Conference Preview: NICL West

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>The Teams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AGWSR (0-21, 61.9% of scoring returning):</strong> Only four of the Cougars losses last season came by single digits, and they lost their leading scorer to graduation, so they could be in for another long winter in Ackley. The good news is that they have some young talent coming back, with three juniors and five sophomores expected to be in the rotation, so they may be able to build for a more competitive 2024-25 season. The headliner for this group will be senior forward Gabe Nederhoff (9.5, 7.7 rebounds), who could average a double-double. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>East Marshall (7-15, 39.1%): </strong>The Mustangs lost a pair of big scorers with the graduations of Junior Brown and Adrian Arifi, who combined to average nearly 33 points a game. They bring back Landen Neuroth (13.3), however, who should step into a primary scoring role as a senior, giving them an experienced guard to build around. Leland Hamilton-Youngbird (6.0) shot the ball really well from 3 last season, knocking down 40% of his 90 3-point attempts, and will step in alongside Neuroth to give them some more perimeter scoring. Alex Jacobson (2.3) is the other notable returnee, starting 10 games last season. East Marshall was able to score in bunches last season, but they gave up nearly 70 points a game, a number that will need to improve greatly if they want to compete on a nightly basis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gladbrook-Reinbeck (23-3, 28.8%):</strong> The Rebels lost all three double-figure scorers from last year's team, including one of the program's all-time greats in William Kiburis, who led the team in every major category last season. The cupboard isn't completely bare, however, as junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2397276' first='Drew' last='Eilers'] (7.3, 8.0 rebounds) and senior guards Isaac Clark (6.7) and Austin Vaverka (3.5) return. Eilers was incredibly efficient last season, shooting 57% from the floor, and while a significant chunk of that came off of Kiburis passes, he's also great on the offensive glass and should have a nice junior season. Clark and Vaverka are both capable of playing with or without the ball and will need to become go-to scorers. The Rebels will certainly take a step back, but they've built a pretty strong athletics program and will certainly still have some quality pieces and compete for a top-2 finish in the league. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Grundy Center (16-6, 88.7%): </strong>The top five scorers, and seven of the top eight, return for a Spartans team that will be anxious to get the bad taste of an upset loss to Union out of their mouths. This group was probably a year ahead of schedule last season, getting off to a 15-2 start before stumbling a bit down the stretch, but there is a lot of talent in that locker room and they're clearly the team to beat in the division. They're led by a trio of juniors in [player_tooltip player_id='1478357' first='Jalen' last='Kirkpatrick'] (16.5, 41.2 3P%), [player_tooltip player_id='1759911' first='Tiernan' last='Vokes'] (12.2, 42.1 3P%), and [player_tooltip player_id='1759941' first='Brayden' last='Wallis'] (7.2, 3.6 assists), who have grown up playing together and have great chemistry. Kirkpatrick is the best player in the division, a skilled 6-5 wing who can impact the game on both ends of the floor with his length and athleticism. Vokes is a good shooter who moves well without the ball, has a quick release, and will contribute on the glass, and Wallis is a lead guard who loves to get his teammates involved. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2325346' first='Tate' last='Jirovsky'] (7.0, 1.8 blocks) and Colin Gordon (6.5), as well as juniors Brody Zinkula (3.7) and [player_tooltip player_id='2820148' first='Ryker' last='Thoren'] (2.9) each saw significant playing time last season and also return. The Spartans share the ball extremely well, averaging over 17 assists a game last season, and they are going to be deep. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>South Hardin (14-10, 22.9%): </strong>Few teams in small school basketball were as hard-hit by graduation as the Tigers, who lost four double-figure scorers from last year's team. They do bring back [player_tooltip player_id='2377884' first='Lane' last='Luiken'] (11.6), a talented senior guard who can score from all three levels as well as create for others, but he'll be asked to do a lot for this group, especially early in the year as they'll be breaking in a lot of new faces.</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. Grundy Center<br>2. Gladbrook-Reinbeck<br>3. South Hardin<br>4. East Marshall<br>5. AGWSR</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Analysis:</strong> With the massive personnel losses from Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Grundy Center is a pretty heavy favorite to win this division. They split with the Rebels last year and bring back pretty much everyone from that roster. </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>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1478357' first='Jalen' last='Kirkpatrick'] (Grundy Center):</strong> The best player on the division's best team, Kirkpatrick is a versatile wing with great size who can really shoot it from deep. He'll be the focal point of a Spartans attack that will be among the best in 2A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1478357' first='Jalen' last='Kirkpatrick'] (Grundy Center)<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1759911' first='Tiernan' last='Vokes'] (Grundy Center)<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1759941' first='Brayden' last='Wallis'] (Grundy Center)<br>2024 [player_tooltip player_id='2325346' first='Tate' last='Jirovsky'] (Grundy Center)<br>2025 Brody Zinkula (Grundy Center)<br>2024 Colin Gordon (Grundy Center)<br>2024 Landen Neuroth (East Marshall)<br>2025 Leland Hamilton-Youngbird (East Marshall)<br>2024 [player_tooltip player_id='2377884' first='Lane' last='Luiken'] (South Hardin)<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2511486' first='Traven' last='Wheeler'] (South Hardin)<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2397276' first='Drew' last='Eilers'] (Gladbrook-Reinbeck)<br>2024 Isaac Clark (Gladbrook-Reinbeck)<br>2024 Austin Vaverka (Gladbrook-Reinbeck)<br>2024 Gabe Nederhoff (AGWSR)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->