Depth in the ranks

The Panthers have a chip on their shoulder this season after a first-round playoff loss against Clarke last year, but coach Bryce Schafer said they have enough depth this season to take a shot at a Hawkeye 10 championship.

“It left a bad taste in our mouths. The last two years we’ve had 11 or 12 games we lost by four points or less,” Schafer said. “Those are one to two possession games. It’s great because it means we are playing competitively, but it also lets frustration mount. We had a bit of a conditioning lag down the stretch in the fourth quarter.”

Working on their free throws is one way to cut that gap. “We were at about 62%,” he explained. “Bump that up to 70% and it cuts the 11 to about seven.”

Last season, Harlan and Denison-Schleswig tied for H10 champions as they each finished 9-1 in the conference. Kuemper Catholic placed third with an 8-2 conference record but went on to qualify for the Class 2A state tournament.

The Panthers placed fifth with a 6-4 conference record, a spot behind Glenwood (7-3).

“I think it’s one of the tougher conferences in the state,” Schafer said. “Kuemper returned everybody essentially. They are a phenomenal shooting team. You might see the Lewis Centrals and Harlans of the world right back up there as well. Harlan lost starters, but they always seem to be able to plug and play. The last few years, Denison has been solid. Including us, that’s five teams fighting for a championship.”

Schafer said he’s hoping after the long playoff run in football, the confidence and momentum bleeds over into basketball. “We’re definitely a top-three contender in the Hawkeye 10,” he said.

Players

A talented athlete and a huge piece of the team is point guard Cael Turner. For the past two seasons, Turner has been an all-conference selection. A 6-2 senior, Turner led the team last season in four stats (per game) - points (13.7), rebounds (4.2), steals (2.6) and assists (3.4).

“You saw in football, Cael Turner is a fantastic athlete,” Schafer said. “We’re looking for him to take the next step forward and lead the team.”

Senior Conner Wiley has moved into the shooting guard position as he returns with varsity experience. “He was more defensive with spot minutes here and there,” Schafer said. “We are looking for him to find an evolution offensively.”

Schafer said 6-3 junior Jake Hoyt is pretty solid at the power forward position. “He’s a solid scorer,” he added. Hoyt averaged 8 points per game last season, the second-highest of returners.

A big addition to the team this season is Tony Davidson who is back in Creston after a year playing for Des Moines-Lincoln. The 6-4 senior will play center for the Panthers, filling the five-spot.

“He’s going to be helpful from an athletic standpoint,” Schafer said. “It will help us with our size matchup.”

From there, four more athletes are in the mix to start including 6-4 senior Lucas Rushing and juniors Brayden Schoon, Tommy Sand and Parker Varner.

“There are a cluster of guys,” Schafer said. “We have a lot of depth in the ranks of seniors and juniors, but we’ll see if we need to backfill with sophomores and freshmen.”

An aggressive player, 6-3 Schoon will play a backup five role behind Davidson. “He’s a physical kid, an almost dirty player,” Schafer said. “You’ve got to have a guy that’s willing to grind, and that’s the role he’s going to fall into.”

Sand will add depth to the guard rotation while Rushing brings senior experience. Varner is a good perimeter shooter for the Panthers. Though he will be playing at the junior varsity level as well, junior Josh Schaefer may start building minutes as a post this year. “He’s a good sized kid,” Schafer said. “He was an effective scorer at the JV level last year.”

The Panthers open Monday at home against Winterset. Last season the 15-8 Huskies won the early matchup 74-47, but they graduated four of their six rotating starters.

“Our non-conference schedule is pretty brutal too, so it should be a fun year of basketball,” Schafer said. “But, Atlantic, Clarinda, Red Oak, Shenandoah, any given night you could get a loss from them. We’re preparing for everybody like it’s a state championship game.”