MUSKEGON TWP. - When JR Wallace became head coach of the Reeths-Puffer boys basketball team last year, he knew he was was starting during a transitional period.
His immediate job was to construct a bridge from a great recent past – led by legendary standouts Jaxson Whitaker and Travis Ambrose - to a promising future that includes a talented group that was just reaching the high school level.
So Wallace has been patching together the talent that’s currently available as he lays the foundation for the future.
Last season was challenging. R-P struggled to a 6-17 record, including a 4-6 mark in the O-K Green conference.
The 2025-26 season, which begins on Tuesday at home against Zeeland East, might have been even more challenging, following the graduation of several important seniors, including the high scoring Brayden Mitchelson.
Marvin Moore
But Wallace has been able to compile a roster than includes one very talented senior who led the team in scoring last year, one advanced sophomore who is ready for full-time varsity duty, and two solid transfer players who will start right away.
Three other sophomores who are still in the developmental phase could play important roles at some point in the season.
It will be interesting to see how it all works out, but Wallace believes the team will be better than last season, and thinks that will show up in the final record.
“We are going to have to be scrappy to be in games, but we played some fall ball this year and had some success,” Wallace said. “We are looking forward to trying to make it all mesh together.
“Overall it will be an exciting brand of basketball. If we can get to 12 wins, that will be success for us, so we’re looking forward to that.”
Hank Mitchelson
At the center of the attack will be senior guard Marvin Moore, an explosive offensive player who led the team with a 19 point her game scoring average last year, and is likely to provide a lot of exciting moments for R-P fans this season.
Moore is a very skilled slasher who can dice his way through traffic and get to the rim with the ball, and if his outside game continues to improve, he could end up having a very special season.
“He came in and did what was needed for us to have a fighting chance in a lot of games last year,” Wallace said about Moore, a third-year varsity starter. “He will need to do a lot of the same stuff this season, but now he’s a senior and he will be the marked guy.
“His biggest thing last year was his ability to defend, on top of being a top scorer. That was a nice improvement that we will lean on even more this year. His three-point shooting got better as the year went on and continued to evolve over the summer, and we’re looking for that to continue.
“His explosiveness is the best thing about his game. He’s a right-handed player who likes to attack from the left, and defenders have a hard time with that. He drives the lane really well, and this year he might be able to dunk on some people. That will be fun. Lots of kids can do that on a fast break by themselves, but he can do it in traffic.”
Zayden Schneider
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Another key returner will be the most advanced of the promising sophomore group – Hank Mitchelson (Brayden’s cousin) - who averaged double-digit scoring with the junior varsity last season, and finished the year with the varsity.
“He played some good quality minutes with the varsity last year and helped us out,” Wallace said about Mitchelson. “He brings a different element for us. He‘s a squatty kid who can handle the ball and has a nice shot. He could be anything from a perimeter shooter to a post player, although he has to grow into the post. We’re excited about what he brings to the table.”
After Moore and Mitchelson, the Rockets have several returning or first-year guys who have yet to play big roles at the varsity level. That list includes seniors Zayden Schneider (who is likely to be in the starting lineup on Tuesday), Carson McCollum. Alex Kieft and Cal Millis.
It was clear that R-P needed more experienced help in the lineup, and luckily reinforcements arrived in the form of two transfer students.
One is senior guard Justin Chan, Wallace’s nephew, who was the sixth man coming off the Godwin Heights bench last season. He averaged in the low double figures in scoring as a junior, and will provide a needed lift for the R-P offense.
Alex Kieft
“He can do a little bit of everything,” Wallace said about Chan. “He likes to defend and rebound and knock down the open shot. He’s good when he doesn’t get in his own head. He always likes to be in the gym, and he brings some leadership to the team. Having him make the commitment to play his senior year at a new school is very nice.”
The other valuable transfer player is junior forward Anthony Neuman, who split his time between the Mona Shores junior varsity and varsity last season.
“He’s a great rebounder,” Wallace said about Neuman. “He loves going to the glass. I haven’t had such a rebound-hungry high school player like him. That is much needed for our team. He can score close to the basket, but he isn’t going to step out and get threes.
“He’s just a junkyard dog on the glass. He really loves to do the dirty work.”
Justin Chan
There are three other sophomores with a lot of potential who will likely start the season under the “fifth quarter rule” – meaning they will spend most of the time playing with the JV squad, but will also be eligible to see limited action with the varsity.
They could end up being really good one day down the road – and one or more of them could turn out to be real contributors this season. Wallace is not ready to count on them, however, or even specifically identify them just yet.
“We have some fifth quarter kids who we don’t want to give any press to yet, because we want to slow cook them,” the coach said. “I will just say we have a few young guys who are going to contribute.”