Brookings Bobcats: Season Review
Brookings, SD – It is a new era in Brookings when it comes to basketball. Coach David Rohrbach was in his first season with the Bobcats. He previously coached at Aberdeen Christian where he had a ton of success, won…
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Continue ReadingBrookings, SD – It is a new era in Brookings when it comes to basketball. Coach David Rohrbach was in his first season with the Bobcats. He previously coached at Aberdeen Christian where he had a ton of success, won a boatload of games, and made multiple trips to the State Tournament. The Bobcats are a AA team and they saw a large amount of improvement throughout the season. Their record will not jump off the screen but the Bobcats are headed in the right direction! Good things are coming in Brookings!
Stat Leaders
Nathan Lease (2023) |6’2 F| – 11.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, FG% 41.3
Ryan Bauman (2023) |6’2 G/F| – 3.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, .8 apg, FG% 30.3
Jackson Hoffmann (2023) |6’3 C| – 2.2 ppg, 1.3 rpg, .7 apg, FG% 37.9
Austin Clark Austin Clark 5'11" | PG Brookings | 2024 State SD (2024) |5’11 G| – 11.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, FG% 37.9
Owen Burns (2024) |6’5 C| – 8.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, .5 pg, FG% 45.2
Sam Conrad (2023) |5’8 G| – 4.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.4 apg, FG% 27.2
Season Record
3-17 with wins over Watertown, Douglas, and Spearfish
Coach David Rohrbach comments on the season
“Entering a season in which we had no returning starters and only a couple of guys who saw varsity time last year (Nathan Lease & Owen Burns), I thought our guys adapted to the speed and level of the varsity game quite well. We would have liked to win more games, but we competed hard and were in more games than our record shows. Ending the season with a win also shows the relentlessness of this group and how they competed all season long.”
Q&A with coach Rohrbach
PHD: How would you sum up the season for your squad?
Coach Rohrbach: “A year of growth and a lot of new. New coach, a new system, and guys adjusting to new roles on varsity. They competed at a high level and battled all year long.“
PHD: What were some of the highlights that stick out?
Coach Rohrbach: “Opening the season with a win vs Watertown, and then ending the season vs a win in our last regular season home game to send the seniors out the right way.”
PHD: How did your team overcome adversity?
Coach Rohrbach: “It is not easy to continue to fight when you only win 3 games, but our guys continued to believe and get better and never allowed the record to dictate how we practiced or the direction we were headed.”
PHD: Who were some of your hardest workers and what did they do?
Coach Rohrbach: “Sam Conrad is an incredibly hard worker on the court. He doesn’t get many breaks and often picks the ball up full-court on defense. Nathan Lease, another one of our seniors often put in extra time after practice working on his game.”
PHD: Who are a couple of role players that stood out to you?
Coach Rohrbach: “Ben Moret off the bench would come in and have the assignment of guarding the other team’s best player and embraced it every time. Jackson Hoffmann, a senior off the bench always brought energy and embraced his role as good as anyone I have coached.”
PHD: Can you talk about your seniors and what will be missed?
Coach Rohrbach: “This group of seniors (Ryan Bauman, Sam Conrad, Jackson Hoffmann, and Nathan Lease) were great to coach. They worked hard every day and I do not remember one of them having a bad attitude ever, even at practice. Great examples and good basketball players.”
PHD: Who are some up-and-comers to look out for in the future?
Coach Rohrbach: “ Austin Clark Austin Clark 5'11" | PG Brookings | 2024 State SD and Owen Burns had good junior seasons on varsity Clark averaged over 11 ppg and Burns over 8 ppg.“
PHD: What other juniors should we keep eye on?
Coach Rohrbach: “Griffin Bartels, Sam Johnson, and Nathan Smith saw varsity time and should have good senior seasons.“
PHD: Who are some other young Bobcats to look out for?
Coach Rohrbach: “Younger grades – Freshman, Bergan Tetzlaff saw a lot of JV time. He is a smart and skilled up-and-coming basketball player.”
“Other freshman who saw a little JV time – Jase Bauer & Jones Huntimer”
“Sophomores up and coming (will be Juniors) – Payton Stoel Payton Stoel 6'6" | PF Brookings | 2025 State SD , Jon Kahler, Will Conrad, Winston Plummer”