The Community R-6 boys played only their second slate of summer games on June 16 but were on the winning side most of the time.
The Trojans won two of their three games in Higbee Shootout games …
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The Community R-6 boys played only their second slate of summer games on June 16 but were on the winning side most of the time.
The Trojans won two of their three games in Higbee Shootout games at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, defeating Bucklin/Macon County 45-17 and Higbee 54-52 in overtime and losing 34-29 to Clopton.
Head coach Jack Rigdon was hired as head coach earlier this summer and said he is learning the players as much as they are learning him. Still, he said he has liked how they have competed against some unfamiliar competition and some familiar foes.
“I’m loving the progress,” Rigdon said. “We’re continuing to learn and get better. There are still a lot of things on the floor we need to improve on. It’s a great way to learn by being in situations like this, and that’s why we do summer.”
They are exhibition games, but Community had a lot of excitement in their second game on June 16 against Higbee. The game needed overtime for the Trojans to defeat a district rival over the past four years and who has had six straight winning seasons.
“What I loved is we battled adversity,” Rigdon said. “Coach (Tyler) Kobush said we went 1-for-4 from the free throw line and couldn’t close it out in regulation. Our guys responded. They tried to hold the ball down the end, and we did a great job getting a defensive stop. It was a great rebound by Rett (Curtis) to get it to KaTavyn (Wheeler) and run the floor with six seconds left.”
Wheeler pump faked and hit a layup at the end to win the game and put Community on the winning end of a close game, which have been numerous already. On June 15 at the Montgomery County Shootout, the Trojans defeated Wright City 39-35 and lost 26-23 to Montgomery County and 45-41 to Elsberry.
Rigdon said he has had only about four full practices up to that point, but he has been impressed with how his players have learned some sets in a short period of time. For example, he said Community countered Higbee’s 1-3-1 zone well. Brett Beamer had an eventful game by hitting a handful of 3-pointers.
Rigdon hopes Community continues to learn sets well on the court but wants his team to grow in other ways before summer ends. He said he has been part of rebuilding teams and has also been part of a state runner-up last year on the St. Vincent girls coaching staff, so he is aware of all of the different emotions on a basketball team.
“I want them handling things with class,” Rigdon said. “There’s some times we’re emotional, so I want them to control their emotions a little bit better and just make sure we’re mentally prepared to play. They need to continue to learn playing as a team, having them continue to learn each other, understanding our roles and figuring out what’s the best shots for us in situations.”
