PLEASANT GROVE — Pleasant Grove basketball coach Randy McAllister experienced a coach's worst nightmare at the end of last season. He lost nearly his entire team.
Not only did he lose four of his starting five, he lost everyone else, too — except for one. Senior guard/center Cody Bilbro is the only holdover from last year's Viking team, making him the only member of this year's team with any varsity experience at all.
After starting and picking up significant experience over the second half of last season, Bilbro has automatically assumed the lone on-the-court leadership role over the inexperienced team. Through nine games Bilbro is leading the 4-5 Vikings in scoring, averaging 14 points per game.
Bilbro doesn't see the inexperience of the team as being a detriment to the team.
"It hasn't been that hard," he said. "I've played with them our whole lives."
McAllister, however, doesn't think the team is where it needs to be yet, even after showing resiliency and defeating Spanish Fork in overtime 70-68 on Dec. 21.
"The kids are getting comfortable about their roles," he said. "The fun part about that is seeing the daily improvement from them."
Having Bilbro as the only returning player with any varsity experience is not McAllister's only problem this year. After Bilbro at 6-foot-5, the entire team stands just 6-foot-1 and under.
If becoming an automatic leader for the team wasn't enough, Bilbro also became the automatic — and almost only — scoring option for the Vikings as the only member of the team with any size. Because of the size discrepancies among players, Bilbro was moved from his normal guard position to the five-spot, center, a position he's never played.
"It's been kind of hard this year because last year I didn't play inside at all," Bilbro said. "It's easier now, but I'm still learning."
To compensate for the size of his players, McAllister completely reworked his offense, implementing a system in which five guards (including Bilbro) can play at the same time. He realizes the changes give the Vikings matchup problems on defense but also an advantage on the offensive end, something McAllister thinks will even itself out.
"We've asked Cody to do things, and he just does them," McAllister said. "He never complains about his role. He has enough freedom in our offense to not feel trapped."
With over half of Bilbro's shots come from the post area Bilbro is excelling under the basket. McAllister considers him to be almost automatic when he touches the ball down low. He's taken to the position and picked it up pretty quickly, McAllister said.
"Sometimes it gets frustrating, but I like it," Bilbro said. "I still get to play a lot outside so that's kind of fun."
In a tournament game in California, Bilbro came into his own at his new position, nearly registering a near-impossible quadruple-double by scoring 12 points to go along with nine rebounds, nine blocks and nine steals.
"It was one of the most remarkable games I've ever witnessed," McAllister said. "One of the best all-around games I've ever seen a kid play. He's a solid all-around basketball player."
Bilbro agrees, saying it was the best game he's ever played.
Not all of Pleasant Grove's games, however, will be played against California teams. Utah County teams should soon begin to recognize Bilbro as the Vikings' best scoring option. Spanish Fork hasn't yet. Against the Dons, Bilbro scored 20 points in the win, including two 3-pointers.
With a size disadvantage, the Vikings also struggle on the rebounding part of the game, something a new system cannot overcome.
"We have a bunch of 6-foot kids that have never been told to box out," McAllister said. "But we're getting to the point where that's all they're thinking about."
As the only post-area scoring and rebounding option on the team, Bilbro has adjusted nicely to his newfound leadership role, according to McAllister. He's not a verbal leader as far as yelling things to other players, but he is the hardest worker in practice, leading by example.
"How he practices is how our practices go," McAllister said. "Cody steps between the lines and goes all out all of the time. It's been neat to watch him lead through example."
"Coach wants me to be more of a verbal leader," Bilbro said.
He's not sure what he's doing after he graduates from high school. He's considering attending Utah Valley State for a year before leaving on an LDS mission. He plays both volleyball and basketball but said he's not sure right now about college scholarships for those sports.
Whatever Bilbro decides on doing, the things he will have learned and experiences he will have had as the leader of this year's Pleasant Grove team will carry him into the future.