The Kutztown boys basketball team is set on becoming a stronger program during the 2023-24 season.
In what first-year Eric Luckenbill is calling a total reset, the Cougars are looking to get back to the District 3 playoffs and put down the foundation for long-term success.
“We’ve completely hit the reset button from last year,” Luckenbill said. “I met with all the boys last May when I got hired and we talked about things that they wanted to keep and things that they wanted to do differently.
“It kind of just seemed like everybody wanted to hit the reset button, that it was time to start the new program. So we have completely new coaches from middle school all the way through high school. We’ve been doing a lot of workouts twice a week during the summer, lifting and shooting and just doing a whole bunch of different skills and drills.
“Our focus really was to get in the lab and kind of start to figure out what the Cougar way was again, and try to figure out how we can move this into the future.”
Last season, Kutztown finished 3-9 in Berks IV, 7-15. The Cougars last made the District 3 playoffs two seasons ago when they fell to Lancaster Catholic 46-40 in the Class 3A quarterfinals round.
Kutztown’s last district win was in 2019 when the Cougars defeated Lancaster Mennonite in the Class 3A third-place game.
Spearheading the rebuild are seniors Phoenix Kellogg and Chase Franks, and junior Colten Mathias. Kutztown graduated its top three scorers from a year ago. EJ Miranda, a senior guard, averaged 5.6 points per game as the team’s fourth leading scorer from last season.
Kellogg, a 5-10 point guard who also participates in track and field and cross country, said he believes his teammates’ strong resolve will carry the squad forward.
“All of us are determined to get better each and every day,” Kellogg said. “We got guys in here every day; no one’s ever late. No one’s missing practices so we’re all just working hard. Having a positive record and qualifying for districts is a huge goal for us.”
At 6-5, Mathias ,a football and baseball player, adds plenty of height and athleticism at forward. Mathias and senior forward Kole Schuler (6-3) give Kutztown size, one of its strengths as the Cougars’ multi-sport athletes help create a dynamic roster.
“I think the athleticism for us is going to be something that’s really interesting,” Luckenbill said. “We have Phoenix Kellogg; he’s is getting recruited for cross country and track, so he never gets tired. Kole Schuler is another one of our seniors. He’s a three-sport athlete and he won a district title in baseball and a district title in soccer, so he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience about what it takes to be a winning culture.”
According to Mathias, the winning mentality that extends from the fall and spring seasons adds to a sense of team chemistry.
“I had some bigger roles in the baseball and football seasons and I feel like that will help me step up this year in basketball,” said Mathias, who was the Cougars’ quarterback in the fall. “We have some more baseball players here and I feel like a big part of that baseball season was the team chemistry. We all knew each other. We didn’t moan and complain. We just always stayed together, and I feel like that’s one of the top top keys to winning.
“I feel like this year we really have to build team chemistry and especially for next year. The sophomores and freshmen are stepping up and we just have to build that team chemistry to get better.”
That sense of unity is instilled through the upperclassmen as Kutztown tries to build a team-first culture.
“After every practice me and Phoenix try to set a good example for all these kids off the court and on the court, how to be a leader,” Franks said. “We do our best to make sure everyone’s happy at the end of practice, everyone has their heads up and making sure everyone builds that leadership, not as one person, but as a team so everyone is a leader on the court, not just one person.”
The goal for the Cougars is rooted in long-term growth. For Luckenbill, success won’t be measured just on wins and losses, but rather how well the program can blossom in a sustainable fashion where everyone is involved.
“I really believe that our best basketball can be ahead of us like it was here in the 1960s and ’70s,” Luckenbill said. “There’s excellence here. There’s academic excellence. There’s athletic excellence. So if I can keep building that culture of leadership and helping the older guys understand that they have a role in showing the younger guys what it’s all about, that’s important.
“We’ve been talking about three phases this fall: Phase one is this year. So we’re going to try to do right by our four seniors, we’re going to try to win games and be competitive, and our big goal is to qualify for districts, which is going to be tough, but that’s what we want to do.
“Our second phase is to focus on the next year and to focus on all those sophomores and our freshmen to be able to build something continuous.
“And then that third phase was a big goal of mine, which is to connect more with our middle school programs and our youth programs. We did a skills-and-drills camp in the fall where 60 kids showed up and we did three different nights of skills and drills for younger kids. So we’re trying to bring the feeling back that this is a community program, and it takes everybody to help make that happen.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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