Speed and athleticism will be keys to success for MFL MarMac
Members of the MFL MarMac boys basketball team are (seated) Parker Kuehl, Sawyer Keehner; (middle) assistant coach Cory Donlon, Zach Driscoll, Bryce Diehl, Carver Blietz-Bentien, Sam Frailey, Wyatt Powell, Brock Hackett, assistant coach Mychal Moon; (back) assistant coach Mark Kautman, manager Josh Reichard, Hunter Meyer, Chauncy Drahn, Kaden Stocker, manager Hunter Kugel, Cullen McShane, Caleb Mezera, Mason Kishman, assistant coach Brandon Burke and head coach Eric Dettbarn. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
Speed and athleticism will be the keys to success for the MFL MarMac boys basketball team this season.
“We want to play a fast paced ballgame. We’re going to be able to get up and down the floor, both offensively and defensively,” said head coach Eric Dettbarn. “We should be a good ball handling team and we should be able to shoot it pretty well. We’ll create turnovers with our speed.”
“We’re going to pressure you on defense and run on offense,” he concluded, “and I think we’ve got a bunch of athletes who can do that.”
The team will be led by talented sophomores Wyatt Powell and Carver Blietz-Bentien, both returning starters who gained valuable varsity experience a year ago. Powell, a point guard, was the Bulldogs’ top scorer and led the team in assists and three-point percentage. At forward, Blietz-Bentien was MFL MarMac’s best rebounder.
“The biggest thing is the experience they got last year on the floor. The speed of the game at the varsity level is so much faster than at any other level, and I threw them into the fire right away. They went through the battles,” Dettbarn said. “That experience is really going to help them, and then the time they spent in the offseason, either playing AAU basketball or in the weight room, is going to help them make tremendous gains.”
Seniors Kaden Stocker and Chauncy Drahn will join Powell and Blietz-Bentien as starters. Stocker, who saw a lot of playing time off the bench last year, will be at forward, while Drahn will be in the middle. Zach Driscoll, a freshman, will round out the lineup at guard.
“He’s ready for that,” said Dettbarn of Driscoll. “He’s played a lot of AAU. He’s a ball player.”
Also seeing playing time will be senior Cullen McShane as well as freshmen Parker Kuehl and Brock Hackett, sophomore Mason Kishman and junior Sam Frailey. Dettbarn said another junior, Hunter Meyer, can also be a key contributor once recovered from a football injury.
Dettbarn said his biggest concern is his team’s size.
“We’re not real big—so rebounding,” he stressed.
The Bulldogs are also young.
“We’re going to go through some growing pains, but I think we have some talent where we can be successful,” he said. “I’ve got some good kids coming back and some good kids to mix in with them.”
In the Upper Iowa Conference, Dettbarn puts Clayton Ridge, Kee, Turkey Valley and South Winn among the top contenders.
“There are quite a few teams who bring back a lot of experience, and it will be tough,” he said.
He hopes MFL MarMac will be right in the mix.
“I don’t care what year it is, you always want to win conference. You want that to be your goal,” Dettbarn remarked. “My personal goal: I want us to be the best team we can be by the end of the year.”
MFL MarMac started its season Nov. 29, at Waukon, then hosted Turkey Valley on Nov. 30.
