Panthers face tough challenge in opener

Mon. December 01, 2008; Posted: 02:07 PM

That's what Creston boys basketball coach Jim Calkins is trying to keep in mind as he puts together a new team already saddled with injuries.

Point guard Luke Eblen, a sophomore who had a strong off-season, and junior forward Tyler Coenen are both sidelined until sometime around the holiday break. Eblen injured a knee after assuming the varsity quarterback position during the football season, and Coenen recently underwent hernia surgery.

"Luke has done some jogging and light drills," Calkins said. "We're hopeful he'll be ready to go after Christmas. The timeline is about the same for Tyler."

Even with those two, Calkins and assistants Dick Bergstrom and Matt Somers have a squad of 17 in the top three grades (plus eight freshmen under coach Shawn Miller). Varsity-caliber depth is a concern, especially early.

"You can't control some of those incidents and accidents that occur," Calkins said. "Hopefully everything that can happen badly has already occurred, and once we get everybody back we'll be playing our best basketball in February and hopefully, March."

Right out of the chute this new Panther squad -- minus five senior lettermen from last year's 16-7 squad -- has a tough challenge.

Creston travels to Adel Tuesday to take on an ADM team that finished third in Class 3A last year at 25-2, and returns 6-6 all-stater Wes Nordquist along with 6-5 Michael Chapman. All-state guard Troy Ticknor graduated.

"That's definitely a challenge on the road," Calkins said, "but that's OK. It's a good way to prepare for the Hawkeye 10, and some of the games we'll have on the road there."

The Panthers follow with a trip to Carroll Kuemper Catholic on Friday before returning home next week against Red Oak and Shenandoah.

Creston was third in the conference last year at 13-5. Gone from that squad are senior regulars Cody Pearson, Bryant McCabe, Adam Riley, Jake McGehee and Luke Schroder.

Pearson was a first-team all-conference player at 15.6 points per game and an 85 percent free throw shooter. He is a redshirt freshman guard at Des Moines Area Community College. Riley is playing basketball at Grand View University in Des Moines. McCabe earned honorable mention all-conference as a top defender and 7.7 scoring average.

That leaves a lot of holes to fill, but Calkins said the program has reloaded successfully in the past.

"From last year's group, Pearson had some varsity experience, but guys like Riley and McCabe had waited behind some pretty talented classes for their chance," Calkins said. "They were chomping at the bit, so to speak, to get their chance, and they made the most of it. That's what we're looking for again."

Creston competed to the end in a district championship game against No. 6 rated Carroll last year, falling 64-61. Carroll went on to lose to state runner-up Harlan in the substate final.

All-state senior

This year's Panther team returns only two lettermen, but a good anchor to build around is 6-4 senior Grant Wood, who was first team all-conference and Iowa Newspaper Association third team all-state last year. He averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds, and finished the season with 26 points and 12 rebounds against a 21-2 Carroll team.

Wood appears to be recovered from a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the last half of the football season.

"Grant not only carries a lot of expectations, but a lot of attention from other teams," Calkins said. "If I was coaching against us, I'd try to take him out of the mix and make other guys beat you."

If that happens, the team is prepared.

"Grant is very good passer and really worked well with the seniors last year," Calkins said. "Now he's just going to have to be patient. He's with guys who are learning on the fly, but they'll have to be ready to get that pass out of the double and triple-teams and knock down some shots."

Guard court

The other letterman is junior guard Seth Pals, who earned several starting assignments last year during Schroder's absence.

"He stepped up and did a good job for us, especially defensively," Calkins said. "He's gets after it and he's a leader by example. Until we get Luke back, he'll have to bring up the ball. Hopefully he can get some steals, and along with (Kevin) Irr and (Chase) Blazek, finish some fast breaks."

Irr returns to the mix after sitting out the last half of his sophomore season. His quickness and athletic ability will be valuable against opposing top guard courts, Calkins said. Blazek could be the top outside shooting threat on the team.

Other guard candidates early include junior Garrett Schneider and sophomore Chad Miller.

Coenen was projected as a top wing player with medium-range shooting ability and strong rebounding. Junior Travis Kipp can also help there, and Wood has a shooting touch to play farther from the basket if Calkins chooses to go with a big lineup. Another junior, Tyler Pettit, is coming back from a broken collarbone in football.

Inside are 6-5 Spencer Bakerink and 6-1 Nick Neitzel, a rugged rebounder at 230 pounds.

"We think Bakerink, Neitzel and Wood will battle for eight to 10 boards a game each," Calkins said. "At least that's what we're hoping for. Grant is very effective around the basket. Some of the other guys are still working on their touch, getting comfortable with head fakes and their moves in there. Hopefully we can convert at the free throw line, because I think those guys will get fouled."

Substate teams

Creston's substate includes Osceola Clarke, Winterset, Perry, Glenwood, Atlantic, Harlan and Denison-Schleswig. They will be grouped in four-team districts to begin postseason play.

Harlan, with four appearances in the state finals and a third place finish in the past six years, figures to be a strong contender again in the Hawkeye 10 despite losing Dan Hoch, Kyle Haake and Doug Bissen. Guard Michael Kauffman and 6-6 Jake Schaben lead the Cyclones.

Glenwood and Atlantic are up and coming teams with returning all-conference players. Lewis Central is rebuilding, but always strong under coach Dan Miller. Denison-Schleswig will be improved as Don Lyons shifts from girls coach to boys coach for the Monarchs, and Clarinda boasts size in the middle in Cy Williams.

A new feature on the Creston schedule is a preliminary game to the NBA Development League's Iowa Energy at Wells Fargo Arena. The game against Ballard on Sunday, Feb. 8, will tip off at 4 p.m.

Creston Boys Basketball

Roster

(-- Letterman)

Seniors -- *Grant Wood (6-4).

Juniors -- *Seth Pals (5-10), Spencer Bakerink (6-5), Tyler Coenen (6-2), Tyler Pettit (6-1), Travis Kipp (6-2), Garrett Schneider (5-11), Kevin Irr (5-9), Skylar Miller (5-8), Alex Pellman (5-10).

Sophomores -- Chase Blazek (5-11), Jordan Leach (5-9), Chad Miller (6-0), Austin Bolinger (6-0), Clayton Portwood (5-9).

Freshmen -- Dustin Hallet, David Reeves, Brad Weis, Dylan Hower, Evin Scadden, Ben Landers, Alan Smith, Eric Lanning.

Managers -- Hannah Johnson, Dana Gordon.

Coaches: Jim Calkins, head coach (sixth year); Dick Bergstrom, assistant coach (seventh year); Matt Somers, assistant coach (fifth year); Shawn Miller, freshman coach (first year).

Schedule

Dec. 1 -- Winterset 9th, 6:15 p.m.

Dec. 2 -- At ADM (Adel) 9-JV-V, 4:30 p.m.

Dec. 5 -- At Carroll Kuemper 9-JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Dec. 9 -- Red Oak JV-V, 6:15 p.m.

Dec. 12 -- Shenandoah JV-V, 6:15 p.m.

Dec. 16 -- At Clarinda 9-JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Dec. 19 -- Atlantic 2JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Dec. 22 -- At Denison V, 6:15 p.m.

Jan. 6 -- At Glenwood 9-JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Jan. 9 -- Harlan 9-JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Jan. 13 -- At Lewis Central 9-JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Jan. 16 -- Kuemper Catholic 9-JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Jan. 19 -- At Atlantic 9th 6:15 p.m.

Jan. 20 -- At Red Oak JV-V, 6:15 p.m.

Jan. 23 -- At Shenandoah JV-V, 6:15 p.m.

Jan. 24 -- At Winterset V, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 27 -- Clarinda 9-JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Jan. 30 -- At Atlantic JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Feb. 3 -- Denison-Schleswig 9-JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Feb. 6 -- Glenwood JV-V, 6:15 p.m.

Feb. 8 -- At Wells Fargo vs. Ballard, 4 p.m.

Feb. 10 -- At Harlan 9-JV-V, 6:15 p.m.

Feb. 13 -- Lewis Central 9-JV-V, 4:45 p.m.

Feb. 23 -- District first round, 7 p.m.

Feb. 26 -- District final, 7 p.m.

March 2-3 -- Substate final, 7 p.m.

------

Larry Peterson can be reached at

782-2141, ext. 232 or

lpeterson@crestonnews.com

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