Okawville leads three area teams in Class 1A Top 10 rankings

Okawville’s 53-38 super-sectional loss to Brimfield wasn’t any easier to take after Brimfield went on to win the Class 1A state basketball tournament.

“They were obviously very good,” said Okawville coach Jon Kraus,whose team returns four starters from a team that finished 25-10 led by 6-foot-4 junior Division I recruit Noah Frederking. “I just didn’t feel like when we left the gym that night we had played our best game. If you do and get beat, that’s the way it goes.

“We just struggled early in the game and our youth last year ... being in that situation for the first time was different because we were still pretty young. Hopefully if we get back to a similar situation like that we’ll handle it a little bit better.”

With a player like Frederking in the lineup and loads of experience returning, a second straight super-sectional appearance is a definite possibility. The Rockets, who won their first two games, opened the season ranked second in the state in Class 1A.

A big reason why is Frederking, who plays with the elite St. Louis Eagles AAU team during the summer. He averaged 22 points through two games, moving his career total through barely over two seasons to 1,314 points.

Frederking averaged 22 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore with 57 3-pointers — and Kraus said Frederking is vastly improved.

“He’s a much more consistent shooter, from beyond the arc and everywhere,” Kraus said. “He’s a lot stronger and thicker, a lot more athletic. His overall game has improved a lot. This summer already I could tell he was more athletic and had filled into his body a lot more.”

Okawville’s only graduated starter was Nick Strubhart, whose post presence will be missed.

“We’ve got some depth, probably a little bit more than last season, and one more year of experience that we think will help us a little bit,” Kraus said. “I’m not afraid to put any of the 12 guys we practice with into a game.”

Among the returning starters are senior point guard Alec Wisneski (6.9 points, 3.1 assists last season), 6-3 junior Shane Ganz (9.5 ppg, 31 3-pointers) and 6-foot-senior Brad Fuhrhop (5.8 ppg).

Fuhrhop averaged 10.5 points in the Rockets’ first two wins and had 16 points in the opener. Ganz had 18 points in the first half against Carlyle and is the type of 3-point threat, along with senior Mason Drury, that should keep defenses from collapsing all their attention on Frederking.

Five of the Rockets’ top six players, including senior starter Brendon Killion, were integral part of the baseball team that finished second at the Class 1A state tournament last spring.

Others figuring to help include 6-5 Kirklen Meier and sophomore Caleb Frederking.

“I like this team,” Kraus said. “They play really hard. Anybody on any given night can score 15 points.”

Okawville (second), Gibault (sixth) and Metro-East Lutheran (eighth) were all in the first 1A Top state rankings this week and Madison received votes.

“You’re talking about three teams probably of the top 10 teams in the state right here in this area,” Kraus said.

NASHVILLE HORNETS

Nashville lost four starters from a 26-4 squad that lost 60-40 to Mater Dei in the regional championship.

Those losses hurt, but an impressive 2-0 start and plenty of returning height and experience led by 6-7 senior Royce Newman (14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds per game) shows the Hornets — ranked third in the 2A state poll — have plenty of promise. They hammered a solid Wesclin squad 63-28 Tuesday at the Lebanon-Wesclin Thanksgiving Tournament and will take on Columbia in the championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday.

“Our defense was playing really good and on offense we were moving it,” Newman said of the Wesclin win. “We got open lanes and took advantage of it and scored.”

Newman gave his original verbal commitment to play offensive line at the University of Missouri, but now has additional offers from Nebraska, Ole Miss, Illinois and Penn State, among others.

Nashville has two experienced guards returning in Brady Bultman and Hayden Heggemeier and 6-6 junior Brogan Kemp is healthy again, giving Newman some additional height and muscle inside. Senior Jaris Dalman and junior Ryan Brink will also be key contributors along with Riley Edwards.

Newman, Dalman and several others were on Nashville’s football team that reached the 2A semifinals, so still are playing their way back into basketball shape. Nashville’s 1-2-2 zone defense is a deadly weapon against faster opponents.

“We’re not nearly as big as we were a year ago, we don’t have 6-7 on the point,” said Nashville coach Brad Weathers, whose team lost four starters and six seniors overall. “I think think we’re a little more versatile defensively (but) we can play some man (defense) if we have to, obviously.

“It’s nice to know we can go back and forth and use that.”

GIBAULT

The Hawks (20-10 last season) are back in 1A for the playoffs this season and that could be a good things given the amount of potential on their roster.

It starts with 6-3 junior Trevor Davis (13.8 ppg), 6-5 senior Brian Deterding (14.2 ppg) and senior guard Jacob Rueter (10.8 ppg). Davis has exploded out of the gates during the Hawks’ 4-1 start, averaging 18 points and 9.4 rebounds while Deterding was right there with him, averaging 15.4 points and 10.2 rebounds.

The Hawks also will rely on 6-5 junior Colin Kessler, averaging 8.2 points through five games and have an intriguing freshman in Karson Huels. Junior Garrett Rueter also is in the mix along with senior Logan Kesler.

WESCLIN

The continued development of 6-7 senior Jake Stephens, senior point guard Jarad Steenbergen and the scoring of Jared Timmermann and Darrell Combs should give coach Brent Brede a fairly good idea of what lies ahead for the Wesclin Warriors.

Steenbergen was scoreless Tuesday against Nashville after erupting for 16 points in the season opener. He was Wesclin’s second-leading scorer last season at 11.2 ppg with 78 3-pointers.

Stephens looks smoother and more polished inside as he continues to develop his game. The Warriors may get additional scoring help down the road from highly touted freshman Nate Brede after he came off the bench to score six quick points against Nashville on Tuesday.

Nate Brede’s father, Brent Brede, was an all-state player at Wesclin who helped lead the Warriors to the 1990 Class A state championship.

METRO-EAST LUTHERAN

An impressive 4-0 start by Metro-East Lutheran included one-point wins over Gibault and Southwestern and winning the championship at their own Thanksgiving tournament last week.

The Knights are coming off an 18-10 season that saw them win a regional title before losing 61-52 to Carrollton at the 1A Okawville Sectional.

Senior guard Teddy Fifer averaged just under 18 points a year ago and should be one of the region’s top small-school scorers again this season. The 6-1 guard averaged 18.3 points through four games this season, teaming up with productive 6-5 forward Jason Johnson (9.8 ppg), Kenrique Brown (8.5 ppg), Braden Woolsey (7.8 ppg), Noah Coddington, Grant Niemeier and Edwardsville transfer Anthony Spiller.

MADISON

When Madison coach Jaime Cotto says his team is young, he’s not lying. There are as many as four freshmen in the lineup at one time and the top returning players are senior Jerry Haynes (8 points, 8 rebounds per game), senior Shamond Moore (5 ppg, 20 3-pointers) and Maulik Allen (6 points, 6 rebounds per game).

The Trojans (1-2) turned heads with an early win over Pleasant Plains and have numerous players on the roster from an eighth grade class that finished 21-0 and won the IESA junior high state title.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Okawville leads three area teams in Class 1A Top 10 rankings."