Mt. Vernon-Plankinton: Season Recap

<p>The Titans had a nice season, they made it into the SoDak 16 but came up a bit short against a very good Groton team. [player_tooltip player_id="963774" first="Reed" last="Rus"] is the superstar for the Titans who put up gaudy numbers in his junior year. The Titans lose a handful of seniors but they will bring back a good group for next year. In this article, we are looking at stats, comments from coach Eric Denning, and the scores/schedule for the season.</p> <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Stat Leaders</strong></span></h4> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963774" first="Reed" last="Rus"] (2023) |6-3 SG|</strong> - 20.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 3.2 apg, 1.3 bpg</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963793" first="Jordan" last="Stoltz"] (2023) |6-7 G/F|</strong> - 12 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.1 spg, 3.1 bpg</p> <p><strong>Zach Baker |2024) |5-9 G|</strong> - 8.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.1 spg, 38 3FG%</p> <p><strong>Mason Hetland (2023) |6-1 G/F|</strong> - 5.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg</p> <p><strong>Blaine Bohr (2024) |6-0 G/F|</strong> - 3.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg</p> <p><strong>Lincoln Klooz (2022) |5-9 G|</strong> - 3.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.2 spg</p> <p><strong>Ryan Chapman (2022) |6-3 F|</strong> - 2.9 ppg, 2 rpg</p> <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Titan Talk with Coach Eric Denning</strong></span></h4> <div dir="ltr"> <div dir="ltr"> <div id="m_-5345228344649941945x_gmail-:12w"> <div id="m_-5345228344649941945x_gmail-:12s" role="textbox" aria-label="Message Body"> <div id="m_-5345228344649941945x_gmail-:1d9"> <div role="textbox" aria-label="Message Body"> <p><b>PHD: What were some of the highlights of the season?</b></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Denning</span>: "<em>The biggest highlight was beating Parkston in the region semis. They had handled us pretty easily a couple of weeks before that. Also beating Hanson in the last few seconds was a fun night.</em>"</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div dir="ltr"> <div id="m_-5345228344649941945x_gmail-:12w"> <div id="m_-5345228344649941945x_gmail-:12s" role="textbox" aria-label="Message Body"> <div id="m_-5345228344649941945x_gmail-:1d9"> <div role="textbox" aria-label="Message Body"> <p><b>PHD: Which players improved the most for you this season and what did they improve on?</b></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Denning</span>: "<em>That is a tough one. I felt as a team we got better throughout the year, but no one player really sticks out for improvement during the season.</em>"</p> <p><b>PHD: Who were a few of your hardest workers and what did they do well?</b></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Denning</span>: "<em><strong>Lincoln</strong><b> Klooz </b>and <b>[player_tooltip player_id="963774" first="Reed" last="Rus"] </b>are our two hardest workers. They play the game the right way. I felt like we were going to get every loose ball this year and we are almost always the first team on the floor after a loose ball.</em>"</p> <p><b>PHD: Can you talk about a time when you and the team overcame adversity?</b></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Denning</span>: "<em>We have a starter on our team whose mother was diagnosed with cancer late in the season and was put on hospice care a couple of days before our SoDak 16 game. This was, and is, a difficult situation for our basketball family.</em>" </p> <p><b>PHD: Who was your best practice player and why? </b></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Denning</span>: "<em>I have quite a few kids that really practice hard every day. Would be hard to delineate whose is best.</em>"  </p> <p><b>PHD: Who were some of your key bench players?</b></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Denning</span>: "<em>How deep we went into our bench depended on the style of play of the game. <strong>Ryan Chapman</strong>, <strong>Blaine Bohr</strong>, <strong>Chris Mayer</strong>, <strong>Brady Fox</strong> all saw significant minutes this year.</em>"</p> <p><b>PHD: Can you make a few comments about the seniors that you are losing?</b></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div dir="ltr"> <div id="m_-5345228344649941945x_gmail-:12w"> <div id="m_-5345228344649941945x_gmail-:12s" role="textbox" aria-label="Message Body"> <div id="m_-5345228344649941945x_gmail-:1d9"> <div role="textbox" aria-label="Message Body"> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Denning</span>: "<em><strong>Ryan</strong><b> Chapman </b>and <b>Lincoln Klooz </b>provided great senior leadership for us. They embraced their roles and got us pointed back in the right direction.</em>" </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Titans Scores &amp; Schedule (16-7)</strong></span></h4> <p><strong>West Central</strong> L 58-72</p> <p><strong>Freeman</strong> W 69-31</p> <p><strong>Sanborn Central-Woonsocket</strong> W 63-29</p> <p><strong>Miller</strong> W 67-37</p> <p><strong>Lennox</strong> L 46-60</p> <p><strong>Tri-Valley</strong> W 40-31</p> <p><strong>Wessington Springs</strong> W 63-46</p> <p><strong>Platte-Geddes</strong> L 50-57</p> <p><strong>Redfield</strong> W 63-52</p> <p><strong>Dell Rapids St. Mary</strong> W 63-52</p> <p><strong>Wagner</strong> W 73-55</p> <p><strong>Winner</strong> L 51-60</p> <p><strong>Gregory</strong> W 63-60</p> <p><strong>Hanson</strong> W 53-50</p> <p><strong>Chamberlain</strong> W 63-38</p> <p><strong>Dell Rapids</strong> L 68-80</p> <p><strong>Ethan</strong> W 63-52</p> <p><strong>Bon Homme</strong> W 62-40</p> <p><strong>Parkston</strong> L 50-69</p> <p><strong>McCook Central-Montrose</strong> W 54-49</p> <p><strong>Andes Central-Dakota Christian</strong> W 85-43</p> <p><strong>Parkston</strong> W 52-38</p> <p><strong>Groton Area</strong> L 48-69</p>