Panthers show progress

One year ago, Creston boys basketball coach Bryce Schafer said his team gained valuable experience while losing nine games by an average score of 3.4 points while in 7-15.

The theme for 2022-23 was turning the corner in some of those closely-contested games, and progress was indeed evident in going 11-6 through the first 17 games. The Panthers tied for fifth in the Hawkeye Ten at 6-4, after ending in 10th place a year ago at 2-8. (League leaders this season were Harlan and Denison-Schleswig at 9-1 and Glenwood at 7-3.)

At Thursday’s awards program for this season at Creston Community Middle School, while Schafer acknowledged progress and successes during the season, there remains inspiration to improve after dropping the final three games. Creston finished 11-9 overall in a 71-63 substate opener loss at Osceola Clarke, which was then topped by Class 3A state champion Bondurant-Farrar, 83-40.

“We finished the year with three really good opponents in Harlan, Maryville and the substate with Clarke on the road,” Schafer said Thursday night. “Three losses is not what you want to do to finish your year up. Our seniors worked their tails off for four years. We have guys on the senior level who weren’t playing as freshmen and sophomores, and worked their way up to really good roles for us. We also had guys who were players early on, and continued to work their way up as well. I couldn’t be more proud of them all.”

Seniors on this year’s team were Logan Anson, Noah Felix, Patrick Varner, Payton Conley, Nolan Pryor, Ethan Crawford, Kyle Strider and Kyle Stafford.

In the announcement of team awards, Anson was named most improved varsity player. Sharing the Panther Pride award for varsity were Pryor and Stafford.

“This award is for those guys who do a lot of work behind the scenes to make us better, with great attitudes no matter how much playing time they get, if any,” Schafer said, in explaining the Panther Pride award.

The Hawkeye Ten Conference recognized junior guard Cael Turner on the second team, while Strider received honorable mention. Making academic all-conference were Pryor, Stafford, Strider, Varner, Conley, Crawford and manager Saige Johnston. Those are seniors with at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average. As a team, Creston was recognized by the Iowa High School Athletic Association with a team GPA of 3.3.

Style change

With the makeup of this year’s roster, deep in athletes ranging from 6-0 to 6-2, but no dominant presence inside, Schafer and assistants Chris Tibbals and Drew Dornack instituted a faster, more aggressive system that pressured opposing offenses more in hopes of generating transition offense, and more free throw opportunities. Schafer said it was a successful transformation.

“We changed philosophically a lot of what we do defensively and offensively,” Schafer said. “We wanted to press a lot more this year. We wanted to play a little more aggressively, and sometimes that put us in some difficult (matchup) situations. The guys adjusted to that well. We had a goal of getting better at scoring on free throws. A year ago we were averaging just under 10 free throw attempts per game. This year we averaged 11 made free throws a game, and 19 attempts.”

Creston also ranked second in the Hawkeye Ten in attempted 3-pointers and third in 3-point percentage (28.7%).

Five lettermen return next season, including juniors Conner Wiley, and Lucas Rushing, and sophomores Parker Varner and Jake Hoyt. Juniors Gavin Millslagle and Anthony Eblen were awarded provisional letters for this season, meaning they didn’t play the varsity minutes required for lettering, but will earn it retroactively for their contributions if they return for their senior season.

The program also included summaries of the freshman and junior varsity seasons by Dornack and Tibbals, respectively.

Letterwinners

(Years lettered)

Seniors — Logan Anson (2), Noah Felix (1), Patrick Varner (3), Payton Conley (2), Nolan Pryor (1), Ethan Crawford (2), Kyle Strider (4), Kyle Stafford (1).

Juniors — Cael Turner (3), Conner Wiley (2), Lucas Rushing (1).

Sophomores — Parker Varner (1), Jake Hoyt (1).

Managers — Saige Johnston, Kennedy Hayes, Jaibre Stolk.

Provisional (awarded in 2024 if in program) — Gavin Millslage, Jr.; Anthony Eblen, Jr.

Participation awards — Gavin Millslagle, Anthony Eblen, Xander Drake, Tyler Riley, Justin Loudon, Casen Dryden, Josh Schaefer, Mattias Schultes, Tommy Sand, Aiden Snodgrass, RJ Soto, Brayden Schoon, Jayden Myers, Eli Schaffer, Andrew Hardie, Martin Irogoyen, CT Stalker, Hector Suazo, Eric Chen, Jameson McDonald, Jaxson Jondle, Nathan Carroll, Cael Barton, Brady Phipps, Ben Rushing, Ayden Purdum, Nick Hayes, Brandon Shimer, Tysen Gillespie, Miles Cross.

Team awards

Varsity most improved — Logan Anson.

Varsity Panther Pride — Nolan Pryor, Kyle Stafford.

JV most improved — Josh Schaefer.

JV Panther Pride — Aiden Snodgrass.

Freshman most improved — Ayden Purdum.

Freshman Panther Pride — Tysen Gillespie.

All-Hawkeye Ten — Cael Turner, second team; Kyle Strider, honorable mention.

Academic All-Conference (GPA 3.5 career) — Nolan Pryor, Kyle Stafford, Kyle Strider, Patrick Varner, Saige Johnston, Payton Conley, Ethan Crawford.

Statistical leaders

Scoring (avg.) — 1. Cael Turner 13.7; 2. Patrick Varner 10.8; 3. Kyle Strider 9.8; 4. Jake Hoyt 8.0; 5. (tie) Logan Anson 7.9, Ethan Crawford 7.9.

Rebounds — 1. Turner 4.2; 2. Hoyt 3.9; 3. Strider 3.8; 4. Patrick Varner 3.6.

Steals — 1. Turner 2.6; 2. Strider 2.1; 3. Hoyt 1.6.

Assists — 1. Turner 3.4; 2. Strider 2.3; 3. Patrick Varner 1.4.