Lennox Orioles: Season Deep Dive

The Orioles from Lennox had a quality season while picking up 16 wins. Lennox is in the always difficult Class A Region 4. Their Region is currently being well represented at State with Dakota Valley playing in the State Championship game tonight. The Orioles will lose 5 seniors to graduation. Lennox does have a nice group of younger players and the big name for the Orioles is [player_tooltip player_id="1266222" first="Porter" last="Ihnen"]. He set a new school record this season with 45 points in a game. Ihnen is the #2 ranked prospect in the 2024 PHD Prospect Rankings. He is already a stud, but he has the size, skill, and athleticism to be a very special player in the near future. Look out for the Orioles next season! See below for Lennox All-Conference players, stats, comments from coach Chris Buckmiller, and updated scores from the season. <h4>2022 Dakota XII All-Conference Team</h4> [player_tooltip player_id="1266222" first="Porter" last="Ihnen"] - First Team [player_tooltip player_id="812188" first="Jackson" last="Arlt"] - Honorable Mention Conner Eich - Honorable Mention <h4>Stat Leaders</h4> [player_tooltip player_id="1266222" first="Porter" last="Ihnen"] (2024) |6-4 SF| - 19.2 ppg, 9.6 rbg, 3.2 apg [player_tooltip player_id="812188" first="Jackson" last="Arlt"] (2022) |5-10 G| - 9.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.9 apg Conner Eich (2023) |6-2 F| - 9.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.7 apg Jaxon Plank (2023) |6-1 G| - 7.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.8 apg Carter Van Houten (2022) |6-0 G| - 4.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.6 apg [player_tooltip player_id="812191" first="Steven" last="Christion"] (2022) |6-0 G| - 3.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.2 apg Braeden Wulf (2023) |6-3 F| - 4.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg Talan Diercks (2024) |5-10 G| - 5.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.0 apg <h4>Q & A with coach Chris Buckmiller</h4> PHD: What were some of the highlights of the season? Coach Buckmiller: "Throughout the season we had many games that came down to the wire that we won. However, when I think about highlights of the season, most of them come off of the court. Pre-game music, bad dance moves after wins, team dinners, and joking in practices are just a few that come to mind." PHD: Which players improved the most for you this season? Coach Buckmiller: "Andrew Daugherty was our most improved player of the year. He was someone who took every rep seriously and got leaps and bounds better throughout the year. Andrew truly got better each day at practice." PHD: Who were your biggest "impact players" this season? Coach Buckmiller: "[player_tooltip player_id="1266222" first="Porter" last="Ihnen"] was our biggest impact player. However, we had many other guys who made us succeed this year. We were definitely a “by committee” team. [player_tooltip player_id="812188" first="Jackson" last="Arlt"], Carter Van Houten, Conner Eich, Jaxon Plank, Braeden Wulf, and [player_tooltip player_id="812191" first="Steven" last="Christion"] all had games where they were our best players." PHD: Who was your best shooter? Coach Buckmiller: "We have a team full of shooters. Our best pure 3pt shooters included Carter Van Houten and Conner Eich. Both players shot lights out and didn’t need much space to let it fly." PHD: Who was your best defender? Coach Buckmiller: "[player_tooltip player_id="812188" first="Jackson" last="Arlt"] was an absolute monster on the defensive end this year. We always gave him the assignment of the best guard. He held other team’s best player below their season average in all but one game." PHD: Who was your best practice player and why? Coach Buckmiller: "Our best practice player was [player_tooltip player_id="1266222" first="Porter" last="Ihnen"]. He set the example of being the first to show up and last to leave. Porter genuinely loves to practice. He leads by example every day by giving it his all and wanting to be coached." PHD: Who were some of your key bench players? Coach Buckmiller: "One of our biggest strengths was our bench play. Our bench was led by Conner Eich, [player_tooltip player_id="812191" first="Steven" last="Christion"], and Talan Diercks." PHD: Can you make a few comments about the seniors that you are losing? Coach Buckmiller: "We had 5 seniors who played a big part in our success. All of them contributed, and all of them had sacrifices. They showed the younger players what it means to be a “team-first” teammate." <h4>Orioles Scores and Schedule (16-6)</h4> Milbank W 67-50 Sioux Falls Christian L 54-71 Madison W 57-55 Canton W 73-56 Garretson W 66-45 Mt. Vernon-Plankinton W 60-46 Rock Valley, (IA) W 61-51 Pine Ridge W 95-33 Vermillion W 62-57 Chamberlain W 74-55 West Central L 49-66 Platte-Geddes W 57-52 Parkston W 60-56 Groton Area W 62-52 Elk Point-Jefferson W 67-65 Tri-Valley W 69-50 Tea Area L 64-71 Beresford W 76-50 Dell Rapids L 50-55 Dakota Valley L 59-73 Canton W 77-46 Tea Area L 54-66