The Rotation: Harrisburg
Harrisburg’s build up as a basketball program was steady and it was a success. Sure they hoped for a state title but they earned the respect of the state with a 19-5 record earning second place in Class AA. So what will they do for an encore?
Must Be Replaced: Chase Altenburg, Brady Van Holland, Brooks Fuller, Ace Zorr, Nick Walter, Hunter Headlee, Michael Curry
You can clearly see by the list above that it was a group of seniors that took a two-win program from a few years back, turned them into a state team as juniors with a great late season push, and then took them to a state championship game team as seniors. Four starters and seven seniors overall from last year’s rotation need to be replaced after changing the culture of the program. Altenburg, Van Holland, and Zorr all scored between nine and eleven points per game a year ago on a very balanced team.
Returning Starters: Nick Hoyt
At 13.3 points and 4.6 assists per game Nick Hoyt was the lone non-senior starter and an all-state player for his playmaking ability on one of the state’s best Class AA teams. You really have to take a step back and consider what Hoyt did last year playing a huge role on a senior dominated club. Nick had a hand in about 35-40 percent of his team’s point production through his scoring and playmaking passing the ball.
Stepping into Bigger Roles: Blair Slaughter, Adam Erickson, Nick Feldman, Cale Murphy, Payton Marquardt, Isaac Brower
The other non-senior contributor in last year’s rotation was Blair Slaughter, a talented wing that had an outstanding summer playing with BBA Force. Slaughter should step into a much bigger role next year and he’s spent much of his life on the court with Hoyt. Slaughter is versatile at 6-foot-4 and he can play a number of positions for his team. From there Feldman, Murphy, and Marquardt are all wings an inch or two above five feet entering their senior years. The depth should be at the wing plus Adam Erickson and Nick Hoyt will be the senior guards. Isaac Brower is an ex-factor as he’s a good football player and at 6-foot-3/6-foot-4 should help up front.
Future. Karter Lein, Will Allen
Karter is a talented guard that was listed as the only underclassmen on the Varsity/JV roster that we collected. Lein is a combo guard that should add to the versatility. With another strong senior class plus Lein, will the Tigers need an underclassmen? They may not but one to watch is point guard Will Allen.