Class AA Title Contender Series: Brandon Valley

<p>With the 2020 season cancelled just before state, Brandon Valley never got a chance to defend their state title.  They enter the 20-21 campaign hungry for another chance at a title. </p> <p><strong>Moving On</strong>:  Point guard [player_tooltip player_id="879108" first="Jaxon" last="LaBrie"], shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="988891" first="Thomas" last="Scholten"], and center [player_tooltip player_id="879074" first="Gavin" last="Terhark"] graduated.  That’s three starters that will need replacements.  Scholten is now a part of the Augustana football program while Terhark is at Northern State as a member of the basketball program.  Reserve Cole Sylliaasen also played a key role off the bench and he’s graduated as well. </p> <p><strong>Returning Starters</strong>:  Brandon Valley has two starters returning and they are the type of starters that have the experience and talent to make fans think of defending the state title from two years back.  Six-foot-3 guard/wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="975499" first="Jackson" last="Hilton"]</strong> is one of the best athletes in the state of South Dakota.  Hilton averaged 13 points, four boards, two assists, and two steals a game last year highlighted by his 29 point playoff performance knocking out Aberdeen Central.  Five-foot-11, 180 pound senior strong guard <strong>Joseph Kolbeck</strong> is the other returning starter.  Kolbeck led the Lynx in assists plus he was one of the team’s most dependable shooters knocking down 38 percent of his threes for an eight point per game season.   </p> <p><strong>Reserves Playing a Bigger Role:  </strong>It’s tough losing a scholarship big to college basketball but Brandon Valley should move right along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="975511" first="Jay" last="Jurgens"]</strong> as the senior center.  Jurgens stands 6-foot-8/6-foot-9 and is coming off an excellent summer of improvement with the South Dakota Attack.  Jurgens finished nearly 70 percent of his attempts last season and based on what we saw over the summer he will fit in nicely replacing Terhark.  Another returning 6-foot-8 post who is now a senior is <strong>Payton Tietjen</strong>.  Payton is a good rebounder with size and experience.  Not as skilled but competes.  Could play with Jurgens at times in the right sets, line-ups.  </p> <p>Brandon Valley is also in a great position to move two of their reserves right into starting roles.  Six-foot-3 senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="975527" first="Aydin" last="Lloyd"]</strong> was a 40 percent three point shooter off the bench last season scoring six points a game.  The production is there, now Brandon Valley needs it in bigger doses each game and Lloyd should have no issue playing on the wing with Hilton, and/or in the backcourt with Kolbeck.  Then you have <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="975594" first="Jaksen" last="Deckert"]</strong>, a 5-foot-10 reserve point guard from a season ago that came off the bench and was second on the team in assists.  Deckert played a couple rotations each have and can handle both as the back-up lead guard, and as the handler in a small, quicker line-up.  </p> <p><strong>Potentials from the JV: </strong>Senior guard <strong>Nate Lear</strong> also played a bit off the bench last season giving Brandon Valley seven returning players with experience. Lear also picked up a lot of time on the JV in the backcourt.  Lear is one of 13 juniors that was on the roster last year.  Two of them started, and four played off the bench.  That leaves Lear and six others coming up from the JV hoping to grab a varsity spot.  </p> <p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong>:  Brandon Valley is an intriguing mix of returning talent.  There is experience, skill, agility, and size returning.  The players filling spots of graduated starters have the talent to match their predecessors, and in a few cases they could be better than the spots they are filling.  This team looks like one of the top contenders.  </p>