19-20 First Look: Yankton
Yankton won a state title with the state’s best player two years ago but came up short in 2018-19. Do the Bucks have what it takes to bring the title back to their community? Moving On. The Bucks lost three…
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Continue ReadingYankton won a state title with the state’s best player two years ago but came up short in 2018-19. Do the Bucks have what it takes to bring the title back to their community?
Moving On. The Bucks lost three starters to graduation – Miles Carda, Owen Feser, Rex Ryken – including a pair of ball handlers. Reserves Cole Sawatzke, Justin Cap (two more guards standing under six feet like Carda and Feser), and Kiernan Luellman were also lost from the rotation. When games were tight the Bucks used seven guys and four of those players have graduated (six of the top ten overall). However, Yankton still has it’s size and it’s top two scorers.
Returning Starters. There are two and they are a really vital two. Six-foot-7/6-foot-8 forward Matthew Mors is the best South Dakota prospect in the PHD area of covering basketball in the region. Mors stands at career 1,719 points making him 4th all time in Class AA scoring with Mike Miller’s 1,724 total being one game from being surpassed. Eric Kline holds the record at 2,025 points but Mors should break that next year by late January barring an injury. Mors averaged 23 points, 7.8 rebound and 4.2 assists per game as a sophomore. The second leading scorer on the team was 6-foot-1 Cooper Cornemann, one of the deadlier shooters in the state. Yankton may have lost several players to graduation but the players that could always count on for offense return.
Reserves Playing a Bigger Role. Six-foot-9 center Hunter Kotrous is a key figure entering next winter. He started some games last year and has really taken big steps forward as a finisher, passer, and all around player in the post. What he proved last year is he can man the inside allowing Mors to play an inside/out game, and then when Hunter sits Mors can play the five. It’s a nice luxury to have for the Bucks. Aidan Feser played some as a sophomore but his time was limited because of the four senior guards all at a similar size of 5-foot-9/5-foot-10. Feser will now have the ball as the kickstart to the halfcourt offense.
More Potentials from the JV. Another sophomore looking for time, and maybe a starting spot will be Trevor Fitzgerald. At near six feet he can pair with Feser allowing Cornemann to be the wing shooter and Mors to roam inside out as the four. Senior Trevor Horn is a 6-foot-1 wing who will play and at 6-foot-5, senior Reggie Bruder should also be able to give the team post minutes allowing the team to be versatile with Mors.