West Delaware boys need to ‘grow up fast’

MANCHESTER - The West Delaware boys' basketball team is young, so young it has to 'grow up fast.”

That's what sophomore Kyle Kelley thinks after the Hawks started the season with a 7-1 record. Ranked fourth in Class 3A by The Gazette, West Delaware returns from break to play Solon (2-5) tonight. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

'Our main goal is to approach each practice as an opportunity to get better,” Coach Matt Uthoff said.

The boys opened the season with a 48-46 win over Western Dubuque at home. The Hawks also beat Independence, 53-41; Benton Community, 77-66; Center Point-Urbana, 36-29; Dyersville Beckman, 55-42; and South Tama, 66-32. Following that six-game winning streak, the Hawks lost a tough battle against Maquoketa, 40-35.

On Dec. 21, the Hawks closed the pre-Christmas slate with a 70-62 win over Marion at home.

Uthoff said one of the team's challenges is to keep their spacing and offensive flow.

'The guys know with Derek (Krogmann) commanding so much attention, they need to be active, move, screen, and ultimately be ready to knock down the open shot,” Uthoff said.

The team has high goals for the season.

'We hope to win the Wamac title and make it back to state,” said Krogmann, a senior who leads the team by averaging 21.1 points per game.

Kelley is second at 14.6 points per game.

'We hope to win as many games as possible,” Kelley said.