Miles McHenry averaged 12 points and 6.6 rebounds on a team-best 51 percent shooting from the field as a junior last year.
WESTON – Being on the wrong side of a district championship game for three straight years, the West Platte boys’ basketball team is hoping to bring home its first one since 2014.
In the third year under Tyler Funk, West Platte will look to its five seniors alongside the point guard tandem of Jonah McGivern and Drake Montez. Seniors Cohen Kite and Miles McHenry are the only returning starters, and Kite will miss time early on after getting injured in the fall football season.
“Gunner Smith is a senior who came off the bench last year and Will Shafer is one of the guys who’s been on JV, but he’ll be looking to get in the mix for his senior year,” West Platte head boys’ basketball coach Tyler Funk said. “Westin Sinclair is another senior that’s hopefully looking to get in the mix in the rotation.”
McHenry has the most experience coming back as the big man averaged 12 points and 6.6 rebounds on a team-best 51 percent shooting from the field last winter. The Blue Jays will look to junior McGivern and sophomore Montez to lead the offense as floor generals.
“It’s kind of different than what we’ve had in the past with a clear-cut point guard the last couple of years and this year both of them can do it really. Jonah will start at the one right now and Drake will be off the ball a little bit, but I tell them whoever gets the outlet is good to go. It doesn’t really matter who, but those are going to be our two primary ball handlers,” Funk said.
Having at least 18 wins each of the last two years – after not having any such season since 2014 – West Platte has turned over a new leaf in the Funk era. The Blue Jays even ranked high enough in preseason polls to earn the No. 3 seed in the early season KCI Tournament.
“It was interesting the way the coaches voted since there’s so much unknown right now so
I told the coaches what we had coming back and that’s where they voted us. Anybody can beat anyone in the KCI so it’s going to be about just playing some good ball; and that we can hopefully get healthy and advance to the right side of the other bracket is the goal,” Funk said ahead of the tournament.
There is a slew of Blue Jays – including August Hill, Jaxon Davis, Jaxon Turner, Kane Cogan and Dalton Woodard – who didn’t play on varsity last year but are looking to change that this winter. West Platte will be on the road often this year with only six contests at home and three away tournaments.