick hands,” said Gillingham. “We will rely on him to help run the offense. Jordan got taller and added some muscle which should really boost his overall game. We  need him to help run the offense and defensively lock down opponent’s best perimeter players. Travis was doing a nice job of running our offense this summer when he injured his knee. He will be available sometime in December. Jason is strong, athletic and mobile. He is playing organized basketball for the first time. He can give us a presence in the paint that we haven’t had in a few years.
“Kenny is a really nice athlete, quick and explosive. He played some quality minutes last year and can play a number of positions. Will be a solid player the next two years. Greg has made great improvements the first two years and we expect him to make another big leap this season. Mace rejoins us after a year off so it will take him awhile to get his basketball feel again. Hard-nosed athletic kid who really gets after it on defense.”
Red Bud also has several sophomores who may compete for varsity minutes, Josh Snyder (6’1), Brett Cleveland (6’2), Caleb Grohmann (5’10), Tim Mehring (5’11) and Jon Posth (6’2).
“I think this team understands that if we don’t defend and rebound, we have little chance against most of the teams on our schedule,” said Gillingham. “I really believe we’ll play with almost everybody if we execute our defensive fundamentals. Offensively, we always look to push the ball at every opportunity. Our perimeter kids aren’t as fast overall as some of our previous teams but our bigger kids can really run and that may give us some advantage.”
Red Bud looks to improve from a fifth place finish in conference play last season.
“As usual, Breese Central is the team to beat as they have a great nucleus returning,” said Gillingham. “Carlyle was playing very well late last season and has several kids back. Wesclin has a number of talented sophomores who saw time last year as freshmen. Columbia last some key players but will reload once again and Freeburg is headed in the right direction after a couple of rough years. We hope to finish in the upper tier but our conference is always challenging and will have its share of surprises.”
Red Bud opens up the season Monday, November 28 at the Trico Tournament against  Trico.