New coach building Gresham team’s confidence

A 1-17 conference record last year isn’t deterring first-year head coach Vaughn Miller from setting high expectations for the Gresham High School girls basketball team.

Miller knew exactly what he needed to do to begin changing the culture of the program.

“You’ve got to build that confidence with them,” Miller said. “Confidence alone can carry your team a long way.”

Outside of the names of a few players, Miller, who previously coached the Bowler High School junior varsity, knew little about the team he was inheriting.

“I knew they were hard-working group. I was told that ahead of time,” Miller said. “Through two days of practice, they certainly have lived up to that. They work hard, they don’t complain, they do everything you ask.”

Miller will make some changes from the previous system, mainly converting to a 2-3 zone on the defensive side of the ball to conserve energy for his 12-player team.

The team is also improving its conditioning, running 2 miles each of the first few days of practice to help keep pace throughout the season. Miller had learned that the Wildcats remained close with teams for the first half of many games last season before collapsing in the second half.

“We did man-to-man in the past,” Gresham junior Sydney Jensen said. “It was pretty good, but we got tired a lot of the time, so I think zone will benefit where we aren’t going to get so tired all of the time.”

Miller is also looking for a change on the offensive side of the ball to a motion offense with athletes who can play multiple positions and react upon the actions of their defenders.

Jensen averaged 12 points per game as a sophomore last season. Behind Jensen, no player scored more than five points per game in 2014-15.

The Wildcats, who finished last in conference play for the past three years and recorded three Central Wisconsin Conference-10 victories in that span, can only get better.

“That’s the biggest thing you can do, put them in positions to be successful,” Miller said. “That builds confidence; that builds a better team. From there, you build up.”