Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

tipoff 2015-16:

Inexperienced Foothill basketball still has high expectations

2015-2016 HS Basketball

Christopher DeVargas

From left, Foothill’s mens basketball players; Jeron Bodin, Marvin Coleman, Devon Erb and Jonny Rolle, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015.

High School Basketball Preseason Top 10

Coronado basketball players Travis Bowman, Jake Desjardins and Kennedy Koehler on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015. Launch slideshow »

The roster is built drastically different this season for the Foothill High basketball team. But the expectations won’t change.

Foothill, one of the Sunrise Region’s traditional powers, returns just four letter winners from last season. The Falcons, though, still plan to be in contention.

“We want to take it one step at a time,” said Marvin Coleman, Foothill’s sophomore guard who is one of the Sunrise’s top backcourt players. “Win conference, win region and win state.”

Foothill won more than 20 games again last season, but couldn’t beat Coronado in Southeast League play. It was one of the rare times a non-Foothill team captured the Southeast crown.

Foothill’s inexperienced roster will be tested immediately. They are currently playing in a tournament in Orem, Utah, and then next week will travel to Hawaii for another tournament.

Longtime coach Kevin Soares raves about how his players are willing to put in the work to get better, knowing whether it’s a challenging game or practice, they have given a premium effort.

“We are very fortunate to have kids who buy into what we are doing,” said Soares, who started at Foothill in 1999. “This year’s group enjoys to play the game. That is a big part of it.”

Junior guard Jeron Bodin, who averaged 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game last season, will lead the Falcons. In a 10-point loss last week to Palo Verde to open the season, he had nine points. Coleman led the way with 14.

The senior leaders are forwards Jonny Rolle and Devon Erb, both of whom will see a spike in minutes.

“We have a few really good guards who can play defense and just enough big men where we can do some good,” Rolle said.

Foothill may take its lumps early, but few expect them to be a pushover when league play begins. Soares always seems to field a competitive team.

“We are hoping to improve each day. We’ll see what happens at the end,” he said.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy