Corsica-Stickney Jaguars
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Yes, the State Tournaments are going on right now, we know and PHD is watching! However, if you have a little downtime between games or have basketball on your mind after the day wraps up, check this out! We are…
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Continue ReadingYes, the State Tournaments are going on right now, we know and PHD is watching! However, if you have a little downtime between games or have basketball on your mind after the day wraps up, check this out! We are talking all things Jaguars in this article……
Team: Corsica-Stickney
Mascot: Jaguars
Head Coach: Luke Bamberg
Class: B
Region: 5
Conference: Great Plains Conference
Record: 13-9 record
See below for player comments from coach Luke Bamberg, a Q&A session, and the Jaguars stats.
Player Comments from coach Bamberg
Tyson Wentland Tyson Wentland 6'4" | PF Corsica-Stickney | 2025 State SD (2025) |6’5 F|
“Was our best player this season. He averaged over 15 ppg and 9 rpg. He had a concussion at the beginning of the season, which forced him to miss two games and was behind the 8-ball for another two. When he’s in the game, he’s a scoring threat from everywhere on the floor.“
Luca Catapano (2024) |5’10 G|
“Was our point guard, and did a great job of getting us into our offense, pushing the basketball in transition, and being a solid player for us both offensively and defensively.“
Carter Wright (2024) |6’0 G|
“Was our second-best scoring option for the majority of the year. He struggled shooting at times but did a great job of getting to the rim and foul line when things weren’t falling.“
Player Stats
Q&A with coach Luke Bamberg
PHD: How would you sum up the season for your squad?
“We won more games than we lost, and had a winning record over teams that were a class above us. It was a successful season in terms of growth and maturity for a good number of our kids. We won a game in the postseason. The goal is always to make the SoDak16 and State Tournament, but even though we were unable to reach those goals, it was still a successful season.“
PHD: Do you have any fun memories to share with us?
“In a day and age where rivalries are becoming less and less (schools co-oping, kids are all friends, etc.), we were able to turn our slow start of a season around by beating Platte-Geddes, and also beat our other rival Tripp-Delmont/Armour. Both games were on the road, guys were flying around, having fun playing basketball, and competing as a team.“
PHD: How did your team overcome adversity?
“We started the season incredibly slow, with 4 losses in our first 5 games. We stayed together as a team, pushed each other to get better in a positive manner, and competed every day in practice. This put us in game-like situations so we could get a little bit better every day.“
PHD: What are a few things your team improved on throughout the season?
“We did a very good job of rebounding the basketball. We were out-rebounded in only 3 of our 22 games we played. We also took care of the basketball and avoided costly turnovers down the stretch in big games. Our structure of offense improved throughout the season by knowing where to be, what our teammates were doing, and playing off one another.“
PHD: Who are some role players that stood out to you?
“ Jarrett Olawsky Jarrett Olawsky 6'3" | SF Corsica-Stickney | 2025 State SD had a very good season off the bench. Coming from a role player in our JV program last year, to increasing his playing time on our Varsity team was fun to watch. Some memorable games were 9 big points in the second half of win over Class A Wagner. We were losing by 24 to Ethan at halftime, ending up losing by 2 — with Jarrett in large part shooting 5-5 on 3PT and scoring 17 total points. Brock Hinker had some great minutes as a hustle player off the bench. His role was to rebound, defense and play with toughness. His ability to come off the bench and bring that dimension with him as a hard-nosed player really helped our team’s mindset in some games that we needed it.“
PHD: Can you talk about your seniors and what will be missed?
“Luca Catapano was a foreign exchange student from Italy. Only having one year with Luca, he was incredible to work with. He was our primary point guard and did a GREAT job of getting us set up in our offenses and distributing the basketball. He handled pressure incredibly well, and had some huge moments in games where he stepped up and scored some clutch points for our team. Carter Wright continued to improve his game from JR to SR seasons. He improved his stats in almost every category. He also improved his leadership on the floor, keeping guys going in the right direction.“
PHD: Who are some up-and-comers to look out for in the future?
“We are going to need to rely on some young, inexperienced players for next season. Jett Kemp will be a JR next season, and will look to provide a majority of our guard play. Sawyer Schmidt is a very talented, hard-working player. He needs to improve his skill set and ball handling this summer but will be relied upon next year for important roles.“
PHD: Who was your best defensive player?
“Our best defender this year was Tye Hosman. The senior did not always produce a statistical “wow” game. But he was always assigned the best player on the other team and worked his tail off all game long. Tye did a good job of keeping the offensive guy in front of him, always made things tough during penetration, and was the second jumper on jump shots with a high-hand contest.“