Class AA wide open, Dakota Valley looks strong again: South Dakota high school boys basketball preview

The two teams in last year’s Class AA state title matchup return one starter combined. O’Gorman returns Matt Eng, who emerged as one of the state’s best shooters and could become one of the state’s best scorers this year. Undefeated Roosevelt returns no one from its starting lineup a year ago.

That opens things up in Class AA. Teams like Harrisburg and Jefferson are expected to be among the tops of the class because they return a majority (if not all, in the case of Jefferson) of their cores. But also, this season could be an introduction to the next crop of the class’ best players to emerge, pushing some of the more-experienced teams towards the end of the season.

“(We) have potential,” O’Gorman head coach Derek Robey said, “yet (we) have to stay disciplined and play team basketball.”

Jefferson is a lot of teams’ picks for the potential title favorite. With how much success it had during the football season, the Cavaliers are in line for a similar setup in the winter, returning its entire starting lineup as well as a few bench pieces that contributed last year. USF commit Taylen Ashley is one of the most efficient guards in South Dakota, his presence almost undervaluing the point-guard skills of Beau Giblin, who might be one of the state’s best passers. On the wings, Kaden Year and Griffin Wilde are talented finishers on a team that likes to run, and Mason Riley rounds out the starting five as a hyper-athletic center.

They’ll have some competition from the likes of Harrisburg and Lincoln, though. Lincoln actually loses quite a bit with the graduation of guards Khalil Cisse and Gage Gohl, but returns one of the state’s best talents in versatile center JT Rock and another talented scorer at point guard in Elliot Whitney. Patriots head coach Jeff Halseth said “by season's end, we feel we can match up with anyone.” Harrisburg’s in a similar spot, losing some but returning 19.8-point-per-game scorer Ethan Determan and 15.7-point-per-game scorer Jacoby Mehrman.

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Washington lost a lot of scoring, Roosevelt graduated 10 seniors and Pierre is coming off just a 9-12 year, but there’s reason to believe all three could be in the mix, too. The Warriors return some good players, including guard/forward Mandalla Mohamed and guard Cole Peterson. Many didn’t see the Rough Riders’ undefeated year coming last year, yet it was still able to do it. And Pierre returns superstar Lincoln Kienholz, who will likely be one of the state’s best players again this year.

“‘AA’ basketball has proven to be a fight each night regardless of the opponent,” Pierre head coach Brianna Kusler said, “and this year will be no different.”

Dakota Valley likely to lead Class A again after undefeated year

Dakota Valley graduated six seniors, so head coach Jason Kleis said there will be some work to do filling the rotation and finding the “chemistry” that was so prevalent for the undefeated state championship group last season. But the Panthers were absolutely dominant in a strong class last year, and returned almost its entire core including Player of the Year candidate Isaac Bruns (23.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game) and talented point guard Randy Rosenquist (13.2 points and 7.2 assists per game). Dakota Valley, once again, should be the favorite in Class A, but several teams will be in the mix with them.

“Our schedule is by far the toughest it’s ever been,” Kleis said. “Our league and Class A will be the best overall it has been in several years.”

Sioux Valley’s dynamic duo of point guard Oliver Vincent and center Alec Squires should allow the Cossacks to take a leap with more experience. St. Thomas More will, again, likely play incredible defense led by star guard Caleb Hollenbeck. Winner is in a similar position, coming off a 23-3 year and bringing back one of the class’ better point guards in Blake Volmer, who averaged 16.3 points per game and 8.9 rebounds.

“We return four players who have started throughout the last two years with state tournament experience,“ Winner head coach Brett Gardner said. “We feel we have some nice pieces, but will have to develop some depth.”

Canton is a dark horse, returning one of the best centers in Class A in Jacob VandeWeerd, who averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks per game last season. Dell Rapids returns eight seniors. Sioux Falls Christian is young, but Ethan Bruns and Tate Snyder present a strong returning core. Lennox, with one of the state’s best juniors in Porter Ihnen, should be able to make an impact, too, in a class that features a lot of top-end talent.

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Behind potential Player of the Year Joe Sayler, White River leads Class B field

Maybe the best scorer (and perhaps player) in South Dakota, Joe Sayler, has White River seemingly a preseason favorite heading into the Class B season. The Tigers looked to be the No. 2 behind a loaded De Smet team all last season, but fell to Lower Brule in the semifinal before beating Potter County to finish third in Class B at the state tournament last year. This year, White River has the benefit of returning its top scorer when both of the teams who finished ahead of it graduated theirs and "has a great chance to be one of the best in the state."

"Our team goals are the same every year," White River head coach Eldon Marshall said, "get to the state tournament and give ourselves the chance to be state champs."

De Smet should still be in the mix, returning one of the best centers in the class in 6-foot-10 Damon Wilkinson, who averaged 15 points, nine rebounds per game and three blocks last season and will have a more-featured role this year.

“(Wilkinson) is coming off a dominating state tournament performance and he knows he will be the focus of the opponents defense this season,” De Smet head coach Jeff Gruenhagen said. “He is ready for the challenge.”

Though they’ll have a new coach leading them after David Rohrbach left for Brookings high school, Aberdeen Christian is a team that will likely make anyone who overlooks them seem silly not long into the season. Senior guard Malek Wieker is legitimately one of the best shooters and scorers in the state and the Knights didn’t have any seniors on its team last year, bringing back 6-foot-6 forward Ethan Russel in addition to Wieker and others.

Lower Brule could make some noise this year coming off a great 2021-22, Gregory head coach Jeff Determan said his team has “high expectations” featuring one of the state’s most dynamic juniors in guard/forward Daniel Mitchell (19.8 points per game) and Castlewood, Wall, Howard and Canistota each have strong returning groups.

“Our schedule was strengthened compared to years past,” Wall head coach Ryan Kjerstad said, “and we look forward to the increased level of competition.”

Follow Sioux Falls Argus Leader reporter Michael McCleary on Twitter @mikejmccleary.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Class AA open, Dakota Valley looks strong: boys basketball preview