Youth movement pushing Titans boys hoops

“The commitment level has been extremely high”

There’s really no sugarcoating the upcoming season for the Crested Butte Titans boys basketball team. They will have their hands full. Not only do they play in one of the most competitive 2A leagues in the state, but there’s only one returning starter from last year’s Titans team.
Nevertheless, what coach Brandin Hamilton may have lost to graduation, he’s more than made up for in sheer numbers and focus, starting from the top with assistant coach Dustin Simeons.
Simeons helped out last year with the Titans on a volunteer basis but has stepped into a full-time assistant role this year and has run with his new position. Rather than wait until the start of the season on November 13 to start working with the team, Simeons had the kids in the halls and the gyms prepping for the start of the 2013-2014 season.
“I’m extremely excited to have him around full-time this year,” says Hamilton.
Hamilton and Simeons have 20 kids out this year, 10 of whom are freshmen, and most of whom began their high school career this past summer.
“We got in two camps last summer and I had a great showing from the underclassmen at both camps,” says Hamilton. “There are a lot of new faces and a lot of guys excited about the sport.”
Still, while the youth brings in some inspired play, they need upperclassmen to show the way and so far Hamilton likes what he sees out of his returning players.
“The upperclassmen realize they have to step up and they understand that they will have to step into some larger roles this year and they’re giving it everything they’ve got,” says Hamilton. “There’s some great maturity and leadership from the seniors. They’re fired up.”
As a result, Hamilton and Simeons are using the new energy to push the players more from the get-go and they are responding to the call to action.
“We’ve seen a really strong work ethic and focus from the group,” explains Hamilton. “It’s been really easy to coach them. They have a stronger basketball IQ than I’ve seen in awhile.”
In a little over a week into team workouts, Hamilton has made adjustments to his defensive and offensive schemes to match well with the players he has.
“Defensively I can start working on a more aggressive man-to-man,” explains Hamilton. “Offensively, I’ve had to change things because I have an entirely different group of guys. They’re a smarter group so working on shot selection will be a huge part of what we do.”
The Titans hit the road on Friday, November 22 for a couple of preseason scrimmages against Salida and Cotopaxi, giving the coaches and the players their first chance to put into play what they’ve been working on for two weeks.
“Our focus has been on defensive principles, so I want to see if they can follow through with what we’ve been working on,” says Hamilton.
The boys will open the regular season on Friday, December 6 when they head to Leadville for the annual Lake County tournament and tip off league play starting in January.
While Hamilton acknowledges the team’s limits, he is committed to elevating their game as the season progresses and believes they are ready for the challenge.
“There will be some rough times at the start but these guys can handle it,” says Hamilton. “I’m really excited about this year and no matter what, they’re going to give it everything they got.”