The Rotation: Tea Area
The ultra talented Tea Area line-up has a state title and a second place finish to their name the last two years and 18-19 has been the season they’e always dreamed of. Now is the time!
Must Be Replaced: Chris Morales, Seth Kocer
Tea Area lost some of their size when Seth Kocer graduated and the Titans definitely lost a key piece with the graduation of Chris Morales. Chris scored ten points a game as a senior starter and will be a leader that needs to be replaced. If we are being honest though, Tea Area has more than enough talent to fill the production of Morales and Kocer.
Returning Starters: Kaleb Joffer, Justin Hohn, Noah Friedel, Kade Stearns
All four of their players have a good number of starts under their belt. Noah Freidel and Justin Hohn are both division one committed players with Freidel headed to Wright State next year and Justin Hohn committed to UC-Irvine. Freidel is the definition of a “scorer” putting up 25 points a game shooting almost 50 percent as a wing and 39 percent at the arc. Noah was also hurt while putting those numbers up. Justin scored over ten points a game as a junior while handling the basketball at the point. Kade Stearns is one of the better shooters in the state making most of his ten points per game at the arc. Then you have 6-foot-4 big Kaleb Joffer playing inside with a load of experience.
Stepping into Bigger Roles: Mason Ritter, Zach Wilber, Others
There were nine juniors on the varsity/JV last year and they will provide a lot of the depth. The guy they will likely lean on the most is Mason Ritter who looks like he should be able to step right into the starting spot left by Morales. Ritter had a great summer with the South Dakota Venom using his athletic ability to score. Zach Wilber played some off the bench and will likely be used in that role once again. Other seniors are Wyatt Powers, a 6-foot-5 big, forward Jack Unruh, and guard Cade Clayberg.
Future. ?
The future is now. This is the year that a special class of kids has been dreaming off all of their lives. But what about the names of upcoming years? That’s something that we will have to watch closely. No sophomores played varsity and the 13 man roster a year ago was all seniors and juniors. The names of the future will start to become clearer when the JV team steps on the floor this winter.