Last year, the Jefferson High boys’ basketball squad earned a reputation for being “sneaky good,” capable of beating anyone on any given day. There was a thrilling victory over in-county rival Whitehall after falling behind by 24; two back-to-the-wall wins in the conference tournament to secure third place; and two more nail-biters in the Southern Division tourney.
In the end, the 17-9 Panthers fell one game short of a trip to State. This year, says Coach Anthony Connole says this year’s team is “chomping at the bit,” ready for a run at a Class B title.
“We have a lot of experience coming back this season,” said Connole. “And, almost all of these boys have been with me the whole time now. I think that might make a difference.”
Connole says seniors Kellen Meredith, Hunter Stevens and Jed Williams will be expected to make contributions on the floor with their leadership. Connole also has high hopes for the underclassmen like Tyzer Zody and Caleb Morris, both who had strong seasons last year.
Of course, Dalton Noble, the 6’ 5” center tasked with filling the paint last year, has moved on. “We’ve definitely had to make some adjustments this year without him,” Connole says. “We just don’t have that kind of big player to replace him, so we have to change things up a little bit on both sides of the ball.”
It’s likely that, at 6’ 4”, both Stevens and Capital High transfer Wyatt Geier will be called on to fill the gap. Stevens was the leading Panther scorer last year as a junior, averaging almost 11 points per game and hitting nearly 50% of his field goals.
It wasn’t so long ago that Connole himself was hooping for the Panthers. He played basketball himself at JHS from 2005 to 2009, then came back after college as an assistant for Clint Layng’s teams. He took over as head coach in 2019.
That was, of course, just in time for the pandemic, which cut short the 2019-20 season. Since then, Connole has watched as Jefferson has emerged as a perpetual State contender in other sports. “You know, we have gotten state titles in track, and the football and volleyball teams have been very good the past few years. And so have the basketball teams!”
Indeed, the 2023-24 boys’ squad improved on its records of 12-11 and 13-10 records in the previous two campaigns. And that’s in one of the toughest districts and divisions in the state. “We try to use the non-conference games to try out some new things and test ideas,” says Connole. “But every district game is a rivalry now, and very tough.” (The Panthers got wins in their first two non-conference games Dec. 13 and 14. See story on page 11.)
“We are just getting going setting our goals for this year,” Connole says, which he expects to be similar to last year. Connole is fairly confident the Panthers will meet their goals once again, maybe even exceed them. “They’re ready,” says Connole. “And they have a lot of heart.”
