PHOTO PROVIDED BY STALZER PHOTOGRAPHY - The Marshalltown boys’ basketball team returns four starters from a year ago. Pictured are (from left) first row: Isacc Ceniceros, Damian Segovia, Faith Banissan, Larrs Schoenfelder, Gavin Misek, Tyler Dorothy and Camron Holmes; second row: Jamison Niehouse, manager Noah O’Clair, assistant coach Joe Stonner, head coach Michael Appel, manager Shoney Albert and Drake Gersema; third row: Ethan Matlock, Hunter Fors, Garrett Thede, Aiden Holmgren and Oliver Young; fourth row: Talon Halsted, Kyle Smith and Jacob Hayes.

A year after having only one returning starter on the roster, the Marshalltown boys’ basketball team has four of them, but the Bobcats’ bout with the injury bug isn’t doing head coach Michael Appel any favors.

A year after being one of the oldest teams in Class 4A, Marshalltown was one of the youngest teams a season ago when it worked its way to a 7-15 overall record. The Bobcats bring back the 14th-leading scorer in all of 4A in senior guard Kyle Smith, but points have still been hard to come by.

Marshalltown ranked 47th out of 48 teams in 4A last winter in scoring 46.95 points per game, but a determined defensive effort helped the Bobcats balance out.

MHS ranked 20th in the state across 4A in allowing just 56 points per contest, but duplicating that average in the early going might be a challenge for the Bobcats.

“We’ve got four of five starters back — if they’re healthy, that is,” Appel said ahead of his eighth season at the helm of his alma mater. “I thought we had a really good summer and we’ve just kind of built on it. It’s just unfortunate right now we’ve got some injuries.”

Juniors Drake Gersema and Jamison Niehouse have been dinged up during the first two weeks of practice, as has sophomore guard Gavin Misek. Gersema and Niehouse represent two of the team’s four returning starters, while Misek is a candidate for playing time in the backcourt.

Injuries will force the Bobcats to develop more depth than they had originally planned on needing after bringing back Smith — the leading scorer in the Iowa Alliance Conference’s North Division — and most of his supporting cast.

“We’ve just got to get a little healthier,” Appel said. “The older guys need to be healthier and the young guys need to be older. The young guys are learning it quick, but it’s all new to them.”

Smith scored 17.7 points per game last winter while finishing second in 4A with 71 made 3-pointers. The 6-foot-3 guard ranked 14th in scoring average and 17th in rebounding, where he pulled down 7.6 boards per game.

“Kyle’s the ultimate competitor,” said Appel. “He’s not ever really had a bad day of practice as far as his effort. That’s always going to be there.”

Appel would like to see Smith and the rest of the squad get to the free-throw line a few more times, too, this season. He believes it will directly correlate to a more potent offense. The Bobcats were 46th out of 48 4A teams last season with 193 free-throw attempts. Sioux City East led the class with 430.

“That’s something we’ve been working on in practice, too, is being aggressive to the rim,” Appel said. “We don’t always have to settle for the 3 or the pull-up jump shot. And that’s not just Kyle, that’s our whole team.

“You look at our scoring and it’s one of the worst in 4A and that’s just the truth. That’s something we’ve honestly looked at and we know we need to do a better job of that. It’s an area we need to really focus on early in the season.”

Smith and fellow senior Jacob Hayes are both 76 percent free-throw shooters, so the onus on getting to the line starts with them. Appel said Hayes has taken that to heart so far in practice.

“The growth he’s made and the understanding of what we’re doing and how hard he has to play and getting a lot more physical in getting to the rim, he’s really emphasized, he’s really focused on that,” said Appel.

Hayes contributed 6.6 points per game last season, while Gersema, then as a sophomore point guard, got 9.3 points, 3.8 boards, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Niehouse, whose forte has been defense, chipped in with 2.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game a year ago.

Appel hasn’t identified a definitive starting lineup due to the injuries his club has been dealing with, but he’s working on a number of options. Senior Talon Halsted, a 6-foot-5 forward, saw a little varsity playing time last year and is the tallest player on the roster. Freshmen Larrs Schoenfelder and Damian Segovia are practicing with the varsity, along with sophomores Aiden Holmgren, Oliver Young, Garrett Thede, Hunter Fors and Misek.

“They’re all working hard, everyone is,” said Appel. “It’s a great group to coach, there’s no complaint there. It’s just a matter of how quickly they pick up on things, understand what they can and can’t do. There’s a chance for any of them, really, right now to play.”

Marshalltown’s first test will come in a road game Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Des Moines Lincoln. The Bobcats are back at home twice later in the week with games Dec. 4 against Newton and Dec. 5 versus Des Moines East.

MHS will look to improve upon a 3-5 mark in the Alliance North starting with a Dec. 12 home game against Mason City.

“Ames will always be good,” Appel said. “I don’t even need to look and see what they have. I just know they’ll have guys. Mason City should be pretty solid, Fort Dodge graduated a couple seniors and so did Waterloo East, but it’s kind of hard to tell right now.”