Conference Preview: Lakes

<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Teams</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Cherokee (16-8): </strong></p> <p>The Braves came off a good year in the Lakes Conference, led by [player_tooltip player_id="801896" first="Ryan" last="Hurd"] (Northwestern commit).  This year may be a little different of a year due to the Braves graduating 63% of their total scoring.  Look for [player_tooltip player_id="964876" first="Brayden" last="Farver"] <em>(9.3 PPG)</em> <strong>Joe Benson</strong> <em>(5.3 PPG)</em>, and <strong>Will Lugar</strong> <em>(4.2 PPG)</em> to step up to the plate this season for Cherokee.  </p> <p><strong>Estherville Lincoln Central (7-15): </strong></p> <p>Estherville Lincoln Central had a tough season in the Lakes (0-10) last year.  ELC graduates 59% of their scoring and will be looking to <strong>Adrian Vaughn</strong> averaging 11.1 PPG from last season.   </p> <p><strong>Spencer (10-11):</strong></p> <p>Spencer finished middle of the pack last year in the Lakes.  They graduated 61% of their total scoring last year, but Spencer will bring back the conference-leading scorer 6’2 [player_tooltip player_id="682284" first="Karter" last="Petzenhauser"] <em>(19.2 PPG 4.8 RPG) </em>and 6’0 Landon Ellis <em>(4.0 PPG).  </em>The Tigers will have a number of role players that will need to step up this season to be a contender in the Lakes.</p> <p><strong>Spirit Lake (11-10):</strong></p> <p>Spirit Lake has a chance to win the Lakes Conference outright this year.  The Indians bring back all of their scoring from last season except for one graduate.  Led by 6’7 Morningside commit [player_tooltip player_id="796188" first="Creighton" last="Moricsh"] <em>(15.7 PPG 7.0 RPG)</em> and the guard play of 6’2 [player_tooltip player_id="962615" first="Vance" last="Katzfey"] <em>(16.2 PPG 5.1 RPG)</em> they have the size and guard play to win the Lakes this year.  If they can put the pieces together they will be a tough team to match up against and play each night.</p> <p><strong>Storm Lake (7-14):</strong></p> <p>The young Storm Lake squad finished in the log jam (5-5) of the Lakes Conference.  Looking for an improvement of last year’s team they will be led by <strong>Mark Eddie</strong> <em>(12.1 PPG)</em>, [player_tooltip player_id="964867" first="Jamuo" last="Gatwech"]<em> (10.5 PPG</em>), and <strong>Austin Gaffney</strong> <em>(5.8 PPG)</em>.  For the Tornadoes to have a better year they will need to take care of the basketball every game to transcend to more wins in the conference (16.5 TO per game).</p> <p><strong>Western Christian (16-6):</strong></p> <p>Conference champion Western Christian is always a fundamentally sound team that is tough to match up with in the Lakes.  Of their six losses, three of those came from foes outside of the state of Iowa.  The Wolfpack brings back a solid core from last year’s squad, [player_tooltip player_id="962616" first="Ty" last="Van Essen"] <em>(14.0 PPG)</em>, <strong>Wyatt Gulker</strong> <em>(8.9 PPG)</em>, <strong>Tyson Boer</strong> <em>(6.9 PPG)</em>.  </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Projected Order of Finish</strong></span><br /> 1. Western Christian<br /> 2. Spirit Lake<br /> 3. Cherokee<br /> 4. Spencer<br /> 5. Storm Lake<br /> 6. Estherville Lincoln Central</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Analysis:</strong></span></p> <p>Last year four of the six teams finished in the log jam at 5-5 in the conference.  Looking at the returning players and graduates of each team the top two contenders for the league crown will be Western and Spirit Lake.  Looking at the remainder of the conference will be a toss-up in relation to role players from the previous year to be put in a more prominent role with their teams.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Preseason Player of the Year:</strong></span></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="796188" first="Creighton" last="Moricsh"], 6’7 Spirit Lake (2021) - The Morningside commit is going to look for another great year for the Indians.  He averaged 15.7 PPG and 7.0 RPG for Spirit Lake last year.  The ability to extend the defense with his three, and finishes well around the bucket with either hand.  Look for Creighton to have a big year for Coach Brown’s squad.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Players to watch</strong></span></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962616" first="Ty" last="Van Essen"], 6’4 Western Christian (2022)</p> <p><strong>Wyatt Gulker</strong>, 6’3 Western Christian (2022)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="964876" first="Brayden" last="Farver"], 6’3 Cherokee (2021)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962615" first="Vance" last="Katzfey"], 6’2 Spirit Lake (2022)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="796188" first="Creighton" last="Moricsh"], 6’7 Spirit Lake (2021)</p> <p><strong>Tyler Kriener</strong>, 6’5 Spirit Lake (2021)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="682284" first="Karter" last="Petzenhauser"], 6’2 Spencer (2022)</p> <p>Mark Eddie, 6’0 Storm Lake (2022)</p> <p>Adrian Vaughn, 5’10 ELC (2022)</p>