River Cities Conference Preview
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Today we take a look at the River Cities Conference. Conference Commentary Top Ten: Omaha Skutt Catholic, Roncalli Catholic I predict Skutt will be chosen as the preseason #1 in Class B and that shouldn’t be too surprising at all.…
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Continue ReadingToday we take a look at the River Cities Conference.
Conference Commentary
Top Ten: Omaha Skutt Catholic, Roncalli Catholic
I predict Skutt will be chosen as the preseason #1 in Class B and that shouldn’t be too surprising at all. They return a deep squad led by seniors James Gninefou James Gninefou 6'2" | SG Omaha Skutt | 2022 State NE and Grant Dvorak Grant Dvorak 6'1" | SG Omaha Skutt | 2022 State NE . The rest of their lineup will be bolstered with the likes of sniper JJ Ferrin JJ Ferrin 6'1" | SG Omaha Skutt | 2023 State NE , big man Mitch Scholl Mitch Scholl 6'6" | C Omaha Skutt | 2023 State NE , and breakout candidate Jake Brack Jake Brack 6'8" | PF Omaha Skutt | 2023 State NE . Brack is listed at 6’7 and showed a multitude of different skills last season and into the summer. The Skyhawks have a bunch of players that can shoot the ball and your team will always be in good shape when your best players are your most dogged defenders (Gninefou, Dvorak).
Roncalli is a team that most nights will have the best player on the floor in Jake Orr Jake Orr 6'3" | SF Roncalli | 2022 State NE . The senior truly does it all on the court and he was my choice for Preseason Player of the Year in the conference. The Crimson Pride are definitely not a one-man show though. Flanking Orr are players like Quincy Evans, Darik Rodgers, Austin Schwarz Austin Schwarz 6'0" | SG Roncalli Catholic | 2022 State NE , and Bennington transfer Lucas Brown Lucas Brown 6'5" | PF Roncalli | 2022 State NE . Evans is an excellent shooter that pairs that with an ability to get to the hoop and finish at a good clip. Schwarz is another sniper for the team and Brown is probably the X-factor for this team. Brown is an active big that plays unselfishly and is a solid athlete. I expect the Crimson Pride to be right up there with the best of Class B.
Top Ten Potential: Mt. Michael
Mt. Michael does not have as much depth as some of the other teams in the conference but it makes up for it by having a monster presence down low in Kuon Kuon Kuon Kuon 6'8" | SF Mount Michael | 2022 State NE . He is one the most unique players in Class B and if he plays up to his potential every game this season, he will be incredibly hard to stop. At 6’8 he can really shoot it from three and is a great security blanket to have on defense. The key for him will be to always stay in attack mode on offense, the Knights will need every bit of that aggression. Harrison Long, a transfer from Millard West, will have all the opportunity in the world to be aggressive on offense this season. I expect him to get all sorts of buckets this year and form a formidable duo with Kuon. Daniel Mondi Daniel Mondi 5'10" | PG Elkhorn Mount Michael | 2022 State NE will be a steady hand at the point that will take care of the ball and make winning plays for the Knights.
Compete with Most: N/A
Rebuilding: Omaha Gross Catholic, South Sioux City
These teams won 1 and 2 games respectively last season and will hope to build up from last year.
21-22 Conference Predictions
- Skutt Catholic
- Roncalli Catholic
- Mt. Michael
- South Sioux City
- Gross Catholic
Preseason Player of the Year
Jake Orr Jake Orr 6'3" | SF Roncalli | 2022 State NE (Roncalli Catholic)
Preseason All-River Cities Conference Team
(Note: I went with six players and chose them regardless of what position they play)
- Jake Brack Jake Brack 6'8" | PF Omaha Skutt | 2023 State NE (Skutt Catholic)
- Kuon Kuon Kuon Kuon 6'8" | SF Mount Michael | 2022 State NE (Mt. Michael)
- Jake Orr Jake Orr 6'3" | SF Roncalli | 2022 State NE (Roncalli Catholic)
- James Gninefou James Gninefou 6'2" | SG Omaha Skutt | 2022 State NE (Skutt Catholic)
- Grant Dvorak Grant Dvorak 6'1" | SG Omaha Skutt | 2022 State NE (Skutt Catholic)
- Quincy Evans (Roncalli Catholic)