The East Prairie Eagles boys basketball team has steadily been improving over the last few seasons, in the 2023-24 campaign the Eagles went 20-6 in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs.

The Eagles lost to Malden in the Class 3 District 1 semi-final after splitting the season series with the Wave, Malden fell to eventual state champions New Madrid County Central. East Prairie head coach Gary Scott said while the season was mostly successful he feels it ended too early.

“We had a great year, we won a lot of games,” Scott said. “We lost a couple of big games that were real close, but I think overall we've done a great job.”

The Eagles lost just two seniors, Evan Kenedy and Kamron Farmer, both of who Scott said were great players. Both of East Prairie’s All-District players, Connor Marcum and Noah Johnson will be returning, both athletes showed out in the Chaffee Varsity Summer Shootout this week.

Marcum scored from wherever he wanted whenever he wanted to against Oran and Johnson looked strong defensively under the basket.

Scott said those two have the ability to carry the brunt for the Eagles but other athletes on the team can step up when one of them has an off game.

“We got guys that played last year that this year we're going to have step up, we gotta have Tripp Shoemaker, Tavion Ware and Braylan Cade,” Scott said. “Those three guys, they all got varsity experience, so we're looking for them to step up and help fill some of our gaps.”

Marcum agreed with his coach about his bigger role on varsity this coming season but was more concerned about how he could help the team and the underclassman.

“I can help the team by playing the game I know I can play but mainly just by being a better leader for the young guys to make the team better for years to come,” Marcum said. “Specific things from my game to help my team succeed are my speed and my effort. I’ll try to play harder than anyone on the court.”

With all three of Malden’s and both of New Madrid’s All-District players graduating, East Prairie looks like they could be the team to beat in the district. If Marcum and his teammates have anything to say about it, they will outwork any team they come up against.

“To have more success this season, it starts this summer. Everyone, including myself, needs to show up to these games and hit the weight room hard,” Marcum said. “We need maximum effort 100% of the time and we have to believe in each other.”