19-20 First Look: Dell Rapids St. Mary’s
Few teams in South Dakota return the level of experience that St. Mary’s does with an all state player returning as the headliner. Nine of the top ten from the Cardinals return from last year’s 18-5 team. Moving On: The…
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Continue ReadingFew teams in South Dakota return the level of experience that St. Mary’s does with an all state player returning as the headliner. Nine of the top ten from the Cardinals return from last year’s 18-5 team.
Moving On: The Cardinals won 18 games without a senior in the starting line-up. Only two seniors were on the roster and just one was among the ten man rotation. Ethan Geraets and Avery Hof are the seniors that have graduated.
Returning Starters: Five-foot-9, 150 pound junior Connor Libis is a returning all state player that averaged 27.2 points and 4.5 assists per game shooting 40 percent from the arc and getting better every day. Libis also made 47 percent of his shots overall and recorded 48 steals. And his best is yet to come.
Six-foot-5, 200 pound post player Max Herber earned all conference honors with his 10.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Herber will pair nicely with 6-foot-3, 170 pound senior forward Weston Geraets who was named honorable mention All Conference. Geraets is long and athletic which led to his eight points and 6.3 rebonds a game as a junior. Six-foot-3 junior Sam Palmer has some size but is also a three point shooter who scored about twice a contest. Connar Kangas is a junior that will pair well with Libis after he averaged 5.4 points per game last year.
Reserves Playing a Bigger Role: The toughest guy to deal with around the basket might be 6-foot-2, 210 pound junior Noah Dennis, the strongest player on the team. Six-foot-1 guard Colin Winberg scored twice a game last year and he will be joined off the bench by senior guard pair Cole Welbig and Eli Longville. Ryan Eining is another senior that will fight for time.
Potentials from the JV: That’s nine experienced players returning meaning last year’s JV may not look much different (at least compared to most JV teams). Six foot-6 junior Thomas Eining, 5-foot-10 Hunter Griffin, 6-foot-2 sophomore Johnny Pica, and six foot junior Austin Greene-LeBrun are players that will bring depth and this team may need it. They are playing in 3 classics – DWU, Sacred Hoop, & Entringer Classic – plus they face cross town Dell Rapids along with Class A Garretson, Baltic, and title contender DeSmet.