Conference Preview: Lakes

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>The Teams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cherokee (10-12 last season, 82.8% of scoring returning): </strong>The Braves bring back their top five scorers to a team that finished just under .500 and suffered six losses by single digits last season. They'll be headlined by a pair of juniors in [player_tooltip player_id='1978145' first='Jaxon' last='Paulsrud'] (13.5, 7.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists) and [player_tooltip player_id='2731759' first='Coy' last='Lewis'] (11.9, 7.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks), an inside-out tandem that complements each other well. Both are really good on the glass, and Paulsrud is a skilled playmaker with the ball in his hands. He'll share ball-handling duties with Jacob Hurd (10.5, 3.3 assists), a highly efficient scorer who shot 58% from the floor last season. Seniors Henry Lugar (7.9) and Logan Stowater (6.0) figure to round out the starting five, giving them an experienced group to build around. If a team is going to jump up and challenge Storm Lake and Spirit Lake at the top, it may be Cherokee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Estherville-Lincoln Central (19-4, 19.2%):</strong> All-everything guard Owen Larson has taken his talents to Brookings, South Dakota, leaving a huge hole in the backcourt for the Midgets. He averaged 27.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 3.1 steals a game last season and will be impossible to replace. He's not the only loss, however, as four of the top five scorers from last year's team are gone, leaving senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2721777' first='Sincere' last='McMurran'] (11.1) as the lone returnee to average more than 0.8 points per game last season. He'll be tasked with shouldering a heavy, heavy load. This team is going to be really inexperienced in a league that returns a ton of proudction.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Spencer (8-14, 68.9%): </strong>The Tigers bring back their top four scorers to a team that lost seven games by single digits last season. [player_tooltip player_id='2721680' first='Cael' last='Bruning'] (14.1) is the headliner of the group, having led the team in scoring and assists as a junior, and he'll be the focal point of the offensive attack again this season. Jack Berends (8.3) gives them an efficient interior scorer who rebounds well on both ends of the floor, and the tandem of Dylan Timmer (7.1, 38.0 3P%) and Ethan Hansen (5.8) provides some additional perimeter scoring. They'll need to find some new depth pieces, with five rotation players graduated from last year's group, but with the top four back, they should be improved.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Spirit Lake (12-10, 85.4%): </strong>Five of the top six scorers return for the Indians, including all three double-figure scorers in [player_tooltip player_id='1759904' first='Dylan' last='Stecker'] (23.5, 9.0 rebounds), [player_tooltip player_id='1765548' first='Wesley' last='Walz'] (11.4), and [player_tooltip player_id='2398038' first='Ethan' last='Stecker'] (10.8). The Stecker boys are a pair of athletic, skilled three-level scorers with good size, while Walz is a talented guard who can initiate the offense and create off the dribble. [player_tooltip player_id='1759904' first='Dylan' last='Stecker'] is the best non-Storm Lake player in the conference and should put up huge numbers again. This group will be able to score in bunches and they have a number of talented weapons, but they'll need to improve on the defensive end if they are going to win the league crown and be a threat in 2A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Storm Lake (12-9, 70.3%): </strong>Tucked up in Storm Lake is a nationally ranked basketball prospect by the name of [player_tooltip player_id='1765515' first='Jaidyn' last='Coon'] (19.8, 8.6 rebounds), an athletic, lengthy wing who dominates the game on both ends of the floor. He had a ridiculously good summer on the grassroots circuit and picked up multiple big-time offers as a result, and up next on the checklist is winning a Lakes Conference title, and hopefully making a run to Des Moines. His ability to score inside and out, create quality looks for his teammates, and defend multiple positions is rivaled by few in the state, and he should be fantastic as a junior. He's far from alone, however, with three of the top four, and six of the top eight, scorers returning from last year's team. Classmate [player_tooltip player_id='1765508' first='Cameron' last='Boyd'] (12.6, 5.1 assists, 39.1 3P%) is a skilled playmaker and shooter, while [player_tooltip player_id='2811931' first='Charlie' last='Dvergsten'] (8.0) provides senior leadership in the backcourt. Sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='2420795' first='Timothy' last='Yanga'] (4.8) and [player_tooltip player_id='2419850' first='David' last='William'] (3.2) each contributed as freshmen and will step into bigger roles this season as well. They also received a boost with the addition of sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='2420801' first='Trey' last='Boettcher'], who averaged 11.2 points and shot 37.9% from 3-point range as a freshman at Panorama. He's a move-in whose mom took the head volleyball job at Buena Vista University, and he'll provide them with more perimeter shooting and secondary playmaking. Coon is far and away the best two-way player in the conference, and the Tornadoes are able to put some nice pieces around him.</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. Storm Lake<br>2. Spirit Lake<br>3. Cherokee<br>4. Spencer<br>5. Estherville-Lincoln Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Analysis: </strong>This is a small conference, but it should be a fun little race to keep an eye on. Storm Lake is probably the best team, but how does a school that hasn't experienced a ton of basketball success in recent years adjust to becoming the hunted? Spirit Lake, Cherokee, and Spencer all bring back a lot of production and will be formidable foes on a nightly basis as well.</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>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1765515' first='Jaidyn' last='Coon'] (Storm Lake): </strong>Coon is the next Iowan to be a nationally ranked prospect following a dominant summer with D1 Minnesota. A long, athletic wing who impacts the game in a major way on both ends of the floor, he holds a handful of high-major offers and should be a dominant two-way player for the Tornadoes this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1765515' first='Jaidyn' last='Coon'] (Storm Lake)<br>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1765508' first='Cameron' last='Boyd'] (Storm Lake)<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2811931' first='Charlie' last='Dvergsten'] (Storm Lake)<br>2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2420795' first='Timothy' last='Yanga'] (Storm Lake)<br>2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2419850' first='David' last='William'] (Storm Lake)<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1759904' first='Dylan' last='Stecker'] (Spirit Lake)<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2398038' first='Ethan' last='Stecker'] (Spirit Lake)<br>2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2721680' first='Cael' last='Bruning'] (Spencer)<br>2026 Dylan Timmer (Spencer)<br>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1978145' first='Jaxon' last='Paulsrud'] (Cherokee)<br>2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2731759' first='Coy' last='Lewis'] (Cherokee)<br>2025 Jacob Hurd (Cherokee)<br>2025 Henry Lugar (Cherokee)<br>2025 Since McMurran (Estherville Lincoln Central)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->