It's been a productive summer so far for the Siloam Springs boys basketball team.
The Panthers -- who finished the 2013-14 season with a 12-15 record and advanced to the second round of the Class 6A State Tournament -- attended three team camps in June before the Arkansas Activities Association dead period.
After the two-week dead period and an extra week off last week, the team will resume summer workouts this week for three more weeks.
Following those three weeks, the team will take off until the start of school in August.
Fourth-year head coach Tim Stewart has liked what he's seen so far from the Panthers.
"It's been a good summer," he said. "You know how the summer is, it's kind of hit and miss. It's hard to get everybody together. We've had a really good turnout and worked really hard."
The Panthers attended team camps at John Brown, University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and Oral Roberts in Tulsa.
"Each one," Stewart said, "got a little more competitive. ORU really has us some good challenges for the kids.
"We were playing Broken Arrow (Okla.) and some of the bigger schools. Even though we lost some of those games, it was really good."
The Panthers lost three seniors from their 2013-14 squad in leading scorer and rebounder Dylan Gray, second leading scorer Reece Goddard and utility man Stephen Holroyd.
Stewart said rising sophomore point guard Avery Benson, who averaged 10.9 points per game as a freshman, has had a strong summer with his Siloam Springs teammates and while playing for the Arkansas Wings travel basketball team.
"His outside shooting has really improved," Stewart said. "Defensively he's always good for a steal to get something going. The main thing is he's competitive, just one of those guys that likes to compete. It's fun to see him grow and mature. He's getting a lot of good basketball this summer with the Wings and with us."
Rising senior Brandon Johnson, who showed flashes last season of being a primary scorer, has also played well, Stewart said.
"Brandon Johnson stepped up at ORU camp and showed a lot of improvement," Stewart said. "He showed a lot of aggression offensively and defensively."
Stewart said returning senior starters Keetun Pierce and Roman Lambert have done well.
"They've improved their skills," he said. "They're really finding their niche."
Stewart praised rising senior Tucker Gambill for becoming a more well-rounded player.
"He's always been a great shooter," Stewart said. "Now he's starting to do the little things for us on offense and defense."
Stewart said junior post Kyle Snavely has improved and worked hard.
"He's going to be a big anchor in the middle," he said.
Stewart said juniors Caleb Lampton and Kyle Comiskey also had good showings at team camp and will factor in the mix.
Sophomore Luke Loveless and junior Tyler Newton have also done well, he said.
Stewart said the team will have some mini camps later in July with different area schools, including a late July team camp at Bentonville.
"We'll start back and hit it hard for three more weeks," he said, "and then give them the rest of the summer off."
Sports on 07/13/2014