Tea Area: Season Preview
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The Titans from Tea will be one of the best squads in the Class A division in South Dakota. They will be led by returning All-State player Cael Lundin Cael Lundin 6'3" | SG Tea Area | 2022 State SD…
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Continue ReadingThe Titans from Tea will be one of the best squads in the Class A division in South Dakota. They will be led by returning All-State player Cael Lundin Cael Lundin 6'3" | SG Tea Area | 2022 State SD and All-Conference player Jeff Worth Jeff Worth 5'11" | PG Tea | 2022 State SD .
In the 2020-2021 season Tea Area had a record of 14-8. They played a stacked schedule. 11 of their games came against State Tournament teams. The Titans lost Austin Lake, Garrett Kolbeck Garrett Kolbeck 5'11" | PG Tea Area | 2021 State SD , and Caden Ellingson Caden Ellingson 6'7" | C Tea Area | 2021 State SD to graduation. They return two key starters with Cael Lundin Cael Lundin 6'3" | SG Tea Area | 2022 State SD and Jeff Worth Jeff Worth 5'11" | PG Tea | 2022 State SD . They also return 2 key bench players with Reis Kirschenmen, Blake Thompson Blake Thompson 5'11" | PG Tea Area | 2023 State SD , and 2 other letter winners Alex Pies Alex Pies 6'0" | SF Tea | 2022 SD , Cole Schilling Cole Schilling 6'9" | PF Tea Area | 2022 State SD .
2020-2021 Awards and Honors
Most Valuable Player: Cael Lundin Cael Lundin 6'3" | SG Tea Area | 2022 State SD
Defensive Player of the Year: Austin Lake
Most Improved Player: Reis Kirschenmen, Caden Ellingson Caden Ellingson 6'7" | C Tea Area | 2021 State SD
JV Most Valuable Player: Blake Thompson Blake Thompson 5'11" | PG Tea Area | 2023 State SD
“C” Team Most Valuable Player: Jessen Wiebenga Jessen Wiebenga 6'3" | SF Tea Area | 2024 State SD
Titan Awards: Garrett Kolbeck Garrett Kolbeck 5'11" | PG Tea Area | 2021 State SD , Eddie, Unruh, Sam Almas
Region 6 Assistant Coach of the Year: David Preheim
All-State: Cael Lundin Cael Lundin 6'3" | SG Tea Area | 2022 State SD – 2nd Team
Dak XII All-Conference: Cael Lundin Cael Lundin 6'3" | SG Tea Area | 2022 State SD – 1st Team, Garrett Kolbeck Garrett Kolbeck 5'11" | PG Tea Area | 2021 State SD – 2nd Team, Jeff Worth Jeff Worth 5'11" | PG Tea | 2022 State SD – 3rd Team
Academic All-State: Austin Lake, Caden Ellingson Caden Ellingson 6'7" | C Tea Area | 2021 State SD , Garrett Kolbeck Garrett Kolbeck 5'11" | PG Tea Area | 2021 State SD
2021-2022 Team Comments from Coach Drew Weber
“Coming into the season, we expect to compete for a SoDak 16 berth and hopefully get back to the state tournament. We have a handful of guys we feel really good about, but there is a lot of competition for playing time at all levels. We play a very difficult schedule, which should prepare us for the postseason, but staying near the top of our Region standings will be critical this year. If we can find 3-4 newcomers to take the next step forward, we will have a successful year.”
“We had a really good summer with the weight room and our workouts. One thing we really push is that our players are in a Fall sport, so they are getting all kinds of training to become better athletes year-round. On the basketball court, we saw 8-10 new guys that look like they could play varsity ball this upcoming season. We will need 3-5 of those to rise above the rest with consistent play.”
Roster
Cael Lundin Cael Lundin 6'3" | SG Tea Area | 2022 State SD (2022) |6-3 G|
2020-2021 stats- 18.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.9 spg
2nd Team All-State in his junior season and 3rd Team All-State in his sophomore season. He has committed to Northwestern (IA). Lundin had a very good summer with SD Attack. He will be the best player for the Titans and one of the top perimeter players in South Dakota.
Jeff Worth Jeff Worth 5'11" | PG Tea | 2022 State SD (2022) |6-0 G|
2020-2021 stats- 10 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.8 apg, .7 spg
A 3-year starter at PG. He will play off the ball more this season to take advantage of his perimeter shooting.
Blake Thompson (2023) |6-0 G|
2020-2021 stats- 2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.1 spg
He played minutes off the bench last season. He will be the lead guard and best perimeter defender for the Titans.
Reis Kirschenmen (2023) |6-3 F|
2020-2021 stats- 4.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, .5 apg, .7 spg
He played minutes off the bench last season. Reis is a physical and athletic post player that has a chance to be special.
Cole Schilling Cole Schilling 6'9" | PF Tea Area | 2022 State SD (2022) |6-8 F|
He is a long and skilled player that can play inside and out. Schilling will need to improve his defense and rebounding in order to solidify a key role.
Alex Pies Alex Pies 6'0" | SF Tea | 2022 SD (2022) |6-3 F|
A physical perimeter player who can defend and share the ball well. Pies will need to improve consistency to solidify a key role.
Jonah Kocer Jonah Kocer 6'1" | PG Tea Area | 2023 State SD (2023) |6-1 G|
He is a heady and skilled player. Kocer is a good team defender with the potential to be the best defender for the Titans.
Jaxon Weber (2022)
He did not play last year. He will be one of the more athletic players on the team for Tea.
Gabe Grant (2022) |6-3 F|
A long and athletic perimeter player. Grant will need to be more consistent shooting the ball and on the defensive end.
Eddie Unruh (2022) |6-4 F|
One of the harder workers on the Titans team. Unruh has a nice low post-game but needs to improve defensively.
Jackson Smythe (2023) |5-11 G|
He is a physical and hard-working perimeter player. Jackson has the skill to become a key role player.
Sam Almas (2024) |6-3 F|
He is super athletic and Sam has the ability to be a very special player. Almas will need to get accustomed to the speed of the varsity game. He will also need to get more consistent on both ends of the floor.
Jessen Wiebenga Jessen Wiebenga 6'3" | SF Tea Area | 2024 State SD (2024) |6-2 SF|
A very talented player with major potential. Jessen will be one of the best shooters in the Tea program.