Black Hills Conference Preview

Top-heavy is the best way to describe the Black Hills Conference this year. St. Thomas More, Spearfish and Red Cloud are the class of west river basketball, and are top ten caliber teams in Class A. Red Cloud is a prohibitive favorite to come out Region 7, and Region 8 will likely be represented by the winner of STM v. Spearfish, which means 25 percent of the Class A tournament field could hail from the BHC.<h2>Teams</h2>Belle Fourche Returning Starters: Breck Young (6-2, PG, 12), Jon Peterson (5-10, PG, 11), Jace Horman (6-0, SG, 12), Jake O’Byrne (6-3, SF, 11), Louis Budmayr (5-11, SG, 11) Returning Rotation Players: JD Kirwan (5-5, PG, 12), Zach Lange (5-4, PG, 11) New Talent: Chase Irwin (5-9, SG, 11) Trending: Up Thoughts: They had one senior last year and although they won just two games they will be much improved simply based on returning experience. Breck Young had some monster games last year so he could explode as a senior. Custer Returning Starters: Graysen Trandem (6-2, SF, 12), Patrick Witt (6-2, SG, 12), Blake Martinez (5-8, PG, 11). Returning Rotation Players: Abram Herman (6-4, PF, 12) New Talent: Noah Zacher (5-10, PG, 11) Trending: Down Thoughts: They won eight games last year which is okay and there are two starters back with a part time starter also returning but the guys they lost brought most of the scoring punch. Trandem will carry a big load. Douglas Returning Starters: None Returning Rotation Players: Austin Barret (PF, 12), Austin Gooden (6-1, SF, 12) New Talent: Dylan Pourier (5-11, PG, 9), Trevor Severson (5-11, PG, 10) Trending: Down Thoughts: Trey Diggs was one of the best sophomores in the state last year and he moved to Florida so the Pats lost him and a boat load of seniors. With all starters gone it will be up to the Austins and the young guard to try and match last year’s ten wins. Hill City Returning Starters: Jacob Harris (10), Wacey Ferguson (12) Returning Rotation Players: Ryan Skillingstad (11), Jac Cutler (10), Shawn Kuhnel (12) New Talent: Michael Satter (10), Chance Simmons (10), Corbin Miller (10) Trending: Up Thoughts: Top two scorers are gone but they won just five games a year ago and there were a lot of young players who got their feet wet. Should be better than five wins although not sure they will get double digit victories, but maybe close. Hot Springs Returning Starters: Caden Maciejewski (6-1, SG, 11), Riley Stevens (6-4, PF, 12) Returning Rotation Players: Skyler Haden (5-8, PG, 11) New Talent: Josh Stanley (6-0, SG, 10), Morgan Hankless (6-1, SG, 9) Trending: Same Synopsis: This is a second level club that will likely be around .500 beating most of the teams they should beat but struggling with the top teams in the league. Stevens should resume a full time starting role while Maciejewski will be the top weapon. Lead-Deadwood Returning Starters: None Returning Rotation Players: Brett Mattson (5-11, PG, 11), Dillon Burns (5-10, SF, 11), Max Nelson (5-7, PG, 11) New Talent: Jack Egemo (5-7, PG, 10) Trending: Down Thoughts: Lead-Deadwood will be led by juniors and lacks size. And when we say size, we mean it. There is not one returning player from last year’s group that is above six feet tall. Likely a few new bigs but all the size and experience is gone. This is nearly a complete reset from a 12-10 team. Red Cloud Key Returners: Kobey O’Rourke (6-3, SF, 12), Marty Richards (6-2, SG, 12) and Terrell Pulliam (5-10, PG, 12) Returning Rotation Players: Robert Looks Twice (6-1, SG, 12), Jack Fast Wolf (5-10, PG, 12), Will Garnier (5-10, PG, 11), NuVassie Blacksmith (6-4, PF, 12) New Talent: Mahpiya Briseno (6-6, C, 11) Trending: Up Thoughts: The Crusaders had a good campaign last year but fell short of a state tournament berth. Red Cloud has a chance to make state this year. The slightly undersized group had a fantastic summer running past AA schools to team camp championships at SD Mines and Black Hills State camps. The Crusaders will be led by Kobey O’Rourke, one of the state’s best shooters, and Marty Richards who brings athleticism to a solid all-around game. Spearfish Returning Starters: Chet Samuelson (6-2, SG, 12), Cole Richards (6-4, PF, 12), Devon Braun (6-7, C, 12), and Jaxon Hinch (6-4, SF, 12) Returning Rotation Players: Dylan Reiners (5-11, PG, 12) New Talent: Jaxon Rosencranz (6-0, SG, 11) Trending: Up Thoughts: The Spartans went 15-7 last year as a Class AA team, and return a core group that has led the team since their sophomore year. Now as seniors, and dropping down to Class A, expectations are through the roof. The team has size (6’7”, 6’4”, 6’4 across the front line), athleticism (Class AA high jump champ in Hinch, and one of the state’s best all-around athletes in Richards), leadership (Samuelson and Braun), and a tremendous amount of playing experience. They are expecting big things in Spartan land. St. Thomas More Returning Starters: Jake Satter (6-4, SG, 11), Isaac Kortemeyer (6-8, PF/C, 11), PJ Freidel (5-10, PG, 12) Returning Rotational Players: Tayton Maher (6-1, SG, 11) New Talent: Preston Arity (6-2, SF, 11), Austin Hammon (5-10, PG, 11) Trending: Up Thoughts: STM placed 5th at the state tournament last year in spite of being led by underclassmen. Kortemeyer is considered the state’s number one prospect in the 2017 class, and will be a three-year starter in spite of being only a junior. Satter led STM in scoring last year, and is considered one of the state’s best shooters (led state in three-point makes with 94). PJ Freidel is the lone senior on the roster, but brings two years of starting experience at the point guard position. A deep junior class includes Preston Arity, Tayt Maher, and RC Stevens transfer Austin Hammon (5’10”), each will play critical roles.