First Look - Boys Basketball Gateway North Conference preview 10/19/2019

It has been awhile since I took a look at a conference returnees and I am nearing the end, as we get ready for basketball tryouts in a couple of weeks.

Here's a look at Gateway North which consists of St. Charles, St. Charles West, Orchard Farm, Warrenton and Winfield.  Last year, St. Charles West was top dog, led by Trent Champagne, with a nice supporting cast including massive "Big John" Wilson.  Wilson, a 6'5" 310 offensive guard on the Warriors football team, is a dominating force on the inside.  Based on returnees and returnee scoring, it looks like the Gateway North will have a down year.

Here's summary of the conference teams.  I have a short summary of all teams below the table:

Gateway North 2018-2019 Record # % % Avg 2019 Avg 2020
2018-19 Rating Wins Losses  Returnees Return Scoring Hgt(") Hgt(")
St. Charles West 106 20 9 16 67% 26% 73.10 73.00
St. Charles 101 16 11 11 65% 26% 72.25 71.6
Orchard Farm 88 15 11 3 23% 23%
Warrenton 88 17 12 7 58% 44%
Winfield 82 18 12 11 79% 53% 71.40 71.20


St. Charles West

Returnees:
John Wilson, Brendan Sportsman
Graduations:
Trent Champagne, John Anderson, Clark Henderson (74% of scoring)
Outlook:
Prep Hoops #69 2021 player John Wilson will have to become a dominant inside scorer for the Warriors to maintain their #1 spot in the conference and come close to their 20 win season of last year.  West gave a lot of players of taste of varsity basketball but the strong leadership of Trent Champagne will require quite a few players to step up to fill his nearly 20 points per game contribution.  Wilson can be the leader, others will need to plug the offensive gap.  16 wins and a 102 rating might be a great season.


St. Charles

Returnees:
Sam Adams, Charlie Meyer, Magnus Kloepper
Graduations:
Braden Wiggs, Cameron Tesson, Courtney Anderson (74% of scoring)
Outlook:
Prep Hoops #169 rated Sam Adams leads the Pirates, as they try, just like St. Charles West, to replace nearly three quarters of the scoring.  Kloepper has the size to give the Pirates a good inside presense, and Adams and Meyer will need to stretch to become the outside presence on a team that might be lucky to win 14 games and stay above a 100 power rating.


Orchard Farm

Returnees:
Jamie Calmese, Bryan Wolfe
Graduations:
Devin Lindhoff, Kyle Engle, Connor Jones, Blake Weber (77% of scoring)
Outlook:
Orchard Farm lost about as much talent and scoring as any high school team in the area.  Calmese and Wolfe will have huge shoes to fill if they hope to win 10 games.  A team rating in the low 80's is probable which might not keep them out of the league cellar with the improvement of both Warrenton and Winfield.


Warrenton

Returnees:
Sam Toengens, Travis Toebben
Graduations:
Jake Tonioli, Blayne Prenger, CJ Schwerdt (56% of scoring)
Outlook:
Toengens and Toebben.  The two T's will have to step up to replace a 500 point scorer like Jake Tonioli.  Look for the Warriors (do you need to be nicknamed the Warriors to be in this conference?) to move ahead of Orchard Farm in the standings with a 90+ power rating.  15 wins will be a good season.


Winfield

Returnees:
Bryant Reeves, Charlie Rhoades, Chasen Neuman
Graduations:
Ian Pruitt, Brendan Wilson, Collin Sutton (47% of scoring)
Outlook:
Winfield has the best returnees outlook of the entire league, with 80% of the team and 53% of the scoring coming back.  The Warriors will be led by sparkplug Bryant Reeves and a cast of characters.  What the team lacks in height will need to be made up with defensive tenacity and hustle on the offensive end.  Winfield might not improve on their 18 win season of last year but they will compete better in their conference with a low 90 power rating.

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