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Coppell Student Media

The official student news site of Coppell High School

Coppell Student Media

The official student news site of Coppell High School

Coppell Student Media

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October 26, 2023

Young season promising for guard-heavy team

Coppell+High+School+junior+small+forward+Sam+Marshall+passes+the+ball+to+junior+point+guard+Peyton+Chun.+Marcus+defeated+the+Cowboys+Tuesday+night+at+Marcus+High+School%2C54-40.+Photo+by+Ale+Ceniceros.
Coppell High School junior small forward Sam Marshall passes the ball to junior point guard Peyton Chun. Marcus defeated the Cowboys Tuesday night at Marcus High School,54-40. Photo by Ale Ceniceros.

By Marcus Krum
Sports Editor
@marcuskrum

With only two players listed at over 6 feet 2 inches tall, this year’s Coppell Cowboys basketball team looked to be facing some big obstacles in their lack of height. However, after a 3-1 start and a third place in the South San tournament in San Antonio, there is a bright future in this young season for this guard-heavy team.

In the first four regular season games of the year, the Cowboys shot a scalding 48 percent from behind the three point line, contributing in large part to their early-season success for the team, who is averaging over 52 points per game.

“We need to execute games within the games,” Cowboys coach Kit Pehl said. “For us, that’s the offensive rebounding war, giving up and what we accomplish ourselves. It’s transition points. It’s free throws. If we don’t have a concentrated effort on those three things, our lack of size can really hurt us. That’s our real focus as a guard-heavy basketball team.”

One of the unexpected produces thus far for this team has been junior guard Christian Plummer, a transfer from DeSoto. In the first four games, Plummer averaged over eight points, leading the team in scoring in two of the games.

“Christian is a really versatile piece on our team,” junior guard Robin Kim said. “He has really good length and size that we can use on offense but especially on defense his length affects the other team greatly.”

For a team without big defensive size inside, the on-ball defense is a huge key in being a successful basketball team. Thus far, the Cowboys have held their opponents to 46 points per game, including nine quarters in which they have held opposing teams to single digit scoring.

In the South San Tournament, where their only loss was to high-scoring Helotes O’Connor, the strengths of this team were on display in the third place finish.

“If we impose our will on other teams, we’re tough to beat,” Pehl said. “When we get away from what we’re good at, we’re beatable. Over the course of this [tournament], that was really evident.”

Senior guard Josh Fink and forward Drew Smith returned to the court after being worked back into practice in the second week of the season. Coming from football, the adjustment may not be smooth initially, but the leadership that they provide is still there.

“They are experienced seniors that we have all played with for years” Kim said. “They know everything about the program and it’s great to have the extra bodies”

After losing some height and senior leadership after graduating Collin Wallace and Alex Nicoll in the offseason, the road ahead looked uncertain. However, with the start that the Cowboys have had, there is no reason to believe there is anything but success ahead.

“We’ve had some early success in really competitive games,” Pehl said. “Early on, it’s good to be tested. We’ve done some good things, and we’ve shown some things we need to work on. To be competitive in almost every game we’ve played is a good sign.”

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