2022-23 boys basketball preview: Royals break out the burners
Nov. 28—Rose Hill Christian will try to nullify its lack of height with an abundance of might.
Second-year coach Charlie Wilcoxen is viewing 5-foot-11 senior Benton Rucker as "our big," so it's safe to say the Royals won't intimidate any opponents by the look test.
As the old cliche goes, it is what it is.
"Our tallest guy is 6-foot," Wilcoxen said. "But we're going to play fast, and try to speed up some of these larger teams."
Raceland, for instance, will likely feature a starting five who will have a 3- or 4-inch height advantage at each position. The Rams will host the Royals in their third regular season game on Dec. 8.
"We have speed with the guard play," Wilcoxen said.
Christian Blevins (junior), Collin Wilburn (junior), Jacob Tyler (senior), Allan Boss (sophomore) and Rucker will likely comprise Rose Hill's starting lineup. Senior Cody Hensley will provide significant minutes, too.
Youthful reserves include five seventh-graders and a freshman.
"We're going to have a decent team," said the Royals' coach. "We have a good core group with our older guys, but we're young overall.
"We'll kinda test the mettle early," he added, citing games against East Carter, Russell, Raceland and Lewis County before Christmas. "We'll have an iron-sharpens-iron mentality."
Blevins scored 11.3 points per game in 2021-22. He was a 79% free-throw shooter.
Wilburn put in six points a game and averaged 4.7 rebounds per contest.
"Those guys really don't stop," Wilcoxen said of Blevins and Wilburn. "They've been conditioning and they're shooting the ball from the outside pretty well."
Rucker has also developed an outside game, Wilcoxen noted. He's looking for leadership from those three, in particular.
"They know the standard, and know what we're trying to do overall," said the coach. "I need them to lead by example."
Wilcoxen said the five seventh-graders will ideally buy into the program early and relish valuable varsity experience.
"They're not necessarily going to play a bunch of minutes, but they could get into some games in garbage time or if we're in deep foul trouble," Wilcoxen said. "This group is a good group because all five have been playing together since second and third grade."
The coach wants to see them stick together over the next few years.
Wilcoxen said high energy and physicality will be key in order for Rose Hill to compete.
The Royals went 4-26 last season. Rose Hill picked up Wilcoxen's first win on Dec. 18 against Covenant (Barboursville, West Virginia). The Royals also beat Covington Latin, Sciotoville Community (Ohio) and Hannan (West Virginia).
