Vikings Ready To Prove Themselves
November 22, 2016 at 6:07 p.m.
Vikings Ready To Prove Themselves
By Dale [email protected]
After those seniors, the rostered players get very young – just one junior, to go along with three sophomores and two freshmen.
“We’ve got two players that played a lot for us last year, they started for us, Alec Craig and Jarod Duzenbery,” said Hall of Fame coach Bill Patrick. “We expect those two kids to contribute a lot and probably be our go-to guys. Alec is going to have to handle the ball, and he seems to have recovered from an ankle injury he had.
“The other senior we have back with experience, Keith Wright, played well in several games last year, and he’s going to have to contribute a lot to the scoring.”
Others on the roster include seniors DeSean Heckman and Ivan Santiago; junior Dakota Parker; sophomores Alex Morrison, Cameron Parker and Wes Melanson; and freshmen Tanner Trippiedi and Jaydin Conley.
The Vikings were 11-14 overall last season and 4-5 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Craig led Valley in scoring with 13 points per game, all the while averaging nearly four assists and three rebounds.
Duzenbery was third in scoring at eight points per game, while Wright averaged just under three points per contest.
Among the top seven scorers for Valley last year, Neil Clampitt (12 ppg), Gavin Bussard (7 ppg), Brandon Webster (6 ppg) and Trevor Neeley (5 ppg) all graduated.
For the Vikings to be successful this season, some inexperienced varsity players are going to have to step up and play key roles.
Patrick said he will likely start seniors Craig, Duzenbery, Wright and Heckman, along with sophomore Morrison, when the Vikings open the season Wednesday at Class 4A No. 5 Warsaw.
The Tigers were 25-2 last year and lost by three points in the semistate.
Warsaw returns All-Star candidate Kyle Mangas.
With just two players on his roster listed as taller than 6-foot – those players being 6-2 Morrison and 6-3 Duzenbery – Patrick is worried about matching up with a Warsaw team whose guards will be as big or bigger than anyone on his squad.
“It’s a tough way to start the season,” said Patrick. “Warsaw is the toughest team on our schedule. I think they’re one of the best teams in the state of Indiana. They’re certainly a team that could win the state tournament this year.
“They’ve got plenty of height, and Mangas has a real good chance of making the All-Star team. He’s one of the best players in the state. Jeremy David is really outstanding for them. Asher Blum is gonna be awfully good for them. They’ve got a lot of height, depth, good shooters. It’s a really tough way for us to open the season.”
After Wednesday’s game at Warsaw, the Vikings host Argos on Tuesday and Knox on Dec. 2 before playing games at Culver Academy (Dec. 6) and John Glenn (Dec. 10).
Valley opens TRC play Dec. 13 at Peru.
“The conference is gonna be really tough,” said Patrick. “I think Whitko is gonna be right up there at the top. They’ve got guys who can score, they’ll be one of the highest-scoring teams in the conference. Nate Walpole is probably gonna average 25 or 30 points a game. They’ve got River West, and the big sophomore kid, Spencer Sroufe.
“Southwood has a lot of players back, they’re gonna be strong. Maconaquah has their two tough players back, the little guard and the big kid. Peru will be good. North Miami has everybody back. They don’t have a lot of size, but they’ve got quickness. It’s gonna be a really tough conference.”
The Vikings have won 13 TRC titles in Patrick’s 18 years with the program.
Patrick takes a 277-125 record into his 19th season at Valley.
In his 48th season overall, Patrick is 755-305.
He is the winningest active coach in state history and trails just Jack Butcher (806) and Pat Rady (761) on the all-time list.
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After those seniors, the rostered players get very young – just one junior, to go along with three sophomores and two freshmen.
“We’ve got two players that played a lot for us last year, they started for us, Alec Craig and Jarod Duzenbery,” said Hall of Fame coach Bill Patrick. “We expect those two kids to contribute a lot and probably be our go-to guys. Alec is going to have to handle the ball, and he seems to have recovered from an ankle injury he had.
“The other senior we have back with experience, Keith Wright, played well in several games last year, and he’s going to have to contribute a lot to the scoring.”
Others on the roster include seniors DeSean Heckman and Ivan Santiago; junior Dakota Parker; sophomores Alex Morrison, Cameron Parker and Wes Melanson; and freshmen Tanner Trippiedi and Jaydin Conley.
The Vikings were 11-14 overall last season and 4-5 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Craig led Valley in scoring with 13 points per game, all the while averaging nearly four assists and three rebounds.
Duzenbery was third in scoring at eight points per game, while Wright averaged just under three points per contest.
Among the top seven scorers for Valley last year, Neil Clampitt (12 ppg), Gavin Bussard (7 ppg), Brandon Webster (6 ppg) and Trevor Neeley (5 ppg) all graduated.
For the Vikings to be successful this season, some inexperienced varsity players are going to have to step up and play key roles.
Patrick said he will likely start seniors Craig, Duzenbery, Wright and Heckman, along with sophomore Morrison, when the Vikings open the season Wednesday at Class 4A No. 5 Warsaw.
The Tigers were 25-2 last year and lost by three points in the semistate.
Warsaw returns All-Star candidate Kyle Mangas.
With just two players on his roster listed as taller than 6-foot – those players being 6-2 Morrison and 6-3 Duzenbery – Patrick is worried about matching up with a Warsaw team whose guards will be as big or bigger than anyone on his squad.
“It’s a tough way to start the season,” said Patrick. “Warsaw is the toughest team on our schedule. I think they’re one of the best teams in the state of Indiana. They’re certainly a team that could win the state tournament this year.
“They’ve got plenty of height, and Mangas has a real good chance of making the All-Star team. He’s one of the best players in the state. Jeremy David is really outstanding for them. Asher Blum is gonna be awfully good for them. They’ve got a lot of height, depth, good shooters. It’s a really tough way for us to open the season.”
After Wednesday’s game at Warsaw, the Vikings host Argos on Tuesday and Knox on Dec. 2 before playing games at Culver Academy (Dec. 6) and John Glenn (Dec. 10).
Valley opens TRC play Dec. 13 at Peru.
“The conference is gonna be really tough,” said Patrick. “I think Whitko is gonna be right up there at the top. They’ve got guys who can score, they’ll be one of the highest-scoring teams in the conference. Nate Walpole is probably gonna average 25 or 30 points a game. They’ve got River West, and the big sophomore kid, Spencer Sroufe.
“Southwood has a lot of players back, they’re gonna be strong. Maconaquah has their two tough players back, the little guard and the big kid. Peru will be good. North Miami has everybody back. They don’t have a lot of size, but they’ve got quickness. It’s gonna be a really tough conference.”
The Vikings have won 13 TRC titles in Patrick’s 18 years with the program.
Patrick takes a 277-125 record into his 19th season at Valley.
In his 48th season overall, Patrick is 755-305.
He is the winningest active coach in state history and trails just Jack Butcher (806) and Pat Rady (761) on the all-time list.
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