Lexington Minutemen working on unity ahead of hyped up 2022-23

LEXINGTON — The hype surrounding the Lexington Minutemen boys basketball program is real.

And now, the real work begins to live up to the hype.

Lexington brings back five lettermen and two starters from last year's 15-10 team that finished 7-5 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference and took home the Division II district runner-up trophy. Minutemen coach Scott Hamilton, who is the program's all-time wins leader at 160-84 entering his 11th season at the helm, knows the goal for the early part of the season is to make sure his group comes together as one unified team because there is no time for individualism.

"For us, it is just about coming together, Hamilton said. "We bring back an experienced group from last year's district runner-up finish and a couple guys who came off the bench will be key contributors as well as some guys who played primarily JV. And of course, everyone knows we have a phenomenal freshman coming in who will go right to varsity. So it will be all about figuring out where guys fit in and making sure we come together."

The Minutemen have a roster full of players who can be starters on any given night. Senior Baden Forup, a returning All-Ohioan, and senior Hudson Moore are both locks for the starting lineup and from there, the starting spots are up for anyone to grab.

Senior AJ Young is likely going to get the nod at point guard with fellow senor Alex Depperschmidt as his backup and sixth man off of the bench. Six-foot-eight junior Elijah Hudson will also be a likely starter after coming off of the bench last season and sensational freshman Brayden Fogle could round out the starting lineup for the Minutemen.

"Baden is my All-Ohioan and it will all start with him," Hamilton said. "He had a very good offseason and I am excited to have him back in the gym again. I would put him one-on-one against anyone on the floor. Double teams will come his way and that is where Hudson Moore comes in because he is such an active and strong kid who rebounds and does everything well."

Hamilton likes what he has in his two point guard options as well.

"We have AJ Young and Alex Depperschmidt at the point guard spot and both played a lot last year," Hamilton said. "Alex put on some height and they both had great fall seasons in different sports so they are coming in healthy and with momentum. AJ looks really good coming in after being dinged up last year out of football season."

Hudson is a long and tall sharpshooter who can play multiple positions. He will bring a different dynamic to the lineup along with a few guys off of the bench. Senior Jaxx Lamp and sophomore Gavin Husty will bring the depth the Minutemen have been searching for.

"Elijah Hudson came off of the bench for us last year and he is about 6-foot-8 and shoots the three very well," Hamilton said. "We are getting him inside a little bit more to use that size because you just can't teach that. We also have Jaxx Lamp and Jamerrion Feagin who will give us a bunch of minutes off of the bench and Gavin Husty as well. He is a nice shooter and is learning the defensive responsibilities we require. He is evolving."

And of course, the Minutemen bring in an extremely talented freshman in Brayden Fogle who already has several Division I college offers including from big programs like Texas A&M and Arizona State. There have been plenty of phone calls from other schools who will be attending games in the near future to get their eyes on the youngster.

"The freshman everyone wants to ask about is Brayden Fogle," Hamilton said. "He fits right in with the seniors physically and ability-wise. His skill, I cannot wait to see what happens over the next four years and his progress. He can play above the rim and we are working to get him adjusted to going against 18-year-old men. He isn't afraid of the challenge, we are just getting him used to it and all the bumping. He is handling it very well."

During the early season, Hamilton has found himself with a very nice problem as he sees multiple guys who can play any position on the court. His job will be to put guys in the right positions night in and night out.

"I have always been a coach that sets positions for each player," Hamilton said. "You're the 1, you're the 2 and so on and now we have a couple of guys who can play three different spots so we are trying to figure out what is the best for us and what is the best for each other. Hudson Moore may be a guy who plays 1-5 in a game because he can play every spot on the court. We are just trying to figure out where we fit in. It is a great problem to have but we are still in the process."

The thing that will make that an easier task is how well the team gets along. With a mixture of youth and veteran leadership, sometimes those clashes can happen, but from everything he has seen early on, Hamilton likes where the team chemistry is at.

"The chemistry is very good," Hamilton said. "I am extremely happy with where that is at. It has been a great few weeks of practice seeing where everyone is. I am a big chemistry guy and it is starting to come together. We are going to take advantage of every single bit of gym time we get. I am liking what I am seeing."

Lexington is looking to get back atop the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings for the first time since 2018-19 when they shared the title with Mansfield Senior. No matter what year it is, a league championship will always be the first goal on the list.

"That is always our first goal," Hamilton said. "OCC title is always something we want to compete for and for us, if we can do that, it normally leads to good things in the postseason. Our conference does a very good job of preparing us for the postseason. We will once again have a very tough OCC. Then our nonconference schedule with Ottawa-Glandorf and our Martin Luther King Day shooting in Fort Loramie playing against St. Marys Memorial with a 6-10 kid who is committed to Ohio State. So, we will be tested and challenged."

And hyped. Hamilton has already been hard at work not letting the hype get to his players' heads reminding them that the game isn't played on paper.

"One thing I keep reminding the guys is we haven't done anything," Hamilton said. "We haven't accomplished a single thing yet. Not only is it us and our community who feels we have a solid team, but Mansfield, Madison, Mount Vernon, Wooster, Ashland, West Holmes, New Philadephia all know that so when they practice, they are getting ready for us. Teams would love nothing more than to knock us off and that is the way we want the competition to be. We have to keep a level head, go to work every day and get things done in practice."

Lexington opens its season on Dec. 2 at West Holmes.

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington Minutemen working on unity ahead of hyped up 2022-23