ND Class B: Region 7 Preview, Mott-Regent
There were a lot of coaching changes around Region 7 this season. One of the changes is Pat Perkins moving from the fan section to the coaching bench. Perkins will be taking over for Nate Zachmann this season.
Last season, Perkins spent most of the time cheering on Mott-Regent and his son, Cody Perkins. Fans can expect to for Mott-Regent’s coaching change to be smooth. Perkins has coached most of the kids in the past and knows their skill sets well.
“I coached this particular group at the junior high and elementary level. I was also Nate’s assistant coach when they were eighth-graders and freshmen,” Perkins said.
Perkins got the HC job late, which meant Mott-Regent wouldn’t have a lot of offseason time to build and grow. Even though Mott-Regent had a short offseason Perkins said he saw some positives.
“We still got the boys together for open gym as often as we could and went to the U-Mary summer camp and the boys had a good time progressed a little bit. Did well, actually for how much they were able to practice. That was pretty much our only camp,” Perkins said.
Mott-Regent is going to try to build off their team camp success this year. Their team success will start with Cody Perkins, a 6-4 do-it-all senior. Perkins can play the 1-5 on both sides of the floor and has a nice outside touch. Last year, he averaged 17 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1,8 spg, 2.5 apg with 2.4 made treys a game.
Opponents will focus their defense on containing Cody Perkins which will free up sophomore sharp-shooter Caleb Candrian. Candrian has gotten better defensively and is more adjusted to the varsity speed of play.
Candrian and Cody Perkins are expected to be key players for Mott-Regent this year. But the team still has to replace a senior class of four players. Hunter Crist and Tanner Zenter were both good athletes who could score and defend.
Hunter Koepplin and Aaron Roth were players who completed the rotation. Coach Perkins thinks he has some players who can step up and fill those roles this year.
Isaac Frey, a 5-8 senior guard, is one of those players. Perkins said Frey is good at pushing the pace of the game and handling the basketball.
“He’s a really sweet little point guard. He handles pressure well, gets the ball up the floor really good and is a pretty good outside shooter. If he’s got an open look he’s good outside shooter but he can also attack the basket,” Perkins said.
Frey is small but isn’t afraid to drive the ball. Perkins said Frey doesn’t let his lack of height steer him away from cutting through the lane.
“He doesn’t have a lot of size but he’s been that way since 5th and 6th grade. He’s used to not worrying about his size. For his size, he’s really good at attacking the basket,” Perkins said.
Another guard who may fill a spot in the rotation is junior Jayden Hauck. Perkins said Hauck has a good feel for the game and nice outside shot.
“He’s a really good outside shot who can handle the ball a little bit. He’s a pretty heady ball-player. See’s the court really good,” Perkins said.
Mott-Regent will look to Assad Watson-Buffalo for rebounding this year. Watson-Buffalo is a 6-0 leaper who can use his jumping skills to make up for his lack of inside height.
“He’s really good in the post. He has a quick explosive leap and he can rebound well,” Perkins said.
Overall, Mott-Regent is in a good spot. They have a coach who is familiar with their personnel and they have some promising players ready to step up this season. Coach Perkins is expecting to be a motion team and play man-to-man defense for most of the season.