Basketball season is officially upon us.
With the Snyder boys basketball team starting its season tonight and the Snyder girls team already two games in, basketball has begun in Scurry County.
When I moved to West Texas back in June, I came with the impression that this was baseball and football territory, so when I began to learn about the success at Hermleigh and saw the basketball facilities around the county, I was blown away.
Growing up in Hondo, I was never much of a basketball follower. Outside of watching the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals every few years, I did not give the sport much thought. My focus throughout high school was on baseball and football. It wasn’t until college that I began to appreciate the sport of basketball.
At Texas State University, I covered a lot of Texas State basketball, a program that has begun to blossom over the past few seasons under head coach Danny Kasper.
Kasper ran his team as if it played in the 1980s. It was a very defensive-minded approach with his team rarely looking for the flashy or explosive plays. You would rarely see the Bobcats on a fast break. The focus on offense was draining the clock and passing the ball until an open man or an easy bucket presented itself. Watching this change in philosophy was interesting to me, so I began to start following the sport more closely to study the strategies that different teams adopted.
When I accepted my job in Snyder, I knew very little about West Texas in general, assuming the focus was on baseball and football, which from what I have experienced, is primarily true.
But basketball is not some kind of forgotten sport in Scurry County.
The Western Texas College men’s team has dominated at the junior college level so far this season, going 9-0 and reaching no. 11 in the NJCAA rankings.
The Hermleigh girls’ program is as good as it has ever been under head coach Duane Hopper, and watching the progress that team makes this season will be exciting.
The most exciting thing about this basketball season is that every team from each of the three public school districts should success.
Every team features a mix of athleticism and experience, two ingredients that set them up for a season of competitive and meaningful games.
I cannot wait to get started.
If you are ready to catch some of that basketball action, the Ira girls will host Roscoe at 5 p.m. today. At 6:30 p.m., the Snyder boys will start their season off with a home game against Seminole and in Hermleigh, the Hermleigh girls will host Patton Springs at 6:30 p.m.
Reed Graff is the sports editor for the Snyder Daily News. Comments about his column may be sent to sports@snyderdailynews.com