Fall arrives, bells ring for school. During the day classes are filled with scholars with different aspirations and visions. After that final bell of the day rings, practice for student athletes take place, their practice adamant on and off the field for the reason of winning a ring. Football hype comes and goes after the championship and the thought of basketball roams in the air. Millard West sports leaves a taste in mouths that could be sour or sweet, depending on the school, this season, it may be the most sour it’s ever been. 

The most notable change of the offseason for the cats is the amount of players on the roster. The Cats had 21 different players with a number last year and only have 14 this year. Nate Glantz, a senior this year, transferred to Bellevue West last year, leaving the football and basketball squads. Millard West finished the 2018 season under .500, going 10-12. In order to improve, they need to win the “must-win” games this year. Games including Pius X, Millard North, Burke and Millard South. They only won one of the four of those games, not to mention the last four games played, they lost all four. 

Players to look out for this year are relatively the same. D2 Morningside College commit, senior Zach Olson, takes the court for his final season as a Wildcat. Coming off last season, Olson averaged seven points per game (PPG) and averaging a block per game as well. Olson needs to use all of the 6’ 6” he has to crash the glass this season as well, finishing last year with almost averaging three rebounds per game (RPG). junior Evan Meyersick is also one of the most explosive players on offense for the Cats, averaging just over eight PPG accompanied by four RPG and one steal per game. 

One of the most notable losses though, is senior Tristain Gomes. The D1 Cal-State Fullerton commit is notably missing on the roster this year. Surprising because of the statistics he put up last year. Gomes averaged almost nine PPG (the leader of the pack), averaged six RPG and two assists per game. Gomes did only play 15 out of the 22 games, however, averages like that cripple an offense if left out, different players need to step up and pick up where Gomes left off. 

The Wildcats opened up the 2019-2020 season by entering the Jamboree tournament held by different schools across the Metro. The Cats went up against Lincoln Southwest in the opening round of the tournament, after a slow start, the Cats rallied and defeated Lincoln Southwest 58-54 in the opening round. The Wildcats then faced Pius X for the second game, a fast start allowed for the Cats to take a 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, but a horrible offensive and defensive third quarter allowed for Pius to comeback and win 61-53, ending the tournament run for Millard West. junior Dom Humm showed his talent during the first game against Southwest, scoring 18 points and averaging 58% from the field. But Dalys Beanum and Evan Meyersick both opened the season well for the game against Pius. Beanum put up 10 points and shot 40% from the field as well as Meyersick scoring 15 total points and shot 55% from the field. 

This season will be a big one for the Millard West basketball program. Two division one commits playing in their last season together, as well as great competition such as Pius X, Millard North, and Creighton Prep. The talent is there, but with Tristain Gomes out, names like Zach Olson, Dalys Beanum, Henry Posley and Ryan Larsen have to really step up to pick up the PPG for The Cats basketball team.