LINDEN — Behind the veteran leadership of six seniors, North Montgomery posted a 13-11 record last season in Chad Arnold’s first season at the helm. It was the first winning season for the Chargers since 2016.
Now Arnold has the task of rebuilding for the future.
The Chargers top returning scorer Zak Searle (5.1 points per game) will miss the beginning of the season after suffering a knee injury in football, but senior Logan Kelly does return 3.8 points per game, and knocked down 24 3-pointers last season. North Montgomery will also look to Kolton Scrimager and Jakob Kirsch, who both played varsity minutes last year to fill the void.
“Zak is a guy you just can’t replace. He is one of the toughest kids I have ever coached and he is a leader,” Arnold said. “Logan, Kolton and Jakob all have a lot of skill and we are excited for them to help lead our program. We need these guys to continue leading by example with their effort, attitude and attention to detail.”
Arnold says the Chargers will rely on their defense and hope to improve each day and be playing their best basketball of the season once the tournament rolls around.
North Montgomery will also have to bring in youth to help fill out the roster.
“When you lose six senors that all played a lot of minutes, that’s going to open up spots for guys to come in and play immediately. As of right now we don’t really know who is going to fill out the roster. We are just looking for guys that want to compete every possession.”
North Montgomery opens the season tonight at Speedway.
