Bandera Basketball: Season Preview
The Bandera boys basketball team began 2021- 2022 season with its first set of tryouts at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, in the competition gym at Bandera High School.
The Bulldogs, coached by second-year head coach Brady Keane, are coming off a 10-15 season in which the team fell one win short of the playoffs but tallied several accomplishments that laid the foundation for a strong 2021-2022 season.
Bandera finished with the program’s best winning percentage since 2014-2015, finished with the most wins since 2017- 2018, increased its points per game average by 18 percent, lowered its points allowed average by 8 percent, scored the most points in a district game since 2008 and scored the most points in any game since 2015.
“We did a lot of good things last year and were able to lay the foundation for our program,” Keane said. “Building on that, we had an extremely productive off-season in which every varsity player committed to competing and getting better together. This group has an unbelievable work ethic and I’m excited to see where it takes them.”
Now, the Bulldogs are looking to capitalize on the program’s newfound stability as they again prepare to compete in one of the toughest Class 4A districts in the state. This season will mark the first in five years that Bandera will not enter the year with a new head coach, and the Bulldogs return four starters and seven lettermen as well.
Bandera brings back the top two returning scorers District 28-4A as Tyler Moore (10.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.6 SPG, 2.3 APG, 0.9 BPG) and Luke Barnett (10.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 SPG) are back for their senior seasons. Barnett and Moore are joined by returning starters Liam DeMarchi (7.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG) and Noah Barnett (2.7 PPG, 1.6 APG, 1.2 SPG).
Senior guard Ryan Perez is a three-year varsity player who has shown immense improvement through the spring and summer, while Kayden Brown and Joseph Kennedy return from last year’s squad as well.
“We have a good balance of returning starters and new guys who will take on much bigger roles this year,” Keane said. “We again have guys who rebound and get to the rim well, but I think this year we have a better balance of shooters to complement our athleticism. That’s a testament to the work several of our guys have put in since March, which has included being in the gym at 6:30 a.m. almost every day since August. That type of hard work will make a difference.”
Bandera will open the season with a scrimmage against Navarro on Saturday Nov. 6 beginning at 11 a.m. The scrimmage will be followed by the program’s inaugural alumni game, and the Bulldogs will then host Lytle for a second scrimmage on Tuesday Nov. 9 at 5 p.m.
The regular season opener is set for Tuesday Nov. 16 against Harper at 7:30 p.m. The non-district schedule features games against Uvalde, San Antonio Kennedy, Dilley, Boerne Geneva, Ingram, Devine, Hondo, Llano, Pearsall and San Antonio Fox Tech.
The UIL also permitted the return of tournaments this season, which will allow the Bulldogs to travel to invitational tournaments in Hondo, Comfort and Rockport.
Bandera will open the District 28-4A schedule on Friday Jan. 14 against Comal Davenport. This year’s district again includes Davenport, Canyon Lake, Fredericksburg, Wimberley and Boerne, which is coming off a trip to the state semifinals and enters the year ranked No. 10 in the state.
More information on tryouts, the team’s schedule and updates/announcements can be found on the basketball portion of the Bandera ISD Athletics page. https://sites. google.com/banderaisd2. net/bisdathleticsweareone/ fallwinter-sports/boys-basketball?authuser=0
“We made it a point to provide opportunities for our guys to go out and see top level competition in the spring, summer and fall,” Keane said. “There’s no doubt our district is one of the toughest in the state, but our goal and expectation is to put ourselves in a position to compete with those great programs.”