Class A Title Contender Series: Lennox

<p>The Lennox Orioles went 17-3 a season ago behind a talented senior class and some hungry young players.  Four starters must be replaced but talent is still there. </p> <p><strong>Moving On</strong>:  The four starters lost - [player_tooltip player_id="732086" first="Josh" last="Arlt"], [player_tooltip player_id="988882" first="Will" last="Daugherty"], [player_tooltip player_id="732168" first="Kaleb" last="Johnson"], and [player_tooltip player_id="988892" first="Caleb" last="Metcalf"] - were all guards/wings.  Arlt a top ten player in the state, Daugherty, a top ten honored player in the Dak 12, and Johnson a top 20 honored all league player in the Dak 12.  Arlt is now at Mount Marty playing basketball.  When you add in 6th Man post Haden Mendel, that makes five of the top six scorers graduated from Lennox.</p> <p><strong>Returning Starters</strong>: There is one, and that one is ready to step into a combo playmaking role.  That’s six foot guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="975557" first="Peyton" last="Eich"]</strong>, a 6-foot-1, 165 pound player that knocked out 44 percent of his threes last season as a junior.  Eich took eight shots a game last year in this guard dominated line-up and half of those shots were at the arc.  His attempts could nearly double this year. </p> <p><strong>Reserves Playing a Bigger Role:  </strong>Lennox had two guys come off the bench and play double figures (or close to it) regularly: that was Mendel and 6-foot-2 senior <strong>Brandon Fodness</strong>.  Fodness is a hard working player that rebounds well and his active play often leads to chances at the rim, and foul line. </p> <p><strong>Potentials from the JV:  </strong>There are three guys that started for the JV and played some deep bench role time for Lennox.  Those players are now junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="812188" first="Jackson" last="Arlt"]</strong> (a 5-foot-7 point guard), <strong>Porter Ihnen</strong> (a 6-foot-3 freshman wing), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="812191" first="Steven" last="Christion"]</strong> (six foot junior guard).  All three players competed as main scoring options with the Lennox JV last year and have the potential to step right into starting roles with Fodness and Eich.  Christion is an aggressive attacking player while Ihnen was a double-double talent as a JV player in grade eight, and his skill set could allow him to play a number of roles.  </p> <p>Others who impressed on JV last year were juniors <strong>Denver Lefers</strong> (5-foot-10 strong guard) and <strong>Carter Van Houten</strong> (a six foot guard that is skilled) as well as senior tough guy <strong>Mason Tenne</strong> who stands 5-foot-9 but is 190 pounds.  Two sophomores to keep an eye on are <strong>Braedon Wulf</strong> (6-foot-1 wing) and point guard <strong>Jaxon Plank</strong>.  </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>