Practices for the January portion of the 2019-20 high school boys’ basketball season are underway for the Greene County Rams. Coach Chris Nelson’s team stands at 1-6 overall and 0-5 in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference. The coach, players, and fans, didn’t foresee such a low win total seven games into the season, but that’s the reality.

Looking at the numbers, poor shooting is a definite factor in the slow start. The Rams are averaging less than 50 points per game. They are shooting just 33.4 percent from the field and only 23.25 from three-point range. Those figures are well below average for most high school boys’ teams, not to mention Greene County teams of recent seasons. Three-point shooting percentage has been a strength for the Rams over a period of several years, but the shots have not fallen consistently so far.

Free-throw shooting has been a bright spot for the Rams with nearly 70% accuracy led by senior Carter Morton, who made his first 26 attempts of the season from the line and is 27 of 30 for 90%. Morton is also the leading scorer on the team at 15.3 points per game.

The Rams next play on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Nevada in a HOIAC girl/boy doubleheader broadcast on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.