Conference Preview: Bluegrass Conference

<h4>The Teams</h4> <p><strong>Ankeny Christian (15-6):</strong> No matter what the roster looks like, ACA has been the class of the league since Grand View Christian went independent. The Eagles have compiled a 50-4 record against league foes in the last five seasons, and there’s no reason to expect that domination to slow down this year. Two starters return in seniors [player_tooltip player_id="1158467" first="Ben" last="McDermott"] (11.0) and [player_tooltip player_id="962662" first="Malachi" last="Johnson"] (9.5, 5.8 assists), while Logan Fincham (7.8) was a solid contributor off the bench last season. McDermott is a long wing who can really shoot it, knocking down 54 3-pointers last year at a 45% clip, while the diminutive Johnson is arguably the best player in the conference on both ends of the floor. A true lead guard who gets others involved first, he’s also a really good shooter, burying 41% of his 3s last year. With Fincham stepping into a tertiary scoring role, and players like Brock Parks (3.1), Ben Fortenberry (2.4), and Cade Wierck (2.0) stepping into bigger roles, ACA should continue to be the class of the conference. </p> <p><strong>Diagonal (7-11):</strong> Caleb Hubbard (8.7, 7.1 rebounds) and Will Strange (8.1, 7.6 rebounds) lead a Maroons team that brings back their top seven scorers from last year’s group. This is a team that struggled to score at times last year, with seven games in which they scored 23 or fewer points, and that will certainly need to be addressed. With loads of experience back, they should improve on that end a bit. They’ll struggle to compete with the top of the league, but should be able to rack up some wins against the lower-level teams in the conference and push for a .500 finish. </p> <p><strong>Lamoni (13-6):</strong> The Demons were really close to putting together a special season last year, with their last four losses all coming by single digits. They lose their leading scorer, Hayden Stewart, but bring back Javin Stevenson (9.8, 7.6 rebounds) and [player_tooltip player_id="1139259" first="Brayden" last="Olson"] (8.9, 6.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists), as well as Kade Nowlin (6.2) and Kalvin Brown (3.1) giving them some experienced returnees. Olson is one of the better two-way players in the league, while Stevenson is a dominant rebounder on both ends of the floor. This group will rely on their prowess on the glass to gain extra possessions and should be a competitive team in the league. </p> <p><strong>Melcher-Dallas (9-10):</strong> The Saints were starting to put it together late last season, putting together a five-game winning streak before a late-season loss to Sigourney and playoff setback against North Mahaska. Unfortunately, they lose their top three scorers, leaving junior forward Owen Suntken (7.7, 7.2 rebounds) as the top returnee. With over 75% of their scoring production gone, expect to see M-D take a bit of a step back this year. </p> <p><strong>Moravia (19-5):</strong> The Mohawks compiled their most wins in a season in the QuikStats/VarsityBound era last year, running up 19 victories, but they’ll be hard-pressed to replicate that success this year following the graduation of [player_tooltip player_id="964904" first="Carson" last="Brown"], who averaged over 23 points a game. Gage Hanes (7.1), Riley Hawkins (6.0), [player_tooltip player_id="1235031" first="Cole" last="Hamilton"] (5.0), and Shane Helmick (4.6) return with experience, and this group did a great job crashing the offensive glass hard last season, pulling down 14.9 offensive boards a game. They’ll need to rely on that again to help them gain some extra possessions, because the offense isn’t going to be as explosive as it was last year. They should be a strong middle-of-the-pack team in the league this season.</p> <p><strong>Mormon Trail (12-8):</strong> The Saints lost their last four games of the season, which put a bit of a damper on what had been a great start to the year. The top eight scorers return from that group, including a trio of double-figure scorers in Remington Newton (11.7), Gavin Dixson (11.3), and Wrigley Shanks (10.1), who combined to average 33.1 points and 18.6 rebounds a game last year. The experienced backcourt of Newton, Ty Hysell (5.8, 3.1 assists) and Triton Gwinn (7.1, 2.4 assists) gives them a solid group of ball-handlers, and if they can cut down on the turnovers a bit (15.3 a game last year), this group could be very dangerous offensively. The other area of concern is at the free-throw line, where they shot just 48.3% as a team. That will need to improve if they want to make a real run in the league and in the postseason. Nonetheless, with the plethora of experience Mormon Trail has coming back, they’ll be a legitimate contender in the conference. </p> <p><strong>Moulton-Udell (0-20):</strong> The Eagles were winless last season and lost their top two scorers from that group. Junior guard Zane Hawkathorne (4.9) is the top returning scorer, and he had a solid year shooting the ball last season, knocking down 38.6% of his 3-point attempts. Senior forward Dawson Veldhuizen (3.8, 6.5 rebounds) is the other key returnee for this group.</p> <p><strong>Murray (14-7):</strong> Leading scorer Colton Siefkas has graduated, leaving a number of shots open for returnees Christian Nevarez (8.4), Brycen Wookey (6.6), Zack Belden (4.2), and Aydan Dinham (3.8). Nevarez was impressive as a shooter last year, knocking down 43.3% of his 3-point attempts, and should emerge as the go-to scorer for this group. Look for them to become a bit more balanced this year, which could lead to more wins. This is a program that has averaged 18.25 wins a year over the last 12 seasons, so no matter what the roster looks like, they’re going to produce wins.</p> <p><strong>Orient-Macksburg (1-18):</strong> The Bulldogs only won one game last year, against winless Moulton-Udell. Junior forward Tyson Ross (6.6, 7.5 rebounds) was strong off the bench last season and will be the team’s leader this year. Chase Walker (3.8) is the only other returnee with any experience.</p> <p><strong>Seymour (5-13):</strong> Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1167738" first="Carter" last="Houser"] (16.5) leads a team that returns all but one player from last year’s team, so expect them to be a bit more competitive this season. Houser will get some scoring help from senior forward Kayden Snowden (11.1, 6.3 rebounds) and junior guard Kennan Hinners (5.1). Houser should be one of the best players in the conference, and with the experience that the Warriors have back, expect them to be a tougher out this year. </p> <p><strong>Twin Cedars (7-10):</strong> The Sabres had the last two weeks of their season canceled last year as they dealt with COVID-19 issues, and that long layoff probably contributed a bit to the blowout loss to Keota to end the season. (Keota was the better team, but probably not 34 points better.) Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="1158511" first="Devin" last="Arkema"] (15.7) is a big volume scorer, while fellow senior forward Dallas Clark (5.3, 7.9 rebounds) provides some size and physicality in the paint. Those are the only two returnees who saw significant playing time last season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Projected Order of Finish</h4> <p><br /> 1. Ankeny Christian <br /> 2. Murray<br /> 3. Mormon Trail<br /> 4. Lamoni<br /> 5. Moravia<br /> 6. Diagonal<br /> 7. Seymour<br /> 8. Melcher-Dallas<br /> 9. Twin Cedars<br /> 10. Orient-Macksburg<br /> 11. Moulton-Udell</p> <p><strong>Analysis:</strong> ACA is the class of the league until they are dethroned. Compiling a 50-4 record against league foes over the last five years has earned them that right, and they have our pick for Player of the Year leading the charge on both ends of the floor. The battle for second between Murray, Mormon Trail, Lamoni, and Moravia should be entertaining.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Preseason Player of the Year</h4> <p><strong>2022 [player_tooltip player_id="962662" first="Malachi" last="Johnson"], Ankeny Christian:</strong> The Eagles should once again be the best team in the Bluegrass Conference, and Johnson is a big reason why. A true lead guard who looks to get others involved before hunting his own shot, Johnson is arguably the best returnee in the league on both ends of the floor with his all-around abilities. He should see his scoring spike a little bit this year with the graduated pieces that the Eagles lost.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Players to Watch</h4> <p>2022 [player_tooltip player_id="962662" first="Malachi" last="Johnson"], Ankeny Christian<br /> 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="1158467" first="Ben" last="McDermott"], Ankeny Christian<br /> 2022 Logan Fincham, Ankeny Christian<br /> 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="1167738" first="Carter" last="Houser"], Seymour<br /> 2022 Kayden Snowden, Seymour<br /> 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="1158511" first="Devin" last="Arkema"], Twin Cedars<br /> 2022 Remington Newton, Mormon Trail<br /> 2023 Gavin Dixson, Mormon Trail<br /> 2022 Wrigley Shanks, Mormon Trail<br /> 2022 Gabe Stripe, Mormon Trail<br /> 2024 Triton Gwinn, Mormon Trail<br /> 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="1139259" first="Brayden" last="Olson"], Lamoni<br /> 2022 Javin Stevenson, Lamoni<br /> 2023 Caleb Hubbard, Diagonal<br /> 2022 Christian Nevarez, Murray<br /> 2023 Owen Suntken, Melcher-Dallas<br /> 2023 Gage Hanes, Moravia</p>