"I know our boys are disappointed that we didn’t make one of the playoff spots," said Falcon's head basketball coach Nick Garman in and email. "But I’m not disappointed in them at all." Garman's enthusiasm on a 9-13 (3-7 in the 4A Sky-Em conference) was based on the Falcons previous year.
"We were 0-10 in league the year before and we really only returned three kids off that team," Garman explained. "So we started over in a way and finished 9-13 overall, a pretty dramatic improvement."
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| Starting Falcons' center, 6-7 Jacob Marr towers above Junction City opponents for a rebound in Elmira's game against the Tigers Tuesday, February 5 at Elmira High School. Photo by Michelle Ossowski. |
The 2019-20 version of the Falcons will move on without starting point guard Paul Ossowski, and loose some length with the graduations of Keegan Cook and Jaden Palmer. Also moving on will be sixth man Riley Chambers.
There is evidence that the progress made this season will not be a one season aberration. Starters Christian Davis and Jacob Marr return this year. Davis showed flashes of devastating offense but also had periods where his shot abandoned him. Defensively he is long and aggressive. Marr will be a junior and with a year of being a starter in the rugged Sky-Em conference, he will be ready to up his game which at times seemed unstoppable. However, the 6-7 sophomore needed work defensively and sometimes struggled against offensively versatile centers.
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| Junior wing Christian Davis scores against two defenders in the Falcons' victory over the Vikings, Tuesday February 12. Photo by Michelle Ossowski |
Others playing a key role next year will be Gannon Harpole, 6-5 Cobyn Herbert, Mason Smart and Keaton Warner, as well as JV players Jacob Admire and Josiah Hernandez.
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| 6-5 sophomore Cobyn Herbert battles two Siuslaw defenders for a rebound in the Falcons' 23 point blow out Tuesday February 12. Photo by Michelle Ossowski |
The real revelation of the season was the ascension of Bryson Forsman during the last third of the season. Not big or long, Forsman nonetheless became a vital scoring weapon for the Falcons down the stretch including a 25 point outburst in a victory against Junction City. It will be interesting to see how coach Garman utilizes him next year. Forsman's real contribution was an almost frenetic and fearless energy. Smaller than most front liners, Forsman would courageously take forays into the paint, attacking the opponent's rim. He also has a competent outside game to complement his aggression and, despite his size, he is a frustrating defender.
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| Bryson Forsman shoots a three pointer off a screen by Riley Chambers in Elmira's big win over Siuslaw, Tuesday, February 12 at Elmira High School. |
"It probably seemed like Bryson did come out of nowhere," Garman commented. "But that was mainly due to a lingering illness that kept him out of most of the first two weeks of the season. He then had to play catch-up in a couple of ways. One, he had to get in basketball shape and was two weeks behind in some ways and two, he had to learn our system and style of play as a transfer kid. He is an excellent penetrator, a decent three-point shooter and an above average pull-up jump shooter. He improved a lot defensively and is an excellent rebounder, especially for his size. He is a pretty tenacious kid.
