ShawneeDispatch.com

The biggest problem for Shawnee Mission Northwest girls basketball coach Brian McIntosh at his summer camp two weeks ago wasn’t the hot temperatures, it was finding enough space in the gym for all of the players.

Near-record numbers turned out for the camp, representing a shift toward basketball that McIntosh hoped to see as he tries to form the foundation for the young program.

“When I first got here,” McIntosh said recently, “it was all about not having enough girls who were basketball players first and foremost. Now, I think we’ve got five or six of those girls at the varsity level who just really want to play basketball.”

Five or six pure basketball players could be considered huge step in the progress of the girls program in McIntosh’s second year at the helm — and it looks like he may find even more before varsity practices begin in the late fall. More than 50 high school athletes and 117 overall in grades three through 12 took part in McIntosh’s camp, including a freshman representation of more than 25 players. Most of the varsity camp participants also will be involved in university camps, Mid-America Youth Basketball and summer league basketball throughout June and July.

McIntosh already was impressed with what his players had been able to accomplish in the off-season and what the brand new high school players brought to the table.

“We have real good size in the freshman class,” McIntosh said. “There’s some talent in there, now it’s just a matter of transitioning from youth basketball to high school and understanding the intensity of the high school game.

“The varsity kids were excellent (at camp). They surpassed my expectation of what they’d look like. They played hard; they understood the drills. It’s nice for them to have that year under their belts. You don’t have to explain anything to them. They took pride in showing the younger girls how it’s done and showed them the dedication it took.”

McIntosh expects to have two seniors on his varsity roster this season — Erica Brand and Carly Iverson — and was struck by the improvement both players showed at camp. Both athletes also attended basketball camp at Missouri State University this month to sharpen their skills.

McIntosh also expects junior Gwen Devonshire to step up and play a big role on the varsity squad next season. The Cougar chief also is looking to a quartet of sophomores — Katie Biggers, Jessica Johnson, Megan Musson and Sarah Schmidt — to provide big minutes for Northwest.

“Those four girls have really stepped up their games,” McIntosh said.

McIntosh structured his varsity camp much like regular-season practice for 75 percent of each session. Ten to 15 of McIntosh’s regular-season drills were incorporated into each day of camp while the coach and his staff used the other 25 percent of practice to organize competitions between the players.

The basketball doesn’t stop bouncing for the Cougar girls after camp. Twenty players attended the Missouri State camp, another 20 have signed up for MAYB ball, many of the same are playing in the summer varsity league, and around 40 have signed up for the summer weights program.

McIntosh hopes that all of the Cougars’ offseason work will lead to more wins in the 2009-10 season. The Cougar coach believes Northwest fans will see the results in some of the Cougars’ more intense games.

“We were 2-19 last year,” McIntosh stated, “and eight of those games we lost by 10 points or less. “My hope is that we can get some of those close games turned around. We’re still going to be very young, so it’s just a matter of how we handle the pressure.”

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