Conference Preview: Rolling Valley
The Teams (2016-17 record in parenthesis)
Ar-We-Va (24-1): Last season’s squad put together a splendid season, but most of those guys have moved on. Junior Drew Schurke is the team’s leading returning scorer, and we expect the Rockets to be good again: they’ve been on fire of late.
Boyer Valley (14-8): Big things could be coming for the Bulldogs, and Preseason Player of the Year, Joe Weber, is set for a monster season. Expect Boyer Valley to be near the top of the conference come season’s end.
CAM (14-8): Thomas Hensley is a big-time player for the Cougars, and should help lead them to a finish at or near the top of the conference. Nicholas Holste was the team’s second leading scorer a season ago, he’ll help carry the load.
Coon Rapids-Bayard (12-11): Ben Obert led a mostly senior squad last season, and will have a completely new cast of guys to take the reins of this season. Guys like Trenton Golay and Isaac Leighty will need step up big this season.
Exira/EH-K (18-6): With one of the better 2019 classes in Iowa, expect the Spartans to be very good this season, and very, very good next season. Junior Dakota Rold will swat a slew of shots and fellow junior Cole Burmeister will be among the state’s leaders in assists.
Glidden-Ralston (10-10): With three of its top four scorers back, we certainly expect Glidden-Ralson to make improvements upon their .500 season. But in this ultra-tough conference, can they compete for conference title?
Paton-Churdan (10-11): Joe Tower left, he’s at Greene County now, and that leaves Jake Berns (15.6 PPG last season) as the main main for the Rockets this season. They’ll open up their season on Nov. 27 at Saydel.
West Harrison (5-18): Sophomore Nick Rife and junior Ty Houston will lead the Hawkeyes, and if they don’t finish in the upper half this season, expect them to next season. They’ll open the season on Nov. 28 against West Monona, Onawa.
Woodbine (3-20): It was a rough-go last season for the Tigers, which could only muster three total wins. BUT….every single varsity player last season who played regular minutes is back, many of them are still sophomores and juniors. Expect Woodbine to improve greatly upon its three-win season.
Projected Order of Finish
- Exira/EH-K
- CAM
- Boyer Valley
- Glidden-Ralston
- Ar-We-Va
- West Harrison
- Coon Rapids-Bayard
- Woodbine
- Paton-Churdan
Analysis: There’s no easy outs this season in the Rolling Valley, especially with teams like Woodbine and West Harrison projecting to see improvements. Exira/EH-K and CAM are neck and neck at the top of the conference, and when those two teams play this season, it will be must-watch hoops; that will be Dec. 15 and Jan. 23.
Preseason Player of the Year: Joe Weber, Boyer Valley (2018)
One of the state’s best scorers for the past two seasons, Weber despite his small stature, fills it up each night out. Pound-for-pound, he could be the best scorer in Iowa. And after averaging 23.5 points per game last season, it’s not unrealistic to think he’ll be up around 25 per game this season.
Biggest Sleeper: Cole Burmeister, Exira-EH-K (2019)
It’s not exactly like he’s coming out of nowhere, the 5’8 point guard was the third-leading scorer last season for the Spartans. But a preseason honorable mention selection, we feel like Burmeister is the one guy that could prove us wrong the most and finish as a first or second team selection. He notched 6.6 assists per game in 2016/17, and we expect that high number to rise again this season.