By Chris Parker
Lockwood boys basketball has won at least 17 games in five straight seasons. The Tigers were 18-9 last year and came up just short in district losing in overtime to eventual final four participant Dadeville.
“Winning a district is difficult,” Lockwood head coach Ethan Baker said. “We were in a position to get it done last year and fell just short. This is a new team and will face new challenges. All we can do is work our tails off and try to focus on the small details. If we do that, by the end of the year we will hopefully have ourselves in a position to have another chance at a district championship.”
Honorable mention all-conference selection Nik Thieman returns for his senior season. He averaged 13.5 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals per game last season.
“Nik is a tremendous athlete. I would describe his play style as physical and a bit unorthodox,” Baker said. “He is very competitive and coachable. I have high expectations for Nik going into this year. He was our third-leading scorer as a sophomore and our leading scorer as a junior. I expect him to be a threat to get double digit points and rebounds on a nightly basis. Nik would traditionally be considered a forward. We will post him up on offense at times but will also look for him to be a slasher depending on the matchup.”
Sophomore guards Sean Contreras and Landry Ogden also return.
“Sean started every game for us last year as a freshman and averaged 8.2 PPG. He is very explosive with his speed and agility and was our leading three-point shooter a season ago,” Baker said. “Landry came off the bench last season for us and averaged 5.5 PPG. Landry has improved his ball handling ability since last season and was our second-leading three-point shooter a season ago.”
Reed Parker (senior center) will be an anchor on defense and a force on the glass. Kolton Kleeman (senior forward) and Finley Masterson (senior guard) both are coming out after not playing for a few years. Koen Lillienkamp (sophomore center) will compete for minutes.
Braxton Garver was a sophomore who was expected to have an impact but a football injury will keep him out this season.
Lockwood opens the season Dec. 2-7 at its home tournament the Dennis Cornish Classic.
“I have always felt that Lockwood has a great tradition for all of its athletic/activity programs,” Baker said. “To me, that is our biggest strength. Our kids typically come in with an understanding of what our expectations are for each day.”
