MUSKEGON TWP. - JR Wallace and the Reeths-Puffer boys basketball team are reuniting at a perfect moment in time.
The Rockets are coming off several great seasons, including last year, when they posted a 19-4 record and won a share of the O-K Green conference championship.
That team was led by two of the best players to ever wear the R-P uniform – guard Jaxson Whitaker (who became the top scorer in team history) and post player Travis Ambrose.
For the past four years, Whitaker and Ambrose treated R-P fans to a steady diet of great performances and victories. Everyone knew that the Rockets would be good – and often dominant – while they were on the court.
But the Whitaker-Ambrose era is over, and the R-P boys face a lot of challenges as they rebuild and head into the future.
Marvin Moore
The good news is that they will be guided by another one of greatest players in R-P history.
Wallace, who was R-P’s all-time leading scorer until Whitaker eclipsed his point total last season, brings a wealth of experience to his new role as head coach.
After his career at R-P, he played four years at Central Michigan University and another eight years of professional basketball overseas.
For the past decade, Wallace has been the assistant men’s basketball coach at Grand Valley State University.
With that kind of background in the sport, R-P officials were thrilled when they learned the former Rocket great was willing to come back and coach his old high school team.
Brayden Mitchelson
Wallace knew when he took the job that the two star players were graduating and some rebuilding would be necessary, and he’s embracing the challenge as his first season begins.
The Rockets will open on Tuesday night with a non-conference road game against former O-K Green foe Zeeland East.
“We have a lot of learning going on, which is good,” Wallace said. “The guys are very open to getting better, so it’s easy to throw new things at them.
“It’s going to be different (than last season), but we may not need to do as much rebuilding as some people think. We will get to be very competitive, if not by midseason, then definitely by next year. The current group is ready to take the bull by the horns.”
From a numbers perspective, the situation could be worse for the Rockets. They return several players from last year’s roster, including two starters and the first guy off the bench.
Drew Brooks
The problem is that they lost about 75 percent of the team’s scoring, the bulk of which was provided by Whitaker and Ambrose.
Now a group of eager players are working hard to fill those very big shoes.
The top returnees this season are junior Marvin Moore and senior Brayden Mitchelson.
As a sophomore, Moore averaged around nine points per game, and showed the potential to develop into a real offensive force for the Rockets.
With last year’s two top scorers gone, Moore will have a wide open platform to showcase his talent and become a real team leader this winter.
Elliot Schneider
That last part is still a work in progress for the soft-spoken Moore, according to Wallace.
“He’s definitely a Division 1 (college) player in my eyes,” Wallace said about Moore. “His best thing is that he has a great pull-up jumper, and he’s good at getting to the basket. The big challenge for him is to grow as a leader vocally. I have reminded him that Jesus was a lion, not a lamb.”
Mitchelson, the other returning starter, averaged around eight points per game, and will bring a lot of skill and experience to the lineup.
“He might be the most unique player in our league, because he can do so many things,” Wallace said about Mitchelson. “He can bring the ball up the court and he has a decent three-point shot. I am eager to see what he can do during the season.”
Another likely starter will be senior Drew Brooks, who was a frequent sixth man on last year’s team and will play a bigger role this season.
Moore in action last season against Mona Shores.
Several other returning players will also be very important for the Rockets, including senior Elliot Schneider, a 6-4 post player who will provide a lot of physicality under the boards and can hit some shots from the outside.
One intriguing newcomer who will see a lot of court time, and may be a starter, is 6-4 junior Kristian Brown, a golf standout who played basketball as a freshman but did not come out for the sport last year.
“He decided to come out late for tryouts,” Wallace said about Brown. “He has a nice little jump shot, and the big thing is that he’s strong on the glass and runs the floor like a deer.”
Rounding out the roster are seniors Kamarion Davis, Ja'Von Plummer, Marquise Longmire and Trevon Totten and juniors Alex Kieft, Carson McCollom, Zayden Schneider and Braulio Ramos.
While certain players are penciled in for important roles, the path to more playing time is wide open for anybody who puts in the work and shows consistent improvement, according to Wallace.
Mitchelson takes a shot in a game last season.
“We’re trying to make sure everyone has an opportunity,” the coach said. “It’s somewhat of a clean slate, and we want to make sure that guys earn what they get.”
R-P will compete in a revamped O-K Green conference this season, with Holland, Grand Rapids Union, Zeeland East and Zeeland West gone, and Byron Center, Caledonia and Jenison replacing them.
Wallace expects two of the best teams in the league to be familiar rivals Mona Shores and Muskegon, but says Byron Center may be the best of all.
When asked about his team’s biggest strength heading into the season, Wallace said “We’re going to defend, and we’re going to be a scrappy team that’s fun to watch because of our effort.”
When asked about the Rockets' biggest challenge, he pointed to an overall lack of experience as far as court time.
“A lor of the guys have not been on that stage.” the coach said. “They haven’t had the opportunity to perform yet. We are excited, and we’re trying to empower everyone, but you just don’t know exactly what it will look like until the lights come on.”