Boys Basketball: Loggers return plenty for another run

Heading into boys basketball season last year, not too many coaches around the league gave the Loggers much of a chance. But Libby rolled through a fairly impressive regular season and took a 13-5 overall record into the Northwestern A tournament.

Libby hit a few rough spots during its quest for the state playoffs, however, and fell one win shy of advancing to Great Falls.

“We try not to put a whole lot of stock in preseason picks by coaches in the league,” Loggers coach Wally Winslow said. “You have to take the kids you have and prepare them. That’s what we try to do.”

No matter where Libby shows up in the league’s preseason rankings, Winslow appears to have plenty to work with when it comes to returning talent. Only two regular starters are gone from a year ago.

Kelly May, Alex Cislo and Colton Cannon are all back in uniform. And T.J. Benson, who started the first couple of weeks of the season until knocked out with a broken bone in his foot, also returns.

Benson and Cannon bring a high level of athleticism to the court.

“Colti s a great shooter, he has great range with a very soft touch,” Winslow said. “He can be the kind of guy that can put up big numbers point-wise – if that’s what the team needs him to do. There will be situations where Colt scores a lot of points and other times when he needs to hold back. He’s going to draw a lot of attention from the defense.”

Benson’s foot seems to be just fine. He was the lone all-state football selection for LHS.

“It seems to have healed well,” Winslow said. “He brings a degree of athleticism to the court that the other kids can’t.”

Cislo represents a major portion of Libby’s inside presence.

“Alex is a great offensive rebounder,” Winslow said. “He goes to the basket and pursues the ball as hard as anybody I’ve ever coached.”

As for May, he brings a “little bit of everything” – as the coach put it.

“He understands the game better than anybody else on the team,” Winslow said. “He has great court sense, knows where people need to be and what people are doing. He’s improved his perimeter game over last year.”

May worked inside a significant amount of the time on last year’s squad. Although 6-foot-1, May’s outside attack could be more beneficial to the lineup.

“He’ll get a chance to play on the perimeter,” Winslow said. “That’ll be an adjustment that he’s looking forward to.”

Seniors Nate Broden and Matt Nelson along with juniors Garrett Craig and Cree Maloney are competing for starting positions and playing time. All four lettered last year and Broden saw significant time in the tournament. With Cislo playing a position where he will likely foul a lot, backups play a major role.

Winslow said the team needs more consistency.

“Shooting the ball is something that we have to do well,” Winslow said. “We’d play and score 75 points, and then we’d play another game and score 38. The focus this year is the level of our effort.”

Winslow said last year’s team did not lack effort but the team would fall into bouts of “ugly basketball.” Erasing those stretches of ugly will be a key, the coach said.

“I think Columbia Falls is a couple steps ahead of everybody else right now,” Winslow said about the Northwestern A. “The other four teams are all pretty close. I think after Columbia Falls, it’s pretty tight.”