River Cities Conference Preview

<p><em>Today we take a look at the River Cities Conference. </em></p> <p><strong>Conference Commentary</strong></p> <p><strong>Top Ten</strong>: Omaha Skutt Catholic, Roncalli Catholic</p> <p>I predict Skutt will be chosen as the preseason #1 in Class B and that shouldn’t be too surprising at all. They return a deep squad led by seniors [player_tooltip player_id="1023540" first="James" last="Gninefou"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1235611" first="Grant" last="Dvorak"]. The rest of their lineup will be bolstered with the likes of sniper [player_tooltip player_id="1150945" first="JJ" last="Ferrin"], big man [player_tooltip player_id="1017542" first="Mitch" last="Scholl"], and breakout candidate [player_tooltip player_id="1017541" first="Jake" last="Brack"]. Brack is listed at 6’7 and showed a multitude of different skills last season and into the summer. The Skyhawks have a bunch of players that can shoot the ball and your team will always be in good shape when your best players are your most dogged defenders (Gninefou, Dvorak).</p> <p>Roncalli is a team that most nights will have the best player on the floor in [player_tooltip player_id="890575" first="Jake" last="Orr"]. The senior truly does it all on the court and he was my choice for Preseason Player of the Year in the conference. The Crimson Pride are definitely not a one-man show though. Flanking Orr are players like Quincy Evans, Darik Rodgers, [player_tooltip player_id="1018809" first="Austin" last="Schwarz"], and Bennington transfer [player_tooltip player_id="1235588" first="Lucas" last="Brown"]. Evans is an excellent shooter that pairs that with an ability to get to the hoop and finish at a good clip. Schwarz is another sniper for the team and Brown is probably the X-factor for this team. Brown is an active big that plays unselfishly and is a solid athlete. I expect the Crimson Pride to be right up there with the best of Class B. </p> <p><strong>Top Ten Potential: </strong>Mt. Michael</p> <p>Mt. Michael does not have as much depth as some of the other teams in the conference but it makes up for it by having a monster presence down low in [player_tooltip player_id="890599" first="Kuon" last="Kuon"]. He is one the most unique players in Class B and if he plays up to his potential every game this season, he will be incredibly hard to stop. At 6’8 he can really shoot it from three and is a great security blanket to have on defense. The key for him will be to always stay in attack mode on offense, the Knights will need every bit of that aggression. Harrison Long, a transfer from Millard West, will have all the opportunity in the world to be aggressive on offense this season. I expect him to get all sorts of buckets this year and form a formidable duo with Kuon. [player_tooltip player_id="890615" first="Daniel" last="Mondi"] will be a steady hand at the point that will take care of the ball and make winning plays for the Knights. </p> <p><strong style="font-size: 1rem;">Compete with Most</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem;">: N/A</span></p> <p><strong>Rebuilding</strong>: Omaha Gross Catholic, South Sioux City</p> <p>These teams won 1 and 2 games respectively last season and will hope to build up from last year. </p> <p><strong>21-22 Conference Predictions</strong></p> <ol> <li>Skutt Catholic </li> <li>Roncalli Catholic</li> <li>Mt. Michael </li> <li>South Sioux City</li> <li>Gross Catholic</li> </ol> <p><strong>Preseason Player of the Year</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="890575" first="Jake" last="Orr"] (Roncalli Catholic) </p> <p><strong>Preseason All-River Cities Conference Team</strong></p> <p>(Note: I went with six players and chose them regardless of what position they play)</p> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1017541" first="Jake" last="Brack"] (Skutt Catholic)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="890599" first="Kuon" last="Kuon"] (Mt. Michael) </li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="890575" first="Jake" last="Orr"] (Roncalli Catholic)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1023540" first="James" last="Gninefou"] (Skutt Catholic) </li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1235611" first="Grant" last="Dvorak"] (Skutt Catholic)</li> <li>Quincy Evans (Roncalli Catholic) </li> </ul>