Richland hoops hungry for more

Richland's Eric Williams looks at the scoreboard during a summer league game on June 18. at the Cape Sportsplex.

Photo Courtesy of Carrie Trovillion - Freelance Photographer

The Richland Rebels boys basketball team finished one of their most successful seasons in recent memory with a loss in the Class 1 quarterfinal against eventual state champion Chadwick. For a team who finished 14-14 in 2023, a 23-8 record with a quarterfinal appearance is a big win but the Rebels are itching to get back on top.

The journey to the promised land begins in summer league basketball where the Rebels are playing local competition and trying to improve their skills. Richland head coach Matt Cline said his team is ready to work but they have to get a lot better if they want to return to the state playoffs.

“They’ve done a good job showing up so far but we’re way too careless with the basketball. We have to get tough to get back where we were in March,” Cline said. “Summer basketball is a different animal so it’s helping us toughen back up.”

The Rebels lost just two seniors but will have six this season so the leadership of upperclassmen is intact. The chemistry was apparent in their summer league game against the Cape Mavericks on June 18. as Richland defeated the slightly bigger team.

Cline said there are several players who can be expected to play big minutes this season.

“Dayton Daniels, Jay White and Josh Barnes are all guys who can come in and get some quality minutes,” Cline said.

Another player Cline mentioned was senior forward Eric Williams who he said has improved tremendously over the six weeks of summer league at the Cape Sportsplex.

“I’m able to dribble the ball a lot better than the last three years and during AAU I’ve been filling in as a big and as a guard,” Williams said. “I’ve also been working on my mid-range shot a lot more.”

Cline and Williams agreed the team has the ability to return to where they were next year but it will take a lot of hard work, something neither one of them shied away from.

“I think we all just need to come in the same as we did last year, and not get a big head just because we won a lot more games than we had before,” Williams said.