Holiday break is over for the high school basketball teams in the area and play resumes this week. Here's a look at each of the Sioux Falls boys teams heading into the January schedule.

The high school basketball season started strong in December with some Sioux Falls teams playing as much of one-fourth of its season schedule in about two weeks. Now the middle stretch of the season is here with a stacked January and February schedule.

Class AA Boys

SF Lincoln (5-0), 46.400 seed points (#1 AA), SD Media Poll #2

The Patriots are off to a fast start in 2018-2019 starting 5-0 with wins over the other three Sioux Falls schools, Watertown, and Marshall, MN. Lincoln's primary threat Jared Jaros went down with a knee injury against Roosevelt back on December 21, but the rest of the team was able to bounce back against Marshall. Lincoln had five players score 10 or more points in the win over Marshall. Jaros will return this season for the Patriots according to Brian Hanchen of the Argus Leader. If the Patriots can keep that type of production throughout the season, they would be in line to contend for a state title.

They return to play against St. Paul Central on January 4th, but all eyes will be on the following night when the Patriots travel to defending champion Yankton (7-0).

SF Washington (2-2), 43.000 seed points (#3 AA), SD Media Poll RV

Going into the season the Warriors knew that they would need time to develop. They started the season strong with a 69-64 win over Huron but dropped two straight to Lincoln and Roosevelt. Washington secured a home win over Marshall on December 20. The Warriors were scheduled to take part in the Hoop City Classic, but both of their games were called off due to weather. Washington will continue to look to lean on Gabe Person and Carter Shields heading into the middle part of the schedule. If the pieces all come together, this is a team that has enough talent to make a run to state.

They will be tested, however, with an opening January road stretch against Roosevelt, O'Gorman, and Watertown. After that, most of Washington's games will be at home with eight of 11 being played at the Warrior gym.

SF Roosevelt (3-2), 42.600 seed points (#5 AA), SD Media Poll #5

The Rough Riders had a very interesting December start to their season. Mitch Begeman took his team into the year as a team that was undervalued and underlooked by everyone across the state. That was quickly erased with three straight wins over O'Gorman, Washington, and Watertown to open the season. Roosevelt then dropped a couple of close games at home against Huron and Lincoln losing by a combined five points. Tyler Feldkamp and Carson Devericks have provided a nice start for the Riders. Roosevelt could be dangerous down the stretch with Aaron Kusler getting back to 100% following a back injury, Aiden Evans continuing to put everything together, and Tucker West getting more shots from the outside. Plus the bench production from Roosevelt is strong with Tucker Large, Michael Paulson, Patrick Niyonshuti, and Brady Dannenbring receiving an ample amount of time in the first five games.

Roosevelt will play three teams from around the Sioux Falls area to start January as they host Washington, travel to Brandon Valley, and host Harrisburg. The Rough Riders will then take a trip to Rapid City and follow that up with a trip to Yankton. They also still have O'Gorman and Lincoln on the back end of their schedule.

SF O'Gorman (2-3), 40.400 seed points (#9 AA), SD Media Poll RV

Don't let the record fool you with O'Gorman. 2-3 to start the season for the Knights is not ideal, but two of the losses were early against Lincoln and Roosevelt by a combined nine points. The Knights suffered a loss during the Hoop City Classic against one of the top teams in the country in Findley Prep and played them strong. O'Gorman's two wins on the season were against Mitchell and Pierre, who are a combined 2-5. There's still a lot to learn about O'Gorman this season, and we should see in January where this team stands.

O'Gorman has been led by Jeremy Jones (12pts/gm), Akoi Akoi (11pts/gm), Luke Ronsiek (9pts/gm), and Zach Norton (8pts/gm). They will continue to look to develop players off the bench with Derek Robey opting to go nine-deep on the roster in the first five games.

The Knights will be tested in the back part of the schedule with rematches against Lincoln and Roosevelt, along with two meetings with Washington. Other schedule highlights include a home game against Yankton, and trips to Harrisburg, Brandon Valley, and Mitchell.

Current South Dakota Media Poll Rankings (As of 12/27/18)

  1. Yankton (19) 5-0 95 1
  2. Lincoln 4-0 75 2
  3. Huron 4-1 50 5
  4. Stevens 3-2 24 4
  5. Roosevelt 3-2 17 2

Receiving votes: Brandon Valley 13, Sturgis 7, Watertown 2, Washington 1, O’Gorman 1.

 

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