Conference Preview: Lakes

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>The Teams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cherokee (14-11, 19.7% of scoring returning):</strong> The top five scorers from last year's team graduated, leaving senior forward Aiden Comstock (4.3) and junior guards Alex Kohn (3.1) and Jon Jenness (3.1) as the top returnees. The Braves have a solid 2025 class featuring players like Jacob Hurd, Henry Lugar, and Daenon Loucks, which figure to be much more involved this season. This could be a strong building year for the Braves heading into the 2023-24 season with a still young, but more experienced, group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Estherville Lincoln Central (16-8, 41.3%): </strong>In junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1171659' first='Owen' last='Larson'] (22.1, 5.1 assists), the Midgets will have the best player in the conference. An efficient lead guard who posted 51-43-81 shooting splits last season, Larson committed to play his college ball at South Dakota State, ending his recruitment early on. He's a quick guard who can fill it up from all three levels in a hurry, and he's also a fantastic passer and strong on-ball defender. His ability to create for himself and others will keep ELC afloat early on as they break in a number of new faces. After Larson, the next six scorers from last year's team graduated, leaving senior wing Logan Nissen (2.9) and junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2325337' first='Cael' last='Miller'] (1.4) as the only other returnees with any sort of significant experience. Larson is good enough to win a number of games for this team, and they should be considered a favorite in the conference because of him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Spencer (20-4, 33.6%):</strong> While the Tigers lost Karter Petzenhauser and his 20.3 points a game to graduation, they do bring back a pair of players who started 23 of 24 games last season in Owen Olson (11.3) and Riley DeWitt (5.9), giving them some experience to fall back on while they get the new faces acclimated to bigger roles. Olson is a really good shooter who buried over 43% of his 3-point attempts last season while DeWitt led the team in assists, giving them a strong backcourt to build around. Gavin Timmer (2.6) and Ross Carlson (2.0) saw significant time last season and should be ready to step into bigger roles, then they'll need to find the rest of the rotation pieces who are going to step in. There is enough coming bac, and a strong enough tradition, to expect Spencer to battle with ELC and Spirit Lake for the top spot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Spirit Lake (5-17, 87.3%)*: </strong>Spirit Lake won just five games last season, but they were competitive on a nightly basis, posting just a -7.1 point differential and seeing 10 of those losses come by single digits. They bring back the top three, and seven of the top eight, scorers from that group and will also add in an impact transfer, so things are trending upward for the Indians. Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1367449' first='Tyler' last='Voss'] (17.1, 10.1 rebounds) was one of the most dominant players in the conference last season, averaging a double-double and shooting over 64% from the floor. A 6-4 forward who does his damage exclusively inside the arc, he controls the glass on both ends and will be joined by South O'Brien transfer [player_tooltip player_id='956890' first='Jake' last='Wallin'], who averaged 14.5 points and 9.0 rebounds last season, to give the Indians a pair of dynamic big men to build around. Wallin is a physical presence in the paint who can protect the rim, control the glass, and score efficiently. Dylan Stecker (7.8, 36.4 3P%) and Will Graves (5.1, 39.4 3P%) return as the team's top perimeter shooting threats, while Caden Hassel (7.0), Justyn Hamm (4.5), and Braden Theesfeld (4.0) each saw significant time last year as well. Spirit Lake brings back more than anyone in the league, and they were close to finishing near .500 last season with a few more bounces going their way. They'll battle ELC for league supremacy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Storm Lake (14-9, 4.5%): </strong>The Tornadoes were playing good basketball down the stretch last season, but lost their top 10 scorers from that group, leaving just Jake Eddie (26 points), Justin Guynn (16), [player_tooltip player_id='2811931' first='Charlie' last='Dvergsten'] (6), Joshua Steffen (6), Brody Boeckmann (3), Bachi Keyanye (2), and Carson Lullman (2) as returnees who scored any points last year. Safe to say that it will be an almost entirely new look Storm Lake team taking the floor this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Note: </strong>Western Christian is no longer part of the Lakes Conference and will compete as an Independent this school year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Projected Order of Finish</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. Estherville Lincoln Central<br>2. Spirit Lake<br>3. Spencer<br>4. Cherokee<br>5. Storm Lake</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Analysis: </strong>This conference lost a ton of production from last season, as well as a Western Christian team that would have been the favorite. The battle between ELC, Spirit Lake, and Spencer will be fun to watch unfold, but we'll side with the best player in the conference in Larson and give ELC the slightest nod in the league race. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":1068440,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Owen-Larson.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Owen-Larson-300x197.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-1068440" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Preseason Player of the Year</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1171659' first='Owen' last='Larson'], Estherville Lincoln Central:</strong> The future South Dakota State Jackrabbit is clearly the most dominant player in the conference. A versatile three-level scorer who can also get others involved at a high clip, Larson should have a huge statistical season for the Midgets and help lead them to the top of the conference. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1171659' first='Owen' last='Larson'], Estherville Lincoln Central<br>2023 Logan Nissen, Estherville Lincoln Central<br>2023 [player_tooltip player_id='1367449' first='Tyler' last='Voss'], Spirit Lake<br>2023 [player_tooltip player_id='956890' first='Jake' last='Wallin'], Spirit Lake<br>2025 Dylan Stecker, Spirit Lake<br>2024 Will Graves, Spirit Lake<br>2023 Braeden Theesfeld, Spirit Lake<br>2023 Justyn Hamm, Spirit Lake<br>2023 Owen Olson, Spencer<br>2023 Riley DeWitt, Spencer<br>2023 Gavin Timmer, Spencer<br>2023 Aiden Comstock, Cherokee<br>2024 Alex Kohn, Cherokee<br>2024 Jon Jenness, Cherokee<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->