PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Devils, Comets bring experience

Nov. 19—A bunch of local boys basketball teams are starting the season with new rosters to fill up vacancies with graduation.

But for some teams, they have players who are experienced and ready to make a mark, starting with Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin.

The Blue Devils return a lot from last season's team and will have three of their top starters coming back this season.

"We have three strong returning starters in Brett Meidel, Ayden Ingram and Hayden Rice," BHRA coach Gary Tidwell said. "They are an instrumental part to what we are, so we are glad to have the strengths they bring as a team. We also have a strong nucleus with some newcomers who are going to have a great year. We are excited about this year and the guys are working hard."

Along with the three top players, Tidwell returns a lot of players who at least had experience in varsity last season.

"Isaiah Tidwell was a letterman from last year who got some minutes last year and he's getting stronger and has developed his interior play and he's filling a huge role for us," Tidwell said. "Owen Miller also fills that role in the interior. They are a little undersized, but they are very smart and they play hard and understand the team concept. I think they are going to fit in nicely for the team.

"The Stanford brothers (Micah and Amani) also bring a lot to the team. They are great ball handlers and they are slashers/penetrators that can get to the basket and are really athletic. Their quickness will be good for the team. I think those seven will be pretty solid for us this year and we have sophomores who have JV experience and they might contribute to the varsity as the year goes on."

The Blue Devils start the season on Monday against Paris at the Topper Classic, which will also include host Schlarman Academy and Covington.

"The Topper Classic has a great tradition and we enjoy playing on Thanksgiving week and it shows where we are at going into the regular season," Tidwell said. "Paris is fairly new to the Classic and we look forward to playing them. Milford is a common foe that always does a great job, Covington has had a solid program and they will bring a good quality and a passionate fan base and Schlarman will definitely be a challenge. (Keith) Peoples has made his mark with the girls program and does a great job and they have some great talent coming in. We are looking forward to see how we are stacked against everyone."

The Classic should add to the experience the team will bring into Vermilion Valley Conference play and to try to overtake last season's champion Iroquois West.

"We have a lot experience coming back when it comes to conference play. Oakwood had some guys coming back and Salt Fork has all of their guys back, so it will be a competitive field especially with the top tier teams," Tidwell said. "When you have a lot of good teams with the addition of Watseka and Iroquois West, it helps you in the long run to play teams you are not totally accustomed to and it will be a good experience for us."

The Comets also bring a lot of experience back for this season.

"We have Dalton Hobick and Tanner Pichon is our post player that is returning and Josh Ruch helped us a lot last year," Oakwood coach Jeff Mandrell said. "Alec Harrison is someone that didn't play a lot of varsity last season, but he is going to get a lot of minutes. Jackson Dudley will be in the mix for us also.

"Brody Taflinger played a little varsity last year, but he should get a bigger role this year and we are looking at some of the other juniors. We had a senior that played for us as a freshman in Bryson Myers and he's someone that can help us and is a post player."

The Comets won 21 games last season and Mandrell is looking for another big season.

"You are always trying to be competitive and win the conference," Mandrell said. "We are in some tough tournaments and we try to win those and make a good showing. I think shooting for a 20-win season is great and with not a lot of games, that is more reasonable. You want to work to get better by the postseason."

Oakwood starts the season on Monday against Villa Grove at the Tri-County Thanksgiving Tournament.

"It gives us a chance to go out and show what we can do in game conditions and what we need to improve and try to get some wins," Mandrell said. "We want to get some experience and use it as a gauge to get better."

Salt Fork will return All-VVC and All-All Vermilion County selection Garrett Taylor and seniors Blake Norton and Blake Hettmansberger to also be one of the most experienced teams in the area. The Storm will skip the Thanksgiving tournaments and start the season on Nov. 29 against Arcola.

Georgetown-Ridge Farm lost players like Cale Steinbaugh, Kaden Mingee and Jace Bina, but return Cam Steinbaugh to lead the Buffaloes, who will start the season on Tuesday against Notre Dame LaSalette.

Westville returns Kamden Maddox and Drew Wichtowski to the team and will start the season against North Vermillion on Tuesday.

Hoopeston Area loses Ben Brown and Nick Hofer, but return Anthony Zamora for his senior year. The Cornjerkers start on Monday against Iroquois West at the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Thanksgiving Tournament.

Kollin Asbury will return for his junior season to lead Armstrong-Potomac, who will also start the season at the GCMS tournament on Monday against Fisher.

Schlarman Academy is looking to improve with new coach Keith Peoples and players that helped him win the IESA Class 8A tournament earlier this year. The Hilltoppers will host the Topper Classic starting Monday and will play Covington to start.

Covington returns Dalton Keller, who was the second-leading scorer for the Trojans last season, along with Coye Ferguson, who played in 21 games.

Leading scorer Jerome White returns for North Vermillion with Cody Tryon and Atticus Blank also coming back to lead the Falcons.

Seeger will return its top three scorers in Owen Snedeker, Luke Plumier and Michael Winchester and will start against Faith Christian on Monday.

Fountain Central returns its top stow scorers in Will Harmon and Mason Larkin and will start the season at North Montgomery on Tuesday.