While the past two seasons may have not gone quite as smoothly as they would have hoped, the Danville Blue Devils feel confident that this season’s boys basketball team will be right back in the conference mix.
With a strong crop of veterans and some emerging younger players, the anticipation is higher for this season of Danville basketball than it has been in a while.
Leading the Blue Devils into battle for his eighth straight season at the helm is coach Matt Moore. While Moore’s leadership has been a constant during that period, he is a flexible coach and has been willing to shift his team’s style of play based on what the personnel has dictated.
The Blue Devils are bringing eight returning lettermen back into the fold, providing the lineup with plenty of experience. Some of the veteran leaders on the roster include Darren Mickley, Wyatt Weckesser and Cam Miller. However, Moore emphasized the importance of the team’s depth beyond their seniors.
“We are a team," he said. “It will take everyone on the bench for us to be successful.”
In addition to the aforementioned seniors, there are a few underclassmen contributors who will need to play a key role for the Blue Devils for them to have a successful season. Max Payne, Spencer Payne and Levi Lyons are juniors expected to be contributors this year, while sophomores Kendal Carter and Walker Weckesser have been working hard and should be a boon to this Blue Devils squad.
On the offensive end of the floor, the Blue Devils will be placing a premium on putting up the highest quality shots possible, whether that means pushing the pace or slowing it down to methodically pick apart opposing defenses. Danville is not dependent on just one key playmaker, forcing defenses to focus on multiple scoring threats on the floor at once.
The defensive side of the ball was a weakness for the Blue Devils in the last campaign, with the team averaging 57 points allowed. Moore has set a goal for the team to bring that number to around 40 for this coming season. With a renewed focus on defensive intensity this year, expect to see improvement in the Blue Devils’ ability to get stops and generate turnovers.
After a few years out of serious contention, Danville has put high expectations on itself for the coming season. The team hopes to compete for a conference championship and potentially even a district championship. But above all else, improvement is the top objective for the Blue Devils, and they have put themselves in a strong position to have their best season in some time.
