FREDERICKTOWN – One look at the intensity of a Fredericktown boys basketball practice gives one an idea of just how motivated the Freddies are going into the season. Players are not just battling for roles on the team, they also know that they need to play with grit and determination to challenge for the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference title.
The Freddies will bring back seniors Caleb Burns, Thomas Caputo, Reese Cassetto, Lincoln Cunningham, Ty Hatfield, Caleb Sheriff and Austin Rock along with sophomore Kaid Carpenter. New to the varsity team are junior Kodie Spearman and sophomores Brady Lester, Ben Mast, Xavier Mullins and Tegan Ruhl.
Connor Zolman and Terry Fearn are the only two seniors that graduated from last year's team that finished 14-10 overall and 9-5 in the KMAC. The Freddies fell to Northmor 63-53 in overtime in the second round of the Division III district tournament after beating Madison Plains 45-43 in the first round.
Also missing is Mason Finnell, who has a torn ACL and is not able to play. He was expected to be one of the Freddies' top rebounders. That will put the pressure on the rest of the team to fight for rebounds.
Fredericktown was fourth in the KMAC last season with a team that lacked height. This year they are not much taller, but they expect to win the same way they did last season— with hard play and a higher level of overall skill.
The Freddies can put five very competent ball-handlers on the floor. All five can play multiple positions and handle multiple assignments. Fredericktown coach Derek Dibling will put his best five on the floor, regardless of position. His guards can play in the post and his bigger guys can step in and handle the ball.
“We've got a trail of ball-handlers with Ty, Lincoln, Caleb and Thomas in that mix,” Dibling told the Mount Vernon News. “Then we've got Kaid, Reece and Caleb Burns; who can fill out at the forward and post positions.
“We have a lot of guys who can make the 3-pointers. That's one thing I absolutely love about this team. Ty can score it from outside. So can Lincoln and Caleb. Thomas has worked really hard this offseason. He's a guy I can expect to be better, offensively. We can get scoring from a lot of different guys, which makes them pretty special.”
Hard work is one of the secrets to the highly-motivated Freddies.
“None of us like to lose, so we’ve got to play bigger than what we are,” Caputo said. “That’s why we are so competitive.”
Caputo explained the Freddies practice this way.
“It builds character,” he said. “You get better in practice. We won’t play games like that, because there might be a lot of fouls. We just really get after it. Everyone in here wants to make everyone else better.”
The Freddies can slow the ball down, and with their ball handling skills they'll be able to run minutes off the clock without getting worn out.
“We can run with any team,” Dibling said. “We got some fast guys. None of them are faster than state (cross country) champion Thomas Caputo, so he kind of sets the pace. We also have some other guys who can get end line to end line pretty well. Our guards run pretty well, and even the bigger guys can scoot pretty fast when they need to.”
