Tuscola boys basketball retools behind senior leader Logan Kurtz
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By Ben Crane
When Tuscola boys basketball head coach Justin Bozarth looks at this year’s roster, one word keeps coming to mind: transition.
After a 29-7 campaign that ended in the sectional championship, the Warriors will move forward without graduates Kam Sweetnam and Sawyer Woodard, who combined to handle much of last season’s scoring and playmaking responsibilities.
“Those guys did so much of the scoring,” Bozarth said. “That’s always the thing I look forward to in the summer — who fills those roles?”
Fortunately for Tuscola, plenty of experience remains. Four of the top seven rotation players return, led by senior guard Logan Kurtz, whose tireless work ethic has set the tone for the program.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever had anybody that’s worked as hard as him,” Bozarth said. “He’s put himself in a position to have a great senior year. He started as a catch-and-shoot guy, but now he’s going to have the ball in his hands. He’ll be a creator, a scorer, and probably our best perimeter defender.”
Kurtz’s offseason strength and expanded skill set should make him the focal point on both ends of the floor.
Junior Caiden Russo showed a natural scoring touch during summer competition, while Connor Musgrave emerged as a secondary ball-handler capable of freeing Kurtz for off-ball opportunities. Senior Kaedan Chenoweth regained confidence after an up-and-down junior year and could provide steady production and leadership.
Bozarth also expects contributions from seniors Ryker Gough, Evan Vearil, and Kale Wilcox, along with juniors Jon Pettry and Dylan Graves and promising sophomores Miles McKinnie and Tanner Block.
“We try to identify a sophomore or two and throw them to the wolves,” Bozarth said. “Then by the time they’re seniors, they’ve been doing this for a long time.”
Beyond personnel, Bozarth said the program’s emphasis remains on improvement and consistency, not preseason chatter.
“People talk on social media and post rankings, and kids see that,” he said. “It’s nice to be talked about, but we tell them all the time — can we be better today than we were yesterday? The years we’ve been able to control that, we’ve played our best basketball at the end of the year.”
Tuscola again expects to contend in the Central Illinois Conference, backed by a senior leader who has earned the respect of his teammates and coaches alike.
“At the end of the day,” Bozarth said, “the goal is to get better every day. And with this group, I think we will.”