Still youthful, but West Delaware making major gains

Matt Uthoff knows what others have been saying about his West Delaware boys' basketball team. He kind of had the same feeling.

'That we're a year away from being really special,' he said.

That time frame might need a bit of adjusting. West Delaware goes into its game Friday night at DeWitt Central with a 3-0 record, including wins over traditional power Dyersville Beckman and a Benton Community team that is expected to challenge for the Wamac Conference's West Division championship.

Uthoff had two freshmen in his starting lineup when he came to Manchester two years ago. John Nagel and Ryan Trainer are juniors now and the nucleus of this club.

Nagel is 6-foot-6 and off to a strong offensive start, averaging 16.7 points.

'John is nowhere near the player he was as a freshman,' Uthoff said, which was meant as a compliment. 'He was strictly a back-to-the-basket post player, but now he is skilled. He can drive ... He has worked hard at becoming an athlete.'

Trainer is WD's point guard, another kid whose game has grown by leaps and bounds.

'Being a point guard is hard to do as a freshman,' Uthoff said. 'Ryan just feels like this is his team now. He does a great job of directing our offense.'

Junior Kyle Wright and sophomore Tyler Kelley are starting wings for the Hawks. Troy Monoghan is the lone senior starter and splits minutes with Derek Krogmann at power forward.

Monoghan is a promising 6-6 freshman. Uthoff said one of his early concerns is developing a deeper bench.

West Delaware finished 6-16 two seasons ago and 11-11 last season. They are in a brutal Wamac East, where there doesn't seem to be any weak teams.

A winning record would continue this upward trend. But you get the feeling there is more than a winning record to be had.

'We have been very solid defensively so far,' Uthoff said. 'We've got pretty good length, and that gives opponents problems.

'We still play very young at times, but the kids have done a very good job. We've had success in football, we've had success in baseball, we've had success in wrestling. I think our kids just expect to have success in basketball, too.'

DOUBLE DRIBBLES

— Iowa City West lost to the top-ranked Class 4A team in Minnesota last weekend at the Tip Off Classic at Hopkins, Minn. The Trojans dropped a 72-64 decision to Apple Valley, which features guards Tre Jones and Gary Trent Jr., who have offers from schools like Duke, Kansas, Arizona and Kentucky. Trent had 25 points and Jones 23, though West's Connor McCaffery led everyone in scoring with 28 points.

— Lansing Kee guard Daniel Brennan poured in 41 points (best in the state thus far) last week in his team's 63-52 double-overtime win over Elkader Central. Brennan made 19 of 24 free throws in the game. Kee's next-highest scorer was Logan Flack, with six.

— Belle Plaine wing Brant DeMeulenaere hit seven 3-pointers in his team's 69-61 win last week over North Tama. DeMeulenaere finished with 34 points.

— Jake Hilmer is just a freshman, believe it or not. The North Linn guard had 14 assists in his team's 85-50 win last week over Ed-Co. Hilmer also is averaging 17.3 points in NL's first three games. His dad, Mike, is co-head coach of the Lynx. The other co-coach is Bob Hilmer, Mike's father and the state leader in career victories (792 in 50 years).

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com