The Bushnell-Prairie City High School boys basketball squad that finished 7-20 last season is looking for a fresh start in 2025-26.
The program graduated eight seniors from that team, while coach Tyler Snyder also resigned.
Entering the new season, Shane Curry is stepping in to lead the Spartans.
And he is asking a lot from his players. “That’s the biggest thing coming in,” said Curry. “How much can we get out of these guys, because they’re going to have to dig real deep.”
“We’re going to be a young team,” he added. It starts with four seniors in guards Connor Palm (5-feet, 11-inches) and De’Arion Ruffin-Thomas (5-8), guard/ forward Ryan Adler (5-11) and forward/center Logan Ash (6-2).
“A lot of these seniors are going to have to play big, big minutes and have to play a long time,” said Curry. “They’re going to have to have that gas tank to be able to go into those deep waters.”
Joining Ruffin-Thomas and Palm as returning starters is sophomore guard Braylon Griffitts (6-0).
“I have very high hopes in those three,” said Curry. “Many teams are going to want to press us. I’m really interested to see what those three do.”
“They all can handle the ball. All three of them can shoot. All three of them can get to the rim,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ash provides the Spartans with an inside presence.
“I’ve already told him ‘I don’t need 30 points a game from you. I need rebounds and scrappiness. I need you to do the dirty work to get our scorers involved,’” Curry said of his message to Ash.
The roster also includes four juniors including 6-3 center Christian Graybill, along with guards/forwards Jayden Robinson (6-0), Camden Shinn (6-3) and Caiden Weinmann (5-10).
Curry noted that Shinn, while being one of the team’s tallest players, has the ability to play any position on the floor.
Rounding out the varsity roster are sophomore guards/forwards Thomas Anderson (6-0), Dylan King (6-0) and Reese Klinedinst (6-1).
“We’ve been doing a lot of high-intensity drills because that’s what the brand of basketball we’re going to have to play this year,” said Curry.
That brand of basketball is a high-tempo, in your face, full court, pedal to the medal brand.
“Once we get a rebound, we’re not sitting back and letting teams press us,” said Curry. “We are in transition up the floor.”
“Those teams that are long are able to stretch the floor and press you,” he added. “Once we get the ball, we’re going so they don’t have time to set.”
That’s where the team’s guard play will be critical to its success.
“Our brand of basketball is going to be letting our guards play,” said Curry. “Everything is going to have multiple options, but letting our skilled, seasoned guards play.
And our bigs (post players) are just going to have to be bruisers and pick up all the scraps.”
“We want it to be miserable basketball for everyone else that we play,” he added.
Along with the tempo, the Spartans have been working on their shooting.
“We got a lot of shots up in the fall during open gyms,” said Curry, who is aiming for the team to make a statement early on.
“Basketball is a long season,” he said. “You don’t crown a champion in the first week, but you can figure out who’s got ‘contender’ written on them. I think that’s something we need to be striving for and say that we’re going to be contenders this season.”
Curry stated that regardless of past history or team makeup, the goals should be postseason success.
“If your goal every single year is not to win a regional title, then what are you doing?” Curry noted. “Some people might say ‘Oh man, those are real big goals for a team to win a regional.’” “I believe the goal in all of this is a state championship,” he continued. “If your goal at the end of the day in all of this is not a regional championship, then we’re not looking at the right goals here.”
“That’s the mindset that we’re going to push with these guys,” said Curry. “We’re not looking to win 10 games, we’re looking to hoist a plaque.”
In order for the Spartans to achieve those goals, Curry knows the team will need to execute on both ends of the floor.
“We’re going to have to shoot well and we’re going to have to finish at the rim,” he said. “We’re going to play defense. My brand of basketball is defense. That’s already going to be there. We’re going to have to be scrappy.”
“The teams that you see make those deep runs in February and March, those teams are rough and tough,” said Curry. “(They) aren’t afraid to dive after loose balls, take charges and just play rough basketball. That’s what we need to do to be successful.”
“We’re going to work on getting better every single day,” Curry said. “When it comes to the postseason, we’re going to turn some heads and shock some people.”
