2018 Season Preview: Broncbuster men have plenty of depth
By Mike Pilosof
Garden City, KS-When the final seconds ticked off the clock following Garden City's 65-57 loss to Coffeyville the Region VI semifinals at Hartman Arena back in March, then Head Coach Brady Trenkle felt this was the beginning of something special.
"This is the best team I've ever been around," he said. "I wanted to move on so bad for them."
When Jeff Sims team won the football National Championship in 2016, it was the culmination of two years of hard work and grit. That 2015 team started 1-7 before knocking off No. 1 Butler; then proceeded to win two out of their final three games.
The train hasn't stopped since.
After Trenkle left for Youngstown State during the offseason, assistant Patrick Nee took the reins, putting the pieces in place to follow Sims' method, which completed the greatest single-season turnaround in NJCAA history.
Nee is no stranger to the Jayhawk Conference. He was an assistant under Brian Zollinger at Seward, and before that, was the head man at Independence, winning 77 games in four years.
"I'm excited to get another opportunity," Nee said following his introductory press conference. "Brady left us in a tremendous situation with some of the guys we were able to get."
Nee has plenty of depth, but he also has lineage on his side, a knowledge database that he's banking on to get Garden City to the National Tournament for the first time since 2009.
"My dad built quite a legacy," Nee said. "And it definitely helps. We still talk plenty of hoops, and I think that knowledge has me ready to take a shot."
The elder Nee, Danny, coached for three decades. He compiled 461 career wins between Ohio, Nebraska, Duquesne and the Merchant Marines before retiring in 2014. Nee guided the Cornhuskers to the NCAA Tournament four times and was inducted into their Hall of Fame.
"There's a reason I have this opportunity," Nee said. "It's what our team did last year. 21 wins and making it the regional semifinals got Coach Trenkle a job and allowed me to slide over to be the head coach."
Whatever legacy the younger Nee carves out, will be a direct result of what happens in 2018-2019. With only two main guns back in point guard Russhard Cruickshank and post Jamir Thomas, the Broncbusters will rely heavily on their depth.
There's Miami-Dade transfer Cheikh Kebe, who joins forces with one-time Pittsburg State Gorilla R.J. Pair. Sophomore Jaleel Simmons transferred from Copper Mountain College in California, where he averaged nine points and 4.2 assists per game last season. He may be one of the most athletic guys on the floor, boasting a state high-jump championship in high school in New Jersey.
Elijah Kelly who sat out last year, may be one of the most talented players to come out of Wichita. His brother Xavier starred for Wichita East before moving onto play college football at Clemson for Dabo Swinney.
"We will do some things that we haven't done in the past," Nee said. "We want to press and push it."
Trying to one-up last year's squad may be a challenge. Trenkle's team set the program record for 3's in a season (262) and in a single game (17 vs. Colby on Feb. 24). But bringing back Cruickshank, who was one of the conference leaders in 3-point percentage, definitely helps.
As for the schedule, Garden City opens the new campaign with home dates vs. Redlands on Friday, Nov. 2 and welcome in On-Point Academy on Monday, Nov. 5. They will play two games in Nebraska; host the Broncbuster classic on November 23 before opening conference play in Concordia against Cloud County on Nov. 28.