#1 Dakota Valley Panthers: Midseason Update
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North Sioux City, SD – The Panthers are perfect so far this season and the undisputed #1 team in Class A South Dakota hoops. They had a nail-biter this past weekend but they found a way to pull out the win…
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Continue ReadingNorth Sioux City, SD – The Panthers are perfect so far this season and the undisputed #1 team in Class A South Dakota hoops. They had a nail-biter this past weekend but they found a way to pull out the win against a tough squad. Dakota Valley has all the pieces to make a memorable postseason run. Right now the Panthers are worried about getting better every day, growing as a team, winning one game at a time, and enjoying the ride. Good luck to the Panthers, it is going fun watching you the rest of the season! Read below for team stats, player stats, comments from coach Kleis, and the updated Panther schedule.
Team Stats
67.5 ppg, 31.9 rpg, 14.4 apg, 10.7 spg, 33 3FG%, 54 2FG%
Player Stats
Isaac Bruns Isaac Bruns 6'4" | SG Dakota Valley | 2023 State SD (2023) |6-4 SG| – 23.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 spg
Randy Rosenquist Randy Rosenquist 6'0" | PG Dakota Valley | 2023 State SD (2023) |6-0 G| – 12.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 7.1 apg, 5.6 spg
Jaxson Wingert Jaxson Wingert 6'7" | PF Dakota Valley | 2024 State SD (2024) |6-6 PF| – 10.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Jaxon Hennies (2023) |6-0 G| – 7.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg
Joey Bryan (2022) |6-6 F| – 3.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
Brayden Major (2022) |6-1 G/F| – 3.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.4 apg
Sam Faldmo (2022) |6-3 G/F| – 2.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 spg
Q&A with Coach Kleis
What has been the highlight of the season so far?
“The game Saturday at the corn palace (vs. STM) was a highlight for sure. Playing a great team, getting tested in many different ways, and surviving to get the win was a great building block for us. Not to mention a great atmosphere and an exciting win, we were thrilled for our guys to have that experience in the regular season.“
What are your goals for the rest of the season?
“We don’t talk about it much, but our goal is always to make the state tourney and then win the state championship. We know some of that requires breaks, staying healthy, making shots, etc and that we can’t control all of those things…so while our goals are what they are, we definitely focus and talk day to day about building our team to be as good as it can be in March. We don’t feel any pressure, if our focus stays on the right things the rest will take care of itself.“
Which players are most improved and why?
“ Randy Rosenquist Randy Rosenquist 6'0" | PG Dakota Valley | 2023 State SD has improved every aspect of his game. He is fantastic defensively with steals, and being around the ball, and has done a great job directing our offense.”
Who have been your top players defensively?
“All of our guy’s guard really well. Isaac Bruns Isaac Bruns 6'4" | SG Dakota Valley | 2023 State SD and Randy Rosenquist Randy Rosenquist 6'0" | PG Dakota Valley | 2023 State SD are fantastic defenders, but Sam Faldmo, Braden Major, and Joey Bryan are our unsung heroes. While they don’t score a ton of points we can have them on other team’s best players and they are capable of shutting them down.”
What has been your team’s identity so far or what do you hang your hat on?
“Toughness and defense. We don’t feel like we’ve clicked offensively yet but have had consistent effort and toughness which have carried us and we’ve relied on.”
Coach Kleis Team Comments
“We noticed great natural chemistry with this group early on in the season. Our ‘stars’ are great leaders, we have great senior leaders, and our role/bench players are competitive and want the team to succeed. We’ll see how we finish, but we are super proud of this bunch in many ways.“
Panther Schedule
Beresford – W 60-14
Canton – W 95-69
Tea Area – W 72-61
Platte-Geddes – W 76-41
Sergeant Bluff-Luton (IA) – W 62-45
LeMars (IA) – W 56-46
West Central – W 73-60
Hartington Cedar Catholic (NE) – W 65-43
West Sioux (IA) – W 72-48
Tri-Valley – W 66-32
St. Thomas More – W 48-46
January 27 @ Sioux Falls Christian
January 29 DAK XII-NEC CLASH @ Madison vs. Lakota Tech
February 3 (home) vs. Elk Point-Jefferson
February 5 @ Sandford Pentagon vs. TBD
February 8 (home) vs. Vermillion
February 11 (home) vs. Dell Rapids
February 15 (home) vs. Sioux City West (IA)
February 18 (home) vs. Madison
February 25 @ Lennox