Previews: Lennox and Wagner
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We are two days away from basketball practice starting in South Dakota. What a relief! In this article, PHD is bringing you previews on the Orioles and Red Raiders. There are some talented ballers in this article, make sure you…
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Continue ReadingWe are two days away from basketball practice starting in South Dakota. What a relief!
In this article, PHD is bringing you previews on the Orioles and Red Raiders. There are some talented ballers in this article, make sure you take the time to read below. Both squads will put a nice team on the floor this winter and win many games.
Best of luck to the the Orioles and Red Raiders this season!
Team Info
Team: Lennox Orioles Class: A Region: 4 Head Coach: Chris Buckmiller
Team: Wagner Red Raiders Class: A Region: 5 Head Coach: Josh Davies
Lennox Orioles
The Orioles are loaded! Porter Ihnen Porter Ihnen 6'5" | CG Lennox | 2024 State #318 Nation SD is arguably the top player in the state and he is committed to USD for hoops. Boston Katzer is new to Lennox this year and he is another DUDE. Katzer is a multi-sport athlete and an impact player. Braxton Musser Braxton Musser 6'6" | SF Lennox | 2024 State SD is another talented baller with length and a lethal stroke from deep. Musser has offers from Dakota Wesleyan and Mount Marty for hoops. The talent does not stop there for the Orioles. They have many other studs and budding stars that are sure to impress and show out this season.
Q&A with coach Chris Buckmiller
PHD: Could you write a couple sentences summing up last season?
“Last season we finished 17-4 and lost in the first round of Regions.“
PHD: How did the off-season go for your team/program?
“Our off-season was the best it’s ever been. We are proud of all the time our guys put in. We had many players playing AAU, attending all open gyms, getting in the weight room, and playing in games primarily against AA teams.“
PHD: Who are a few of your top players to look out for?
“ Porter Ihnen Porter Ihnen 6'5" | CG Lennox | 2024 State #318 Nation SD : University of South Dakota commit. One of the best players in SD. Porter can score at all 3 levels and defend the best player on the other end of the floor. His positive leadership is his greatest quality.“
“ Tate Gerdes Tate Gerdes 6'3" | SF Lennox | 2026 State SD : Tate was one of our best players last year even though he came off the bench. He’s a tremendous two-way player who will have a massive leap as a sophomore.“
“Boston Katzer: A new player for us who will help us on both ends of the floor. It will take some time for Boston to learn our style but I expect that transition to go quickly as he’s a high IQ player who wants to win.“
“ Braxton Musser Braxton Musser 6'6" | SF Lennox | 2024 State SD : An elite shooter who has earned the green light to shoot from anywhere. One of the more underrated players in Class A. His 6’6” frame causes problems on the defensive end. He picked up his first offer from Mount Marty and another one from Dakota Wesleyan recently.“
PHD: Who are a few of you up-and-comers to look out for?
“ Layton Smith Layton Smith 6'4" | SF Lennox | 2025 State SD , Talen Eich Talen Eich 6'0" | SG Lennox | 2026 State SD , Cloy McVey Cloy McVey 6'1" | CG Lennox | 2026 State SD , Teegan Musser Teegan Musser 6'4" | SF Lennox | 2026 State SD , and Drake Mikkelsen Drake Mikkelsen 6'4" | PF Lennox | 2027 State SD will all have an opportunity to make our rotation this year. We are a team with a ton of depth. Our practices will be extremely competitive and will determine where players land in our rotation.“
PHD: What style of basketball will your team play?
“We will be an up-tempo team offensively and shoot a lot of 3s. Defensively, we will do our best to pressure teams in order to make them uncomfortable. Overall, we want to be elite at the fundamentals.“
PHD: Who are the top teams in your Region?
“Dakota Valley and Tea“
Orioles Schedule
Lennox | |||||
Boys Basketball Schedule | |||||
Head Coach: Chris Buckmiller | |||||
Type | Day | Date | Time | Versus | Location |
Doubleheader | Fri | 12/8/2023 | 8:00PM | SF Christian | Lennox |
Doubleheader | Sat | 12/9/2023 | 4:30PM | Milbank | Milbank |
Doubleheader | Thu | 12/14/2023 | 8:00PM | Madison | Lennox |
Doubleheader | Mon | 12/18/2023 | 8:00PM | Canton | Canton |
Classic | Sat | 12/28/2023 | TBD | TBD | Sanford Pentagon |
Doubleheader | Thu | 1/4/2024 | 7:30PM | Rock Valley | Rock Valley, IA |
Game | Tue | 1/9/2024 | 7:30PM | Western Christian | Western Christian- Hull, IA |
Doubleheader | Thu | 1/11/2024 | 8:00PM | Vermillion | Lennox |
Game | Tue | 1/16/2024 | 7:30PM | Chamberlain | Lennox |
Doubleheader | Thu | 1/18/2024 | 8:00PM | West Central | West Central |
Doubleheader | Fri | 1/19/2024 | 8:00PM | Platte-Geddes | Lennox |
Doubleheader | Thu | 1/25/2024 | 8:30PM | Parkston | Lennox |
DAK XII Clash | Sat | 1/27/2024 | TBD | TBD | Madison |
Doubleheader | Tue | 1/30/2024 | 8:00PM | Elk Point-Jefferson | EPJ |
Classic | Sat | 2/3/2024 | TBD | TBD | Sanford Pentagon |
Game | Mon | 2/5/2024 | 7:30PM | Tri-Valley | Lennox |
Doubleheader | Fri | 2/9/2024 | 8:00PM | Tea Area | Tea |
Doubleheader | Tue | 2/13/2024 | 8:00PM | Beresford | Lennox |
Game | Fri | 2/16/2024 | 7:30PM | Dell Rapids | Dell Rapids |
Game | Fri | 2/23/2024 | 7:30PM | Dakota Valley | Lennox |
Regions | Tue | 2/27/2024 | 7:00PM | TBD | TBD |
Regions | Fri | 3/1/2024 | 7:00PM | TBD | TBD |
SoDak16 | Tue | 3/5/2024 | 7:00PM | TBD | TBD |
State | Thu | 3/14/2024 | TBD | TBD | Rapid City |
State | Fri | 3/15/2024 | TBD | TBD | Rapid City |
State | Sat | 3/16/2024 | TBD | TBD | Rapid City |
Wagner Red Raiders
Head Coach: Josh Davies (career record 164-223)
Assistant Coach: Riley Kirwan
Conference: LMVC and SESD
2022-23 Overall Record: 8-31
Comments on 2022-23 Season from coach Davies
“We finished the year playing well but lost our first round Region game to Hanson by 12 or 14 points.“
Top Returning Red Raiders
Carter Cournoyer Carter Cournoyer 6'2" | SF Wagner | 2024 State SD (2024) |6’2 F| – 11 ppg, 8 rpg
Joey Cournoyer Jr. Joey Cournoyer Jr. 6'4" | SF Wagner | 2024 State SD (2024) |6’2 F| – 7 ppg, 7 rpg
Preston McFayden Preston McFayden 6'2" | CG Wagner | 2025 State SD (2025) |6’2 G| – 9 ppg, 3 rpg, 2 apg
Parker Petry Parker Petry 6'1" | SF Wagner | 2025 SD (2025) |6’1 F| – 7 ppg, 4 rpg
Hunter Lhotak (2025) |5’10 G| – 2 ppg
Newcomers
Jesse Zephier Jesse Zephier 5'10" | PG Wagner | 2027 State SD (2027) |5’8 PG|
Carlos Galindo (2027) |5’10 G|
Javian Pesicka (2027) |5’9 G|
Team Comments from coach Davies
“We will be bigger than we are used to and our post players all have varsity experience. We will look to play fast and score in transition and mix in half-court possessions where we focus on getting our post players touches. Our starting lineup will be older and experienced, however, our bench will be young and talented. We will need some of our freshmen to step up and help us with depth this season.“
Red Raider Schedule
12/8 – at Winner
12/14 home vs. Delmont/Armour
12/19 – at Menno
12/21 home vs. Ethan
12/29 – home vs. Avon
1/5 – at Bon Homme
1/6 – at Corsica-Stickney
1/9 – home vs. Irene/Wakonda
1/11 – home vs. Parkston
1/16 – home vs. O’Neill (NE)
1/18 – at Burke
1/23 – home vs. Mt. Vernon/Plankinton
1/25 – home vs. Scotland
1/30 – at Hanson
2/1 – at Andes Central/Dakota Christian
2/6 – at Gregory
2/9 – at Chamberlain
2/13 – home vs. Vermillion
2/16 – home vs. Platte-Geddes
2/18 – at Beresford
PLAYOFFS