Elkton-Lake Benton

Let's check out the Elks! Tonight (12/19), Elkton-Lake Benton tips off the season at Castlewood. This is going to be a tough game but it should be a fun one! The Elks will get tested right out of the gates.   Elkton-Lake Benton is a Class A Region 2 school. They are in the Dakota Valley Conference.   The Elks lost multiple guys to graduation but they bring some nice players back. [player_tooltip player_id='1377689' first='Ryan' last='Krog'] will be the big name for Elkton-Lake Benton this season. See below for much more info on the Elks!   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ElkHoops1/status/1604690081427722240 </div></figure>   Head Coach: Steve Erickson 16th Year at Elkton. Record 198-135 - Overall: 19th year as head coach. Record: 234-182   2021-22: 11-10 overall record - Dakota Valley Conference 6-1 record   Key Players lost: Aiden Erickson, Miles Harming, Logan Kuehl, Isaac Jaacks (all starters from last year, all have graduated) Reserves - Riley Hunter, Lane Thompson also graduated.   Top Returners   [player_tooltip player_id='1377689' first='Ryan' last='Krog'] (2023) |6'1 G/F|   21'-22' stats: 13 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.5 apg. He had a phenomenal fall season and was an All-State football player. In hoops, you should expect Krog to be a DUDE. I will not be surprised if he averages a double-double this season. Korg will put up impressive numbers. He is a versatile threat on offense, Krog that will take what the defense gives him and produce. He is skilled, smart, and athletic. Krog is a player to watch in Class A!   [player_tooltip player_id='1673295' first='Carson' last='Griffith'] (2024) |6'4 F|   21'-22' stats: 2 ppg, 2 rpg. Expect Mr. Griffith to step into a much larger role and to be a key player for the Elks this season. He is another nice athlete and his skills will impress you. Carson will have to rebound, protect the paint, and help anchor the Elks defense. He will also be expected to add a nice scoring punch.   Tanner Drietz (2025) |6'1 G|   21'-22 stats: 1.5 ppg, 1 rpg. Look for the young soph to be one the best shooters this season for the Elks. Much like Griffith, Drietz will need to play a much bigger role this season. He might be young, but Tanner has the talent to do it. The potential is there for Mr. Drietz to have a standout season.   Team Comments from Coach Steve Erickson   "We graduated a solid senior group last year that contributed to a great deal of our success. [player_tooltip player_id='1377689' first='Ryan' last='Krog'] is the only returning player with considerable experience, but [player_tooltip player_id='1673295' first='Carson' last='Griffith'], Tanner Drietz, Garrett Neill, [player_tooltip player_id='1673344' first='Tanner' last='Stein'], Quinten Poindexter, and some others will look to step up and fill the spots left by our graduating kids from last year. We are going to have to develop some experience and learn to play at the varsity level. Handling adversity and learning to compete at a high level every minute is going to be key for us. This group has the athletic ability to defend and rebound, we are going to have to develop some consistency and scoring ability on the offensive end."   Coach Erickson's Dakota Valley Conference Predictions   <ol type="1" start="1"> <li>Castlewood</li>   <li>De Smet</li>   <li>Dell Rapids St. Mary</li>   <li>Estelline/Hendricks</li>   <li>Iroquois/Lake Preston</li>   <li>Deubrook</li>   <li>Colman-Egan</li>   <li>Oldham-Ramona/Rutland</li>   <li>Arlington</li> </ol>   Q&A with coach Steve Erickson   PHD: How have practices been going for your squad?   Coach Erickson: "Practices have been going well for the most part. Kids are working hard and felt like we had a good couple of weeks and then the weather hit last week and put us on hold for 4 days. We came back in this weekend to get back into it."    PHD: How are your players looking at this point in the young season?   Coach Erickson: "We have quite a few younger guys, only 3 seniors and 4 juniors, 9 sophs and 10 freshmen, so we do have some talented kids, just trying to get them all to mesh and get accustomed to the varsity level and what practices and games will be like."   PHD: Who have been a couple of your hardest workers up to this point in the young season?   Coach Erickson: "Honestly, the entire group works pretty hard when they are here and locked in. We just need to consistently bring that without being reminded of it and know that it is going to take hard work every practice rep, every situation, we need to be consistent with our approach and be connected with what we are doing."   PHD: How excited are you and your squad for this opening game in Castlewood?   Coach Erickson: "Castlewood is a really good team. I think they have a chance to be in the State Tournament this year, so starting the year off with a team like that is always exciting, but I think more than anything, our kids are just ready to compete against someone other than ourselves. We will see where we are at against a top-notch team in the state and our conference, so just excited to get out there, compete, and gauge where we are at and what we need to focus on as we progress through the season."   Good Luck Elks!

Let's check out the Elks! Tonight (12/19), Elkton-Lake Benton tips off the season at Castlewood. This is going to be a tough game but it should be a fun one! The Elks will get tested right out of the gates.