Elkton-Lake Benton: Season Synopsis

The Elks got the season started on a high note with a nice win over the State qualifying Castlewood Warriors. From there Elkton-Lake Benton won the next two games and kicked up the year on a 3-game win streak. The Elks played in Class A Region 2, one of the most difficult regions in Class A. Flandreau and Sioux Valley made it to State out of the Region. Elkton-Lake Benton will lose a tight-knit group of seniors that coach Erickson and the community will miss. The Elks have a very good coach and a nice program in place. They have a solid group of players coming back and [player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"] will be the big name for the Elks next season. Read below for stats, comments from coach Erickson, and the updated scores/schedule for the Elks in the 2021-2022 season. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/elk.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1411708" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/elk-300x263.jpg" alt="" width="171" height="150" /></a> <h4>Player Stats</h4> [player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"] (2023) |6-1 SF| - 12.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.9 spg, 31.9 3FG%, 75.9 FT% Miles Harming (2022) |6-2 G/F| - 11 ppg, 6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.2 spg Aiden Erickson (2022) |5-9 G| - 9.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.3 spg Logan Kuehl (2022) |5-11 G| - 8.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1 spg Isaac Jaacks (2022) |6-3 F| - 4.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, .3 spg Riley Hunter (2022) |5-10 G| - 3.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, .5 spg Lane Thompson (2022) |6-0 F| - 2.6 ppg, 2 rpg, .4 apg, .2 spg Carson Griffith (2024) |6-3 F| - 1.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, .3 spg <h4>Team Stats</h4> PPG: 53.2 RPG: 33.1 APG: 12.6 3FG%: 27.2 FT%: 61.3 Steals: 142 Deflections: 115 Blocked Shots: 37 Charges Taken: 9 <h4>Q & A with coach Steve Erickson</h4> PHD: What were some of the highlights of the season? Coach Erickson: "I think moving to Class A, these kids really just battled and competed each time out. We had chances to win a number of games and had some close ones we let get away. These kids just kept playing hard and working to get better throughout the season." PHD: Which players improved the most for you this season? Coach Erickson: "I thought [player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"], coming in as a junior for us played a huge role. He allowed us to do some things on offense and defense because of his versatility. Logan Kuehl, stepped up and was a solid guard for us this year and got better throughout the year." PHD: Who were your biggest "impact players" this season? Coach Erickson: "I really thought our seniors stepped up and proved to be solid leaders and brought great energy and effort each day in practice. Aiden Erickson, Miles Harming, Logan Kuehl, Isaac Jaacks, Riley Hunter, Lane Thompson, all brought a level of leadership and energy to our team. Each provided us with different things that allowed us to have success. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"] had a great year for us as well. All of these guys made an impact on our program this season. Aiden and Miles were our captains and both have been around the program for a long time, both being on varsity since 8th grade.. Aiden has started every game since his sophomore season, never missing a game. Those two were just leaders and led by example and did what was asked of them. Aiden did a great job at the point for us, he not only scored, but lead us with 67 assists on the year while only turning it over 32 times….2.09 Ast-to-TO ratio for our point guard was tremendous. Miles did a bit of everything, scoring, rebounding, and assists. [player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"] was our leading scorer and rebounder as a junior and had a nice year. Logan Kuehl stepped up and provided us with another option on offense and his defense got better as the season went along." PHD: Who was your best shooter? Coach Erickson: "Honestly, really depended on the night. Aiden Erickson, Logan Kuehl, Miles Harming, [player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"], all had games and nights in which they got hot and led us with their shooting. They played unselfishly and really shared the ball when someone got going. You can see by our stats, it was pretty even…when we moved the basketball and got reversals, we shot it much better than when we rushed things or took quick shots. The key for us was to play together and play off each other and we were pretty good shooters." PHD: Who was your best practice player and why? Coach Erickson: "Riley Hunter as a senior is a kid that brought it every day. He kept the guys loose with his effort and attitude and was a pleasure to coach. He just worked extremely hard, bought into his role, and played huge minutes for us this season. Blake DeVries as a younger kid plays extremely hard and really gets after it. He is a kid that doesn’t back down and keeps bringing effort and energy." PHD: Who were some of your key bench players? Coach Erickson: "Carson Griffith - Soph. post—Really anchored our JV team and earned himself more and more minutes throughout the year. Carson will be a huge part of what we are going to do next year. He has a great skill set and athletically is a solid player. Excited to watch him work this summer and into next year." "Tanner Drietz - Freshman guard—probably our most consistent shooter. Played and led our JV team from the perimeter. Once he gets a little more comfortable, he will be a bigger part of our team." "Garrett Neill - Junior Guard—got more comfortable throughout the year when we moved him off the point. He got more comfortable and showed the ability to hit some outside shots and play down low a little bigger than his size." "Tanner Stein- Freshman Guard---Tanner has all the skills necessary to be a quality point guard and showed glimpses at times in the JV games. Just needs to develop the consistency to make himself a complete player." PHD: Can you make a few comments about the seniors that you are losing? Coach Erickson: "I have coached this group of seniors since they started basketball in 3rd grade. My son, Aiden has been around the team since he was younger than that. This is a special group for many reasons. I am super proud of how they worked each day, how they pushed each other, and the leadership they showed for our younger guys. This will be a group that will be missed, but they leave our program having made a ton of memories and lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives…Extremely proud of each one of them." PHD: Who are some of your top players that will be back next season? Coach Erickson: [player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"]- Junior G/F Carson Griffith- Soph F Tanner Drietz- Frosh G Tanner Stein – Frosh G Garrett Neill – Juniof G/F "Along with a number of other freshmen and sophomores that will battle for time. We also have a talented 8th grade group coming up that if they can continue to develop will provide some depth at certain positions." <h4>Elks Score & Schedule (11-10)</h4> Castlewood W 69-67 Lake Preston W 65-27 Redfield W 68-31 Madison L 50-56 Estelline-Hendricks W 48-46 Canton L 55-61 Dell Rapids St. Mary W 45-39 Arlington L 60-67 Colman-Egan W 62-38 Hills-Beaver Creek (MN) W 63-51 Dell Rapids L 57-62 Oldham-Ramona-Rutland W 47-36 Deuel L 44-56 De Smet L 45-65 Milbank L 35-50 Sioux Falls Lutheran W 67-25 Garretson W 48-44 Baltic W 55-37 Deubrook Area L 54-58 Hanson L 34-54 Hamlin L 43-75