With six games played and one win logged against Pleasant High School in the season opener, the Cardington-Lincoln boys basketball season is off to a tough start as the team looks toward the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference (KMAC) this year.

It started the conference season at 0-3.

Coach Ryan Treese told the Mount Vernon News the team hosts two returning letter winners this year, Nate Hickman and Connor McIe.

“We are young, in age and varsity experience,” Treese said. The goal is to "finish middle of the pack of the KMAC and be around .500, get better each day and start the process of building culture and tradition.”

Treese said strengths come with solid post players and young, skilled guards around them. The current strategy is to run a ball screen offense with high-low action utilizing a number system, though he said it will be important to slow down and run offense as well. 

“Hickman is going to be solid for us. He is going to have more of a scoring role than he has had in years past,” Treese said. As a side note, Hickman scored 30 points in his most recent game against Danville, Dec. 10. 

Treese comes to the team boasting coaching experience as the varsity assistant coach at Delaware Hayes for five years, junior varsity head coach at Mohawk High School for two years and Marion Harding Middle School for two years. As he enters the new season with the Pirates, he said the team uses the term “family” a lot. 

On the defense, the team will press mainly man-to-man, though they plan to shake it up when needed. 

While Treese said they are improving daily in help side and have size to rebound, the team needs to box out better in the future. He believes the players will come of age during the season.