Senior guard AJ Dixson brings quickness, defensive intensity and experience to Prairie. (Nathan Howard/The Columbian)
With eight returning seniors, the Prairie Falcons have no shortage of experience.
However, there’s still a giant question mark entering the year after the graduation of Kameron Osborn and his 19 points per game: Where does the scoring come from?
“The other guys are going to have to pick up the slack,” said coach Kyle Brooks, entering his 24th season. “We definitely need to rely on a more balanced scoring attack.”
The offense is led by returning first-team all-league guard Aidan Fraly, who blossomed as last year’s season progressed. The Falcons won a bi-district title in large part thanks to Fraly’s efforts.
Also returning are Zeke and AJ Dixson. Zeke Dixson is expected back from a broken arm by January.
“Defensively, they’re going to spearhead us and get us going,” Brooks said.
Six-foot-6 senior Mark Frazier and 6-5 sophomore Reece Walling provide the Falcons plenty of length inside. Transfers Treyce Teague and Jimmie Barton are athletic additions. Brady Gagnon and Hayden Rose provide shooting off the bench.
The Falcons qualified for the Tacoma Dome last season before being eliminated on the first day in the round of 12. They finished the year 17-10.
“We’re so quick and athletic, the defense will fuel the offense to get easy baskets,” Brooks said. “We’ll be able to play at a pretty quick pace and hopefully that will ease the burden of scoring points.”
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