IAC BASKETBALL: WAVERLY'S JUDSON EXCITED TO BE BACK ON COURT, PLEASED WITH NUMBERS HEADING INTO 2021-22 SEASON (8 PHOTOS) (2021-11-17)
BY TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportWAVERLY "” Longtime Waverly boys basketball coach Lou Judson is excited to be back on the court for a full season, with good numbers in the program heading into the 2021-22 campaign.
"It's great to be back," he said. "A lot different from last year ... obviously a lot of the same protocols in place, but I'm very excited about the basketball season.
"It's still early, day three of practice, but I like where we're at right now.
"Some of the guys are still a little banged up from football, and don't have their legs, but we'll work out those kinks, and we'll be fine," Judson added.
Judson is pleased with his numbers.
"Our numbers are good," he said. "We have 10 guys on varsity ... there are a couple guys who decided not to come out this year, which hurts a little bit, but the guys we do have I'm very excited about.
"These guys have been playing together since fourth- or fifth-grade, and have a lot of experience," Judson noted. "They've proven they can win all the way up through the program. Now, we just have to do it at the highest level - the varsity level."
"The JV team has 11 guys. We have some younger guys coming out, and a couple 7th-graders we're bringing up.
"It's going to be a work in progress at that level right now," continued Judson. "We've got some very good players, and we have some players who are learning. There are a couple players on that JV team that could potentially help me this year.
"Overall, the numbers are solid right now throughout the program," he added.
Judson said his guys didn't have a normal offseason, but he's thankful for what they did get.
"I'm glad we were able to have summer league, but we weren't able to go to our team camp.
"We did some open gyms in the fall, but with the football team going so far, and the majority of my guys playing football ... we're a little bit behind where we usually are in terms of conditioning and putting the playbook in," he said.
"But the season starts a week later than usual, too," Judson added. "So, we still have a couple weeks to get ready."
The Wolverines will have three scrimmages - Horseheads, Candor, and Corning - before opening the season against Tioga on Dec. 8.
"I like that we'll be tested early on, and we'll get a good barometer of where we're at against some good quality basketball teams," said Judson.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly coach Lou Judson. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
