Conference Preview: SICL East

<p><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Teams</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Belle Plaine (17-6):</strong> The top three scorers return to a 17-win Plainsmen team, so they should be considered the team to beat in the division this year. Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="964910" first="Luke" last="DeMeulenaere"] (16.2) and junior [player_tooltip player_id="962683" first="Ben" last="DeMeulenaere"] (13.3, 11.1 rebounds) are the leaders here, the focal points of a team that likes to play inside-out, the antithesis of modern basketball. The DeMeulenaere’s are great playing in the high-lo, working extremely well with each other. The other key returnee is senior guard Jackson Tegeler (9.5), the team’s top shooting threat, knocking down 39% of his 3s last year. They’ll need to find a primary ball-handler that they can trust to protect the ball following the graduation of Trevin Straight. </p> <p><strong>English Valleys (9-13):</strong> The nine wins the Bears racked up last year was one of the most successful seasons they’ve had in a long time, and there is reason for more optimism this year, with the top five scorers returning. Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="962678" first="Kaden" last="Hall"] (16.4, 11.2 rebounds) is one of the league’s best players, a walking double-double. Hayden Irmen (9.2) is a solid second scorer, while Beau Flander (7.2), Brayden Mikesell (5.7) and Cole Stephenson (5.5) are other key returning pieces. The Bears had nearly twice as many turnovers as assists last year, and they’ll need to clean that up if they want to compete for a top-2 finish in the division.</p> <p><strong>Iowa Valley (4-17):</strong> Leading scorer Brody Ward (14.5) returns to lead the Tigers. He’ll need to lead a group that has to become much more efficient and take better care of the basketball if they’re going to improve on their four wins from last season.</p> <p><strong>Keota (20-4):</strong> The Eagles have been the best team in the division for the last few years, and should push Belle Plaine at the top of the league this year, despite the graduation of [player_tooltip player_id="801853" first="JD" last="Stout"], who averaged north of 29 points a game. They return a pair of double-figure scorers in Luke Hammen (12.3) and Carson Sprouse (11.4), plus role players Brady Duwa (7.4) and Wyatt Sieren (3.7). Sprouse is a solid 3-point shooter and primary ball-handler, while Hammen can do a bit of everything. Duwa and Sieren are efficient big men who can control the paint. If Sprouse becomes a 18-point a game scorer, the Eagles may be good enough again to take the division. </p> <p><strong>Sigourney (10-12):</strong> The Savages could’ve been a potential sleeper team in the division, but suffered a major blow with the loss of [player_tooltip player_id="956883" first="Mason" last="Harter"], who moved to Wapsie Valley. Harter averaged 14.5 points and 10.4 rebounds as a freshman and was ready to take over the SICL. Levi Crawford (7.6) is the top returning scorer, while Josh Mohr (5.2), Cade Molyneux (4.4) and Bo Schmidt (3.4) all saw significant playing time last season.</p> <p><strong>Tri-County (0-22):</strong> The Trojans were winless last year and lose Brayden Monroe, who accounted for 42% of the team’s scoring last year. Dayton Pace (7.6, 5.6 rebounds) is the top returnee. It’ll be another long season for Tri-County.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Projected Order of Finish</strong></span><br /> 1. Belle Plaine<br /> 2. Keota<br /> 3. English Valleys<br /> 4. Sigourney<br /> 5. Iowa Valley<br /> 6. Tri-County</p> <p><strong>Analysis:</strong> The battle at the top between Belle Plaine and Keota will be interesting to watch. Belle Plaine returns more at the top, but Keota has been the program to beat in the division for the last few years and they bring back enough pieces to make things interesting. English Valleys could make some noise if they can protect the ball.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Preseason Player of the Year</strong></span></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="962683" first="Ben" last="DeMeulenaere"], Belle Plaine (2022):</strong> 13.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.5 blocks</p> <p>DeMeulenaere was just the second leading scorer for the Plainsmen, but he’s a walking double-double who also makes a major impact on the defensive end of the floor, blocking over two shots a game. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Players to watch</strong></span></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="964910" first="Luke" last="DeMeulenaere"], Belle Plaine (2021)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962683" first="Ben" last="DeMeulenaere"], Belle Plaine (2022)</p> <p>Jackson Tegeler, Belle Plaine (2021)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="962678" first="Kaden" last="Hall"], English Valleys (2022)</p> <p>Carson Sprouse, Keota (2021)</p> <p>Luke Hammen, Keota (2021)</p> <p>Brody Ward, Iowa Valley (2022)</p>