With a good young core coming up for the Wildcats’ boys basketball team, rising senior Hunter Keller will be one of the players that will fill the shoes of the departing senior leaders.

Head coach Dave Brumley says he thinks Keller will be up to the task.

“He’s never going to be a vocal guy. He’s a lead by example guy. I pulled him and a couple other guys aside and said, ‘Hey, next year with Grant and Carson gone, this’ll be your team leadership wise. You gotta take it to the next level. He’s always been a lead by example guy. He shows kids what to do.”

Brumley adds that Keller has at least one leadership trait already perfected.

“Hunter could get 30 points a night if he was selfish, shot his shot and did his thing. But, he tries to show the guys that hey, this offense works if we keep running it and it will be beneficial to keep running the offense. But, if Hunter’s got the ball in his hands and a screen, he could probably score 8 out of 10 times if he wanted to. But, that’s selfish and not the kind of kid he is. He shows the younger kids ‘Hey I know I can score, but we do it this way we can get a layup instead of me having to take an off-balance jumper.”

Keller led West Central Valley with 306 points on the season, converting nearly 43 percent of his shots from the floor.