The West Platte boys’ basketball team has reached the district championship game in each of the last two years, but the Blue Jays will look a lot different after graduating six seniors in 2021.
Last year, West Platte locked up the top-seed in districts and came up short to Gallatin – the school that hosted the tournament – after being the runner-up in the Class 3 District 15 Championship Game the year prior. In the second year under Tyler Funk, the Blue Jays are looking to build off the success from the 20-7 record last fall with a relatively new set of players.
“I came into a pretty good situation with the six seniors I had, so hopefully the younger guys that are coming up see that as an example and a standard of what those guys did every day in practice and how they competed,” Funk said. “They saw the success they had and the environment you get to play in if you really compete and get to those wins, so they’re excited about trying to get back there.”
Charlie Kinslow is the most experienced Blue Jay ahead of this season as the guard has been a starter in each of the last two years and has contributed at the varsity level his entire high school career.
Seniors Charlie Kinslow and Xavier Reynolds are bringing back the most experience, being the only two players who were in the rotation last year. Kinslow will be a three-year starter this winter, after he led West Platte in minutes played and was a KCI Honorable Mention in his junior campaign.
“Charlie’s been a part of this program for four years and he’s done a lot of good things in the West Platte athletics, so he’ll be a steady force for us at the point guard spot and we’ll maybe look to get him off the ball a little bit. Xavier led us in 3-point shooting last year, was the first one off the bench and even started a couple of games,” Funk said.
While Kinslow and Reynolds will be leading the charge, there will be some other contributors who were a part of the junior varsity squad that went 15-1 last winter. West Platte will aim to translate that success to the varsity level.
“They had a good JV record last year but at the same time, they’re going to have to earn that respect. They’re a pretty good group of tight-knit guys that are going to be getting some minutes, so hopefully they can take that experience of winning and translate it,” Funk said.
Seniors Ezra Stigman and Chad Jameson – along with junior Miles McHenry – are some of the guys who weren’t varsity level players last year but will be this year. McHenry is a 6-foot-5 post who has put in a ton of work in the offseason to take over as the Blue Jays’ top big man.
“Miles (McHenry) is looking to make a big jump this year; he’s really athletic, has worked hard in the weight room this summer and we’re looking for big things from him. He can have a coming out party in the KCI and really get his name out there as far as one of the best athletes,” Funk said.
Cohen Kite, Will Shafer and Gunner Smith are juniors that were part of that 15-1 junior varsity group, and freshman Drake Montez will be working to find his way onto the court. Sophomore guard Jonah McGivern was one of the leaders last year and will be stepping up this winter.