By Grant Pepper

Tonight, the Ada High School boys basketball team will tip off their season at home against Ridgemont at 7:30 p.m. For this Bulldog team, tonight represents a chance to start anew after winning just four games last season.

Led by second-year head coach Dre White, Ada will welcome back four returning letterwinners from last season: junior guard Cade Mullins, junior forward Connor Frazier, senior wing Ethan Swaney and senior guard Jackson Conrad. However, Ada will be without two of their biggest playmakers from last year, Owen Conley and Jordan Bailey, who have since graduated.

Conley and Bailey were Ada’s top two leading scorers and rebounders, accounting for approximately 24 of Ada’s 48 points per game and 12 of their 25 rebounds per game last season.

To fill those shoes, White and the Bulldogs will rely on new faces to step up. One of those new faces is the 6-foot-5 Frazier, who was the backup power forward behind Conley last season but started to become a reliable inside presence toward the end of the year.

Ada might also turn to a completely new face in the program to help with production this season -- senior Seth Conley. The All-Ohio quarterback has decided to lace up the sneakers this winter and hit the hardwood, and White says that he has already provided a spark as a contributor on both ends of the court.

Another new face will be senior Seven Williams, a 6-foot-7 post player who transferred back to Ada after spending the last few years in Texas. Due to OHSAA transfer rules, Williams will not be eligible to play until halfway through the season (game 12 will be his first), but his presence inside will surely help the Bulldogs down the stretch.

White says that the team is looking to get back up to the .500 mark this season, which will be no easy task considering the roster turnover from last year’s four-win team.

“I think we’ve got our core group of guys back, who are just excited to be back on the floor. They’re coming to practice ready to get better and they’re excited for the season, and that can go a long way for a group,” White said this week on WONB’s The Pep Talk. “After struggling last year, it’d be easy to come back this year with that same mindset. But they’re looking at it with a fresh set of eyes and they’re ready to get back to work.”

On my weekly talk show, ‘The Pep Talk,’ which airs on WONB 94.9 FM every Friday morning, I talked to White and Frazier this week about the upcoming season and what they will need to do to accomplish their goals. To listen to that season preview, click the link below.

https://soundcloud.com/grantpepper/the-pep-talk-12-1-2017-ada-boys-baske...

Follow Grant Pepper on Twitter: @GrantPepper

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