Basketball preview: Bernie Mules

The Mules bring back three starters from a squad that finished 24-6, won their first district championship since 2013 and won the SCAA regular-season championship.

Bernie will feature a guard-heavy lineup in its attempt to repeat as a Class 2 district champion. Three of the team’s four returning seniors are guards and two of their three juniors play on the perimeter.

Senior Landon Zoll averaged a team-best 17.1 points while making a club-high 138 3-pointers, which ranks fourth all-time on the state’s single-season list, according to MSHSAA.

Third-leading scorer, Johnny Vaughn, returns after averaging 9.3 points, and Brent Gage is the other senior guard. Noah Foster and Kamden Powell will be the junior guards.

Leading rebounder Tyler Suiter (6-foot-1) and 6-3 John Nimmo, who averaged almost four points in limited action in 2019-20, return.

“John has improved a bunch,” coach Jason Long said. “John has a really good scoring touch around the basket and he’s really a smart player, so we feel good about the potential, both of those boys.”

Zoll is the only returning player who averaged double-figure scoring last year, so developing depth on offense will be crucial. Another year of experience and more opportunities should give a boost to Suiter’s and Vaughn’s scoring averages.