The Portal Panthers boys basketball team missed the state playoffs for the first time in over four years last season.

Injuries and lack of depth really hurt head coach Jeff Brannen’s squad and he is looking for bigger and better things this season. One of the bright spots on last year’s squad was the emergence of underclassman Josh Coleman as a force inside. Coleman was among the team leaders in a number of categories including field goal percentage as he shot 42 percent from the field.

 “Josh has been a consistent scorer from the low and high post,” Brannen said. “He has a solid year as a sophomore and continues to get better in many aspects of his game. His conditioning has improved and he is much stronger with the ball. We will be counting on him to help us in many areas this season.”

“I think last year we lost so many starters and had a couple players hurt and we didn’t have the kind of season we had hoped for,” Coleman said. “It was good to get some experience last season and I think we look a lot better so far this summer. I feel like I am in better shape and more confident on court.”