BULLDOG BOYS — The 2022-23 JWP boys’ basketball team. Front from left: Steven Dimmel, Steven Denn, Connor Welveart, Austin Carda, Dylan McWaters, Daulton Bauer and Carter Miller. Back: Austin Quast, Cole Schlueter, Memphis James, Ryan Kronbach, Landon Johnson, Caleb Quast and Ethan Born.
JWP basketball boys have a tough act to follow: their own
JWP Winter Sports Preview
JWP Winter Sports Preview
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This year may be a challenging test for the JWP Bulldogs boys’ basketball team. The varsity has no seniors to look toward for leadership and will have new varsity players throughout most of the roster.
This is head coach Nick James’s eighth season. He has a 71-82 career coaching record. Assistant coaches are Connor Morton, Ben Holden, Matt Dahlberg,and Lenny Kroll.
2021-22 season
After a rough 2020 season, the JWP boys’ basketball team turned things around last year and ended with a 15-12 record. The season marked a return to the Gopher Conference after many years in the Valley and a downgrade from Class AA to A.
The team went 8-8 in the Gopher Conference. The Bulldogs earned an upset victory against Mankato Loyola, a team ranked in the top 10 of Class A before facing JWP. The stellar season was cut short with a 79-63 loss in South Subsection 2A to Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey.
Expectations
Coach James wants to see constant improvement from the team.
“Our expectations are to improve from the beginning to the end of the season,” James explains. “We will have a lot of inexperience to start the year, but I feel we have a lot of smart basketball players that will get better as the season moves forward.”
Key returnees and losses
Although the list of returnees is short, they have the most experience and chemistry out of anyone on the team. They are Memphis James, Ryan Kronbach, and Cole Schlueter. The three have played with each other for years, and James was an all-conference honorable mention last year.
Last year’s squad had seven seniors on it: Cody Quast, Austin Westphal, Kaden Johnson, Eli Blaisdell, Marshall Schultz, Logan Stenger, and Christian Born. A majority of them were starters, while the others (especially Schultz) were fan favorites.
Another significant loss is Landon Dimler, who transferred to another school. He was first team all-conference while averaging 24.6 points, 10 rebounds, and 4.5 assists.
Strengths and weaknesses
Coach James is confident that a strength of this year’s squad will be offense.
“We do have a lot of players that are offensively skilled,” he said. “They have been practicing their shooting, ball handling, and finishing on plays.”
Varsity inexperience will be a significant weakness.
“We only have three returning players who competed at the varsity level last season,” said James. “So, some of the young guys will have to step into some big roles right away.”
Key to success
“How the young and inexperienced players adjust to the varsity level will determine how far this team goes this season,” James concludes. “It’s a big jump for them that I believe they are more than capable of making.”
James adds that another factor that will decide their success is the chemistry between the new players and the returning ones.
Favorites
James believes that conference and section favorites this season are Maple River (a team ending 2021-22 ranked No. 6 in Class AA) and defending Class A state champion Hayfield.
2022-23 JWP Boys’ Basketball
Dec. 8 at Nicollet 7:00
Dec. 9 at Bethlehem Acadeny 7:15
Dec. 13 at Lester Prairie 7:30
Dec. 16 Hayfield 7:15
Dec. 20 NRHEG 7:15
Dec. 22 at Waseca 7:30
Dec. 29 at TCU Inviataional TBA
Dec. 30 at TCU Inviataional TBA
Jan. 5 Blue Earth Area 7:15
Jan. 6 at United South Central 7:15
Jan. 10 WEM 7:15
Jan. 13 at Maple River 8:15
Jan. 17 at Medford 7:15
Jan. 20 at Blooming Prairie 7:15
Jan. 23 at Tri-City United, 7:15
Jan. 24 at NRHEG 7:15
Jan. 27 Kenyon-Wanamingo 7:15
Jan. 30 at Belle Plaine 7:15
Jan. 31 United South Central 7:15
Feb 3 at Triton 7:15
Feb. 7 at WEM 7:15
Feb. 10 Randolph 7:15
Feb. 17 Sibley East 7:15
Feb. 20 at Cleveland 7:15
Feb. 21 at Mankato Loyola 7:00
Feb. 24 Medford 7:15
Feb. 25 Conference championship, West Division at East Division champion
Feb. 27 at Madelia 7:15