The Tyler Consolidated boys basketball teams, both JV and Varsity wrapped up the pre-season with two scrimmages on Saturday, December 29 at the Castle. The Silver Knights scrimmaged both the Parkersburg Big Reds and the Preston High School Knights in the round robin event. The coaches were pleased overall with the performances of both squads but commented that they are a long way away before they are ready to open the season on December 9 with Doddridge County. The JV game game is set to start at 6:00 with the varsity to follow at the conclusion of the JV game.

Following his team’s preseason scrimmage, head coach Mark Winters said he walked away encouraged by the progress he’s seeing. “I thought we improved significantly from our first scrimmage,” Winters said after the matchup. “We only had two practices in between to correct some things — our midline defense, waiting on our screens before we cut, and boxing out hard on every shot attempt. We are nowhere near where we want to be, but the growth so far has been something to be excited about.”

Winters also noted that one of the early strengths of this year’s group is its depth. “Right now, I’d say we have a solid 10-man rotation, which will be extremely beneficial in the regular season,” he said. “One of the biggest takeaways from both of our scrimmages is that we didn’t run out of gas in the fourth or fifth quarter. We were able to keep guys fresh and find whoever had the hot hand or was bringing the most intensity each night.”

With conditioning improving and roles beginning to take shape, Winters believes his team is trending in the right direction as the season approaches.