Rossville coach welcomes competition in first year of tourney
Contributed photo
The Rossville High boys basketball team is, front row, from right, Jason Mathe, Dakota Shopteese, Dain Howard, Derek Hammer and Mitch Buhler; second row, Jeremy Foxhoven, Zach Quiett, Adrian Barber, Matt VanDruff, Daniel James and Alex Little; third row, Nick Sobba, Ryan Kerwin, Cody Broughton, Zeke Kramer, Ethan Brown, Tanner Cady and Josh Hansen; back row, Brandon Miller, Michael Wiseman, Stephen Woody, Derek Graves and Matt Buhler. Not pictured are Cole Cook and Jose Cavazos. This is the first year that Class 3A Rossville will participate in the 49th annual Tonganoxie Invitational basketball tournament. "This tournament will be a lot stiffer competition than what we're used to," coach Eric Anderson said.
Rossville High is one of two new teams in this year’s Tonganoxie Invitational. Tenth-year boys basketball coach Eric Anderson said the competition was a primary reason the Bulldogs were participating in the tournament.
“This tournament will be a lot stiffer competition than what we’re used to,” he said. “Hopefully that will pay off for us come sub-state time.”
Rossville enters the tournament with a 4-3 record. The Bulldogs lost three seniors from last year’s team, which went 13-8 and lost in the first round of sub-state play.
Rossville returned three more seniors, who log mega-minutes, this season: Cody Broughton, Jeremy Foxhoven and Josh Hansen.
Foxhoven leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 14 points per game. He also averages eight rebounds per contest.
“He’s 6-1, but he plays more like he’s 6-4 or 6-5,” Anderson said of Foxhoven. “He has good hops. He’s our most consistent scorer.”
Broughton is a 5-10 combo-guard, meaning he can either play point guard or shooting guard. He’s averaging 13 points and four assists per game.
Hansen got hurt earlier in the season and has missed a few games for the Bulldogs. Anderson said he expected his senior forward back in time for the tournament. Before he was injured, Hansen averaged 10 points and seven rebounds a game.
“He can play in the post and come out on the wing,” Anderson said of Hansen. “He’s interchangeable and a good all-around player.”
Anderson, who carries a 127-79 career record at Rossville, said he’d be pleased with two victories from the tournament. The Bulldogs, a Kansas Class 3A school, will go up against mostly Class 4A schools this week.
“I hope we can get up and down the court a little bit, but I have to get a feel for it,” Anderson said. “We like to run a little full-court press, but it depends on the opponent.
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- The Rossville High boys basketball team is, front row, from right, Jason Mathe, Dakota Shopteese, Dain Howard, Derek Hammer and Mitch Buhler; second row, Jeremy Foxhoven, Zach Quiett, Adrian Barber, Matt VanDruff, Daniel James and Alex Little; third row, Nick Sobba, Ryan Kerwin, Cody Broughton, Zeke Kramer, Ethan Brown, Tanner Cady and Josh Hansen; back row, Brandon Miller, Michael Wiseman, Stephen Woody, Derek Graves and Matt Buhler. Not pictured are Cole Cook and Jose Cavazos. This is the first year that Class 3A Rossville will participate in the 49th annual Tonganoxie Invitational basketball tournament. “This tournament will be a lot stiffer competition than what we’re used to,” coach Eric Anderson said.