After a revolving door of head coaches the last three seasons, the Evanston High School girls’ basketball team is hoping it found some stability and consistency in new head coach Roy Barker, as the 2023-24 season tips off this weekend.

The Lady Devils will be heading to Casper to open the season, and while Barker’s team skews young — there’s just two seniors and one junior on the roster this season — there are enough talented sophomores and freshmen coming up that the future looks bright. Out of 28 girls that tried out this season, 24 are underclassmen, so there is definitely a lot of room for growth.

“It’s going well — the girls are working hard, and I appreciate their willingness to learn, and work hard and get better — let me challenge them,” Barker said. “It’s been really positive so far. We had tryouts the week before Thanksgiving, so now we’re in full-blown practices, and getting after it. I have 10 sophomores, and 14 freshmen, so we have quite a few young players.”

Seniors Jacey Bardsley and Ryhen Debenham will be counted on to provide leadership to the young team — for Debenham, this will be nothing new, as she was the only senior on the Lady Devils volleyball team last fall.

“Jaycey and Rhyen have been great — they were great this summer for us, and have been really positive,” Barker said. “They’ve been willing to learn, and willing to let me coach them. I’ve been very pleased with their leadership.”

As for the younger players, Barker said the next three classes coming up are chock full of athletes with great potential.

“The sophomores, freshmen and eighth graders are tough,” Barker said. “So we have three classes there in a row that are going to be solid.”

This season marks a return to the hardwood for Barker, who coached the Red Devils to a state title in 2013. A longtime assistant football coach – and the head track and field coach at EHS — Barker said he struggled with whether to take the job when it came open.

“When I took the job, I had mixed feelings about coming back to basketball, because I’ve been enjoying watching my kids play,” Barker said. “But for whatever reason, there’s been a lot of turnover with this program, so I started thinking maybe I could do something to help out. I want to help these girls, and maybe get some consistency with what they’re going to see. I’m hoping coach Lonsway and I can provide that for a few years, so that they know what to expect.”

Asked what he missed most about coaching hoops, Barker said the answer is simple.

“I missed practice — I really love basketball practice,” Barker said. “Football practice I love, but it can become a grind, a bit monotonous at times. But I love the growth in basketball — I love being in the gym, and watching a young person being able to dribble, pass and shoot better. There are so many skills involved, that practice is so fun, so rewarding, because you see the kids get better, day by day.”

As for what to expect this season from the Lady Devils, Barker said he’s goping to be cautiously optimistic.

“I’m hoping to see growth,” Barker said. “I think we’ll struggle early — I think that’s reality, because we’re young. And I need to figure out what our strengths and weaknesses are, as well. That’s going to take a minute. But I see us being very competitive at the end of January, and into February. I think the preseason will be very valuable to us to see who we are. But at the end of the season, I think we’ll be known as a team that plays hard, and has gotten better. That’s what we want to see.”