Conference Preview: Corner

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>The Teams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>East Mills (21-4, 27.7% of scoring returning): </strong>East Mills has been the model of consistency over the last 16 years, averaging 15.8 wins a year during that time. And despite significant personnel losses, the Wolverines will be a factor in the league again this season, that's just what they do. The top four scorers graduated, leaving seniors Layne Mastin (4.4) and Kyler Williams (3.8), and junior Jackson Embree (3.4), as the top returnees. Those three, along with Zach Thornburg (3.3) and Lincoln Palmer (2.5), gained a lot of experience last season as role players alongside their two standouts who have graduated, and should step into much bigger roles this season and have success. While the top-end talent has moved on, there are more pieces ready to fill in and East Mills will be a factor in the league race. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Essex (4-18, 90.2%): </strong>Only one of the Trojans' 18 losses came by single digits last season, so they were rarely competitive. But that should improve a bit this year, with their top three scorers returning, led by a pair of senior forwards in Qwintyn Vanatta (14.3, 12.5 rebounds) and Tony Racine (12.0, 11.1 rebounds), who are dominant on the glass. This team pulled down nearly 44 rebounds a game last season, but still struggled to score because of 25 turnovers a game. If they can clean that up a little bit, they could win 6-7 games this season and compete at a higher level against some of the better teams in the league. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fremont-Mills (12-10, 12.7%): </strong>No team in the conference was hit harder by graduation than the Knights, who lost their top five scorers. That leaves seniors Lucas Madison (3.0), Caleb Brandt (2.3), and Logan Jahnke (2.3), and sophomore Mason Reed (1.3), as the top returnees. This team will lack experience and could have a rough start to the year, but Fremont-Mills generally has a pretty strong athletics program and they should avoid completely bottoming out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Griswold (2-20, 52.2%): </strong>The Tigers won just two games last season and were rarely competitive, with just four losses decided by single digits. They lost their top two scorers from that group as well, but bring back a number of players in the 2025 and 2026 classes who may start to be able to help build the program up. Juniors Peyton Cook (6.5), Bode Wyman (6.3), and Zane Johnson (4.2) will be the top three for this group. They'll likely struggle again this season, but if they're able to keep games closer, that will be a step in the right direction. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sidney (11-13, 73.4%): </strong>The Cowboys bring back their top three scorers, all juniors, from last year's team, led by [player_tooltip player_id='1951833' first='Braedon' last='Godfread'] (15.7, 7.8 rebounds) and Grant Whitehead (12.6, 4.3 assists). That tandem is probably the best in the league, and when you add in Michael Hensley (9.5), the Pokes have the best trio of players in the conference. Godfread is an athletic forward who can control games on both ends of the floor with his combination of size and athleticism, and he could be the best player in the league this season. The issue that this team will face will be ball protection, after turning it over 17 times a game last season. If they clean that up, this is the team to beat in the league. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stanton (12-12, 70.7%):</strong> The other frontrunner in the league race figures to be the Vikings, who bring back a pair of dynamic scorers in [player_tooltip player_id='2221596' first='Nolan' last='Grebin'] (16.8) and Evan Gettler (14.1). Grebin is a quick guard who can get to the rim seemingly at will, and he's a skilled playmaker as well. Gettler is arguably the best shooter in the conference and pairs well with Grebin on the perimeter. The Vikings won two of their three matchups against Sidney last season, and they'll head into this season knowing that they may have their number. They did a slightly better job of protecting the ball than Sidney did last season, and that could be a determining factor in the league race, as their head-to-head meetings will be huge. </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. Stanton<br>2. Sidney<br>3. East Mills<br>4. Fremont-Mills<br>5. Essex<br>6. Griswold</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Analysis: </strong>The top three in the league are head-and-shoulders above the rest of the conference, and the league race will come down to which of the three teams performs the best against the other two in their meetings. We'll give the slightest edge to Stanton, but any of the three are viable options. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- 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='2221596' first='Nolan' last='Grebin'] (Stanton): </strong>Grebin is the league's top returning scorer, and we project the Vikings to be the best team in the conference. [player_tooltip player_id='1951833' first='Braedon' last='Godfread'] of Sidney would certainly be a viable choice here as well.</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='2221596' first='Nolan' last='Grebin'] (Stanton)<br>2025 Evan Gettler (Stanton)<br>2025 Andrew Johnson (Stanton)<br>2025 Gavin Ford (Stanton)<br>2025 Jacob Martin (Stanton)<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1951833' first='Braedon' last='Godfread'] (Sidney)<br>2025 Grant Whitehead (Sidney)<br>2025 Michael Hensley (Sidney)<br>2024 Qwintyn Vanatta (Essex)<br>2024 Tony Racine (Essex)<br>2024 Kaden Peeler (Essex)<br>2026 Peyton Cook (Griswold)<br>2025 Bode Wyman (Griswold)<br>2025 Zane Johnson (Griswold)<br>2024 Layne Mastin (East Mills)<br>2024 Kyler Williams (East Mills)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->