Boys’ basketball notebook: Pieces are there for Decorah, now it’s about getting them playing time together

CEDAR RAPIDS - There seems to be a ton of talent on this Decorah boys’ basketball team. It’s just that it hasn’t all played together a lot.

The Vikings improved to 5-0 Tuesday night with a 95-35 win over Crestwood. Coach Jonathan Carlson said he was going to check the game tape closely, but his team approached the school record for assists in the blowout.

He said that number was 27. A first check of the scorebook had Decorah with 26 of them here.

“It’s been a good start to the season,” Carlson said. “Still think we have pieces that are improving, getting better. Hopefully we’ll continue to get better over time.”

That seems highly likely considering everything.

A group of seniors includes all-state wing player Ben Bockman. Another is point guard Trey McCain, who started as a freshman but missed all of last season after tearing an ACL in his knee.

Guard Zach Driscoll transferred in from MFL MarMac, where he was an all-state guy in Class 2A. Decorah is a 3A school.

Sophomore Cael LaFrentz is an emerging 6-foot-11 center who is in his first season on the varsity. The son of former NBA player Raef LaFrentz is averaging a double-double early.

That goes back to the talent thing. And back to the thing about how this particular group of talent hasn’t played much together, yet.

To help with that, Decorah attended team camps over the summer at North Dakota State, South Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth. But team camps aren’t the same as regular-season games.

“I think it’s a situation where we are going to continue to get better. Like any team, right?” said Carlson, who led Decorah to the state tournament two years ago. “But with us having guys who haven’t played together ... Our senior group has played a lot together, though, and that’s kind of our core. They’ve been great.”

Bockman averaged 22.4 points per game last season and is at 21.0 so far this season. Carlson calls him a very efficient player from an offensive standpoint.

His cousin, Matthew, is an important piece to this puzzle as a guard. As are fellow senior Kaiden Quandahl and Andrew Rhodes.

“As a team, I don’t think we’ve probably hit our full potential so far,” Ben Bockman said. “I think we’ve played good games, but I don’t think we’ve played a full 32 minutes. Against Crestwood, we finally hit our shots and played very efficient. But I don’t think we’ve played a full 32, yet, and I’m excited to see how that looks for our team.”

Carlson said McCain is pushing through any lingering effects of his knee injury, and Driscoll is adjusting to a consistent higher level of competition. LaFrentz is skinny and getting used to the physical nature of the varsity game.

“We have our core group, our senior group that played together,” Ben Bockman said. “But obviously having Trey back, adding Zach and Cael helps a lot. I just think a few games, and then we should able to figure out our roles and go from there.”

Decorah also has wins this season over Western Dubuque, Dubuque Wahlert, Center Point-Urbana and Charles City. A game right before Christmas against a good 2A Hudson awaits, as does a game against rival Waverly-Shell Rock right after the holiday break.

“The biggest thing is to enjoy each moment to compete. That’s kind of what we talk about,” Carlson said. Don’t take anything for granted. Just compete everyday, whether it’s a game or practice. You’ve got to focus on that.

“The other stuff ... This team has big aspirations, but if you just focus on and worry about today, that’s all you can do.”

AROUND THE HOOP

– Lansing Kee has come up with multiple important wins in the Upper Iowa Conference so far. The Hawks beat a resurgent Postville team Tuesday night, 55-33, pairing it with a 55-51 win last Friday night over North Fayette Valley.

Kee earlier beat MFL/Mar-Mac, 59-57. It appears all the teams mentioned here are legitimate UIC championship contenders.

Kee is 6-0 overall.

– Keota has a huge game Friday night at Lynnville-Sully in a matchup of perhaps the top two teams in the South Iowa Cedar League. The Eagles go in 7-0 overall, with its closest win being by 25 points.

Lynnville-Sully is 6-0.

– Individual high games in the state this early season include Postville’s Brody Bohr with 22 rebounds and MFL/Mar-Mac’s Parker Kuehl with 13 steals.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com