Future bright for young Comet cagers

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

This isn’t the first time Charles City boys basketball coach Todd Forsyth had a freshman in the starting lineup.

“I’ve had players start for me all four years,” the longtime Comets coach said, “including that guy right there.”

Forsyth pointed to a signed poster of Charles City graduate Greg Brunner, who went on star at Iowa while becoming the Hawkeyes’ all-time leading rebounder.

Brunner was a 6-foot-7 forward also played professionally in Europe.

Jackson Molstead, the Comets’ current starting freshman, is a 5-10 guard leading the team in scoring (15.4 points per game). Though a pending growth-spurt is still a possibility, it’s unlikely Molstead with reach Brunner’s height by the time he graduates.

“I sure hope they grow, but you don’t have control of those things,” Forsyth said in reference to Molstead and frequent starting sophomores Noah Schlader (5-8) and Mike Cranshaw (5-10). “All we can control is their skill development and have them work in the weight room to get stronger.

“We do expect them to get stronger in the years to come.”

In a recent home game against Oelwein, Charles City — as usual for this season — started four underclassmen: Molstead, Schlader, Cranshaw and 6-4 sophomore Cade Hemesath; with senior Shane Feller. Though the Huskies didn’t pose much of a challenge in a 69-21 Comet victory that included a running clock in the fourth quarter, Charles City did show its long-range capabilities with Schlader and Molstead carpet-bombing Oelwein with a barrage of 3-pointers.

Schlader and Molstead finished with 19 and 17 points, respectively, and could have easily attained greater outputs if not relieved for the entire fourth quarter.

“Yeah, it’s unusual to start this many underclassmen,” said Forsyth, who lost six seniors from last year. “In order for an underclassman to start, things have to be in the right conditions. They have to prove themselves while going up and practicing against seniors.”

So far, the young Comets have stated their cases to remain on the floor for tip-off.

Hemesath is averaging 10 points per game and is the Comets’ leading rebounder and shot blocker; Schlader is nearly shooting 40 percent from beyond the 3-point arc; and Cranshaw leads the team in steals.

As a team, Charles City is 5-10 and 4-5 in the Northeast Iowa Conference.

“I love our competitiveness,” Forsythe said, “but we’ve taken five leads into the fourth quarter and lost four of them, all on the road.

“That’s where a young team like ours normally struggles … finishing games off and winning on the road.”

Forsyth said that none of the upperclassmen supplanted a returning starter from last season.

“I knew we had some holes to fill and some young talented guys coming in, but you only have 12 practices before the start of the season,” Forsyth said. “It doesn’t give you much time to give you an idea who your starters are.”

Forsyth said that, even though many of them are riding the pine in favor of underclassmen, he is impressed with the leadership of his seniors.

“None of them were starters before … or they may have started a game or two, so it wasn’t that they lost their spots,” Forsyth said. “But it can be tough to accept that you’re playing behind an underclassmen.

“Our seniors have been exceptional in accepting their roles and leading by example for the younger players.”

It’s easy to envision a Comet team two years from now with a starting four or five seasoned with well above average varsity experience. But that’s not going to guarantee success.

“With more experience, expectations will rise,” Forsyth said. “It’s a matter of skill development and how many camps they attend during the offseason.

“They will get better … and stronger. And hopefully we’ll end up winning more games on the road and in the fourth quarter.”