Sports

Controlled aggressiveness on defense is a focal point for third-year Richmond varsity girls basketball coach Kaylee Vantrump and her Spartans. “We’re working on being able to put a lot more ball pressure on without fouling,” Vantrump said following a preseason jamboree with Lawson and Polo at Lawson.

Like Richmond’s previous varsity boys basketball coach, the Spartans’ new coach has a history of winning. Brent Behler, who succeeds Kevin Jermain, joins the program after a stint at Braymer, where he led the boys program to a runner-up finish in the Class 1 state tournament last season.

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS In terms of progress, Orrick’s varsity boys basketball program is miles ahead of where it was around this time last season, according to secondyear coach Chris Harbison. “Things aren’t going to change a whole lot systematically in Year 2, so we’re really just able to build off what we did (in) Year 1, when it comes to skill and decision-making and kind of all the nuance that comes with basketball and just keep the structure the same,” Harbison said during a preseason interview.

Coach Tommy Burton has seen progress in Hardin-Central’s varsity girls basketball program since taking the helm in 2023. That progress started with himself, he suggested.