It's not just football at Springville

SPRINGVILLE - You are familiar with their work in football. You should get familiar with them in basketball, too.The Springville Orioles might already have forced you to know them. They enter the Class 1A postseason with a 19-1 record and No. 10 ranking by The Gazette/Iowa Prep Sports.They bagged their first Tri-Rivers Conference championship in 26 years, going unbeaten in the West Division. It's not at all unrealistic to see them qualifying for the state tournament for the first time since 1975.Springville hosts Central City (8-13) in a district quarterfinal Thursday night at 8 p.m., the back half of a double-header that includes Lisbon and Calamus-Wheatland."It's been very helpful that we returned quite a few of our guys from last year," said Coach Nick Merritt. "These kids are very good friends off the court, and that helps with the chemistry. Our assists are up this year, our scoring is up, our shooting percentages are up. That's because we've gotten better shots."Merritt is a busy dude right now. Not only is he head coach, but he's the school's principal and athletics director."I've got a great family," he said. "A very forgiving family who loves basketball and comes to all the games."Springville had one of the state's best 8-Player football teams this past fall, losing in the playoffs to eventual champion Don Bosco. A lot of football guys also are basketball guys, so success has translated in this case.Going back to the "familiar" theme, the Orioles' best player is Elias Nissen. The 6-foot-6 senior center averages 21.6 points and 12.8 rebounds.He had a great football season as a virtually unstoppable running back and has signed with the University of Northern Iowa."When he was a freshman and sophomore, I'd say he was more geared up toward playing basketball in college. He was projected to be taller than he is, but that never happened. So he started shifting more toward the football part of it because there were just more opportunities there."He's one heck of a basketball player. He put in a lot of time with it in the offseason, has played AAU ball, participated in our team camps during the summer. He's very diverse, not just a back-to-the-basket guy. He can range out and shoot the 17 or 18-footer."This team is not just Nissen. Junior Greg Pauly is second in scoring (11.9) and rebounding as a guard. Senior guard Peter Brooks (grandson of legendary local broadcaster Bob Brooks) also averages double figures in points (10.3).The only loss came right after the holiday break to Easton Valley, which also is in Springville's district. Perennial powers Iowa Mennonite and Danville are in the same substate."We know Thursday could be our last game if we don't play well," Merritt said. "It's been a long time since we've been in this position, so we're not taking anything for granted."