Tea Area: Season Preview

<p>The Titans from Tea will be one of the best squads in the Class A division in South Dakota. They will be led by returning All-State player [player_tooltip player_id="812209" first="Cael" last="Lundin"] and All-Conference player [player_tooltip player_id="968157" first="Jeff" last="Worth"].</p> <p>In the 2020-2021 season Tea Area had a record of 14-8. They played a stacked schedule. 11 of their games came against State Tournament teams. The Titans lost Austin Lake, [player_tooltip player_id="757879" first="Garrett" last="Kolbeck"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1129964" first="Caden" last="Ellingson"] to graduation. They return two key starters with [player_tooltip player_id="812209" first="Cael" last="Lundin"] and [player_tooltip player_id="968157" first="Jeff" last="Worth"]. They also return 2 key bench players with Reis Kirschenmen, [player_tooltip player_id="963779" first="Blake" last="Thompson"], and 2 other letter winners [player_tooltip player_id="968219" first="Alex" last="Pies"], [player_tooltip player_id="1142658" first="Cole" last="Schilling"]. </p> <h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>2020-2021 Awards and Honors</strong></span></h3> <p><strong>Most Valuable Player</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="812209" first="Cael" last="Lundin"]</p> <p><strong>Defensive Player of the Year</strong>: Austin Lake</p> <p><strong>Most Improved Player</strong>: Reis Kirschenmen, [player_tooltip player_id="1129964" first="Caden" last="Ellingson"]</p> <p><strong>JV Most Valuable Player</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="963779" first="Blake" last="Thompson"]</p> <p><strong>"C" Team Most Valuable Player</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="1270654" first="Jessen" last="Wiebenga"]</p> <p><strong>Titan Awards</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="757879" first="Garrett" last="Kolbeck"], Eddie, Unruh, Sam Almas</p> <p><strong>Region 6 Assistant Coach of the Year</strong>: David Preheim</p> <p><strong>All-State</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="812209" first="Cael" last="Lundin"] - 2nd Team</p> <p><strong>Dak XII All-Conference</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="812209" first="Cael" last="Lundin"] - 1st Team, [player_tooltip player_id="757879" first="Garrett" last="Kolbeck"] - 2nd Team, [player_tooltip player_id="968157" first="Jeff" last="Worth"] - 3rd Team</p> <p><strong>Academic All-State</strong>: Austin Lake, [player_tooltip player_id="1129964" first="Caden" last="Ellingson"], [player_tooltip player_id="757879" first="Garrett" last="Kolbeck"]</p> <h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>2021-2022 Team Comments from Coach Drew Weber</strong></span></h3> <p><em>"Coming into the season, we expect to compete for a SoDak 16 berth and hopefully get back to the state tournament. We have a handful of guys we feel really good about, but there is a lot of competition for playing time at all levels. We play a very difficult schedule, which should prepare us for the postseason, but staying near the top of our Region standings will be critical this year. If we can find 3-4 newcomers to take the next step forward, we will have a successful year."</em></p> <p><em>"We had a really good summer with the weight room and our workouts. One thing we really push is that our players are in a Fall sport, so they are getting all kinds of training to become better athletes year-round. On the basketball court, we saw 8-10 new guys that look like they could play varsity ball this upcoming season. We will need 3-5 of those to rise above the rest with consistent play."</em></p> <h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Roster</strong></span></h3> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Cael-Lundin-crop-680x447-1620928290.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1192191" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Cael-Lundin-crop-680x447-1620928290-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="812209" first="Cael" last="Lundin"] (2022) |6-3 G|</strong></p> <p>2020-2021 stats- 18.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.9 spg</p> <p>2nd Team All-State in his junior season and 3rd Team All-State in his sophomore season. He has committed to Northwestern (IA). Lundin had a very good summer with SD Attack. He will be the best player for the Titans and one of the top perimeter players in South Dakota.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Jeffrey-Worth.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1241155" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Jeffrey-Worth-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="968157" first="Jeff" last="Worth"] (2022) |6-0 G|</strong></p> <p>2020-2021 stats- 10 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.8 apg, .7 spg</p> <p>A 3-year starter at PG. He will play off the ball more this season to take advantage of his perimeter shooting.</p> <p><strong>Blake  Thompson (2023) |6-0 G|</strong></p> <p>2020-2021 stats- 2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.1 spg</p> <p>He played minutes off the bench last season. He will be the lead guard and best perimeter defender for the Titans.</p> <p><strong>Reis Kirschenmen (2023) |6-3 F|</strong></p> <p>2020-2021 stats- 4.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, .5 apg, .7 spg</p> <p>He played minutes off the bench last season. Reis is a physical and athletic post player that has a chance to be special.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/76ColeSchilling.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1077297" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/76ColeSchilling-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1142658" first="Cole" last="Schilling"] (2022) |6-8 F|</strong></p> <p>He is a long and skilled player that can play inside and out. Schilling will need to improve his defense and rebounding in order to solidify a key role.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/16AlexPies.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1077262" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/16AlexPies-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="968219" first="Alex" last="Pies"] (2022) |6-3 F|</strong></p> <p>A physical perimeter player who can defend and share the ball well. Pies will need to improve consistency to solidify a key role. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1265485" first="Jonah" last="Kocer"] (2023) |6-1 G|</strong></p> <p>He is a heady and skilled player. Kocer is a good team defender with the potential to be the best defender for the Titans. </p> <p><strong>Jaxon Weber (2022) </strong></p> <p>He did not play last year. He will be one of the more athletic players on the team for Tea.</p> <p><strong>Gabe Grant (2022) |6-3 F|</strong></p> <p>A long and athletic perimeter player. Grant will need to be more consistent shooting the ball and on the defensive end. </p> <p><strong>Eddie Unruh (2022) |6-4 F|</strong></p> <p>One of the harder workers on the Titans team. Unruh has a nice low post-game but needs to improve defensively. </p> <p><strong>Jackson Smythe (2023) |5-11 G|</strong></p> <p>He is a physical and hard-working perimeter player. Jackson has the skill to become a key role player. </p> <p><strong>Sam Almas (2024) |6-3 F|</strong></p> <p>He is super athletic and Sam has the ability to be a very special player. Almas will need to get accustomed to the speed of the varsity game. He will also need to get more consistent on both ends of the floor.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1270654" first="Jessen" last="Wiebenga"] (2024) |6-2 SF|</strong></p> <p>A very talented player with major potential. Jessen will be one of the best shooters in the Tea program. </p>