Conference Preview: SEISC (South)
The Teams Cardinal: With last season’s second-leading scorer Trevor Albert back, Cardinal will have some hope for a better season than last. That won’t take much, the Comets won just two games last winter. Central Lee: The top four scorers…
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Continue ReadingThe Teams
Cardinal: With last season’s second-leading scorer Trevor Albert back, Cardinal will have some hope for a better season than last. That won’t take much, the Comets won just two games last winter.
Central Lee: The top four scorers return this season for a Central Lee squad that won just five games last winter. We fully expect the Hawks to move up in the standings compared to their less-than-stellar finish last season.
Danville: After back-to-back 1A titles in 2001 and 2002 the Bears — though elite almost every season — have not been able to recapture a state title. They’ll again be very good this season; Kole Perkins and Kaleb Haeffner will lead the charge.
Harmony: No QuikStats available from 2015-16 season
Holy Trinity Catholic: They won just five games last season, but watch out for the Crusaders this winter. They have nearly their entire roster from a season ago back, and should be able to at least double that win total with this year’s experienced squad. .
Maharishi: No Quik Stats Available
New London: The youth movement continues in New London, two of the state’s best young guards, Mason Porter and Kenotae Luckett are now sophomores. And preseason player of the year Ben Dentlinger, now a senior, is a guy that could take this team to the next level.
Notre Dame: It won’t be the same in Burlington without Xavior Williams at the helm, but there seems to be a slew of talented guys ready to come in and help the Nikes continue their winning ways. We expect them to again be in the top half on the standings by season’s end.
Van Buren: All six leading scorers last season for the Warriors were seniors, that’s the bad news. The good news: the future is bright, as five of the next six leading scorers were all freshman last season. It could take some time for the youngsters to get acclimated, we don’t expect Van Buren to quite duplicate last season’s 13-win success.
West Burlington: Like last year, West Burlington could be one of the more formidable teams in the conference this season; and that’s putting it lightly. The Falcons won 15-games last season behind 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds from Tate Snodgrass; he’s back and so are many other key players.
Analysis
Danville is coming off two straight state tournament appearances, and has made it down to Wells Fargo in five of the last six seasons, this year’s team could be just as good. Kole Perkins and Kaleb Haeffner will lead the charge, and though New London will be right there to compete, it should be the Bears taking the title again.
Projected Order of Finish
- Danville
- New London
- West Burlington
- Notre Dame
- Holy Trinity Catholic
- Central Lee
- Van Buren
- Cardinal
- Harmony
- Maharishi
Player of the Year
Ben Dentlinger, 6’5, New London
A bevy of talent returns at New London, including one of the deepest sophomore class’s in the state. But Dentlinger will lead the charge. He’s long with great height and plays the perimeter adeptly. He spent his spring and summer playing against some of the nation’s best with Martin Brothers 17U, and should have a huge senior season for the Tigers.
Biggest Sleeper
Keontae Luckett, 5’10, New London
This preseason second team all-conference selection may not be a sleeper to us — we saw him slicing and dicing with Pump ‘N Run all summer — but he may be to the rest of the league. He was a nice role player last season as a freshman with the Tigers, averaging 7.7 points, 5.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. He could emerge as one of the state’s best point guards this winter.
Players to Watch
Ben Dentlinger, 6’5, New London
Mason Porter, 6’3, New London
Kole Perkins, 6’2, Danville
Kaleb Haeffner, 6’6, Danville
Tate Snodgrass, 6’6, West Burlington
Rick Galle, 6’1, Central Lee
Connor Conrad, Holy Trinity Catholic
Cory Hopper, Holy Trinity Catholic
Keontae Luckett, 5’10, New London
Rooks Derosear, 6′, West Burlington