Inexperienced roster doesn't bother new Huron coach

HURON — Only two players on the Tigers' 14-man varsity roster — Jackson McNulty and Cody Scroggins — scored points for Huron's 17-7 team last season. Excuses? Toby Miller is preaching positivity. "I think we're gonna be a lot better than people think," Miller said. "The biggest potential Achilles heel for us is lack of experience. We only return two guys who played varsity at all last year. But what we lack in experience we make up for in ability. "Our kids have done a tremendous job in the spring and summer of making time for basketball even though they're multi-sport athletes." The Tigers started 4-4 last season before winning 10 straight in January and early February. Huron finished 7-3 in the SBC Bay Division and split games with league champion Willard. In the postseason, the Tigers — led by graduated Dylan Hohler and Luke Rager — won three Division III tournament games before falling 56-51 to Cardinal Stritch in a district final. "I've been telling them there are no down years at Huron. You're never gonna be the underdog here," Miller said. "You need to take the floor with the expectation to win and perform." Huron will build around its two returners. McNulty is a physically gifted 6-foot-4 forward who averaged 7.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season. "Jackson is an absolute terror around the basket," Miller said. "He's got next-level athletic ability and can finish with both hands. "Where he's really taken the next step is he's improved his ball-handling, and his outside shot has come along. He's taking 3s off the dribble and making them with confidence. That was an element of his game that wasn't there as a sophomore." Scroggins, a 6-2 senior guard, is coming off a stellar football season. He was the quarterback on the Tigers' playoff team. "He obviously had a great senior season of football. More times than not when you see kids have great seniors years of football they transition seamlessly into basketball and take on a big role," Miller said. "Cody had an amazing summer for us. He's a true three-level scorer. The biggest thing will be giving him the confidence he had on the football field. A confident Cody is one of the best players in the league, I would argue." Senior Charlie Hardy and junior Tommie McDonald will step into starting roles in the backcourt. Hardy, who played on the junior varsity last year, can shoot it. He hit seven 3-pointers in a JV game last season and made seven 3s in a summer camp game at Findlay. "He profiles as one of the best shooters in the league, but he's worked on getting to the rim and finishing," Miller said. "We've worked a lot of strengthening his lower body. He's defending, he's rebounding, he's honestly a coach's dream." McDonald will handle point guard duties. "He had a great summer for us. He's really shifty with the ball," Miller said. "He does a nice job of creating paint touches. He's not a selfish player. He's probably our best passer. While he may not give you 20 a night, he can give you 8 points, 8 assists and he's gonna compete his butt off." Other players who should see significant playing time include sophomore Landon Hohler, junior Joe Wood and senior "glue guy" Ryan Sas. Miller prefers a fast pace on the court. "Free-flowing basketball," he said. "We're trying to teach them how to play within concepts and principles." Miller has seen plenty of the Huron school system in his new job as district substitute. He's primarily based at the middle school, but his position has allowed him to get the word out to future Tigers. "I have taught everything from high school choir to kindergarten," Miller said. "I did first grade the other day. I've done Spanish. I've been at all three schools. I've gotten to meet all the building administrators and I get to meet all my kids at the respective levels. "I love that I get to see the entire district." One of his biggest jobs as a first-year coach is to get his players to believe. "The biggest thing is getting them to believe in themselves. You lose 10 seniors and a large percentage of scoring and I tell you they can go anywhere they want to go. I believe it," he said. "It's a matter of them collectively coming together and believing in themselves." No.&emsp;Name&emsp;Pos.&emsp;Ht.&emsp;Yr. 0&emsp;Charlie Hardy&emsp;G&emsp;6-0&emsp;12 1&emsp;Landon Hohler&emsp;G&emsp;6-1&emsp;10 2&emsp;Joe Wood&emsp;G&emsp;5-9&emsp;11 3&emsp;Ryan Sas&emsp;F&emsp;6-0&emsp;12 4&emsp;Jackson McNulty&emsp;F&emsp;6-4&emsp;11 5&emsp;Cody Scroggins&emsp;G&emsp;6-2&emsp;12 10&emsp;Parker Schafer&emsp;G&emsp;6-4&emsp;10 11&emsp;Tommie McDonald&emsp;G&emsp;5-8&emsp;11 12&emsp;Landon Enderle&emsp;F&emsp;6-2&emsp;10 14&emsp;Quentin Conway&emsp;G&emsp;5-11&emsp;10 20&emsp;Louis Lamb&emsp;G&emsp;6-0&emsp;10 23&emsp;Jack Raglow&emsp;G&emsp;5-10&emsp;10 24&emsp;Lennox Ludewig&emsp;G&emsp;6-0&emsp;11 34&emsp;Evan Smith&emsp;F&emsp;6-3&emsp;11