By Becky Walz,
Members of the Turkey Valley varsity boys’ basketball team for the 2022-23 season include (front, l-r) Aidan Holthaus, Ethan Orvis, Calen Franzen, Jonah Orvis, Logan Busta; (back) Caleb Kurtenbach, Oliver Schmitt, Braylen Byrne, JD Kruse, Russell Nieman. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)
It will be a relatively inexperienced squad taking the court for the Turkey Valley boys basketball team this winter.
With just three players back who saw action a year ago on varsity, it will be a work in progress this year for the Trojans.
Leading the charge is head coach John Izer who has been with the team for three years and has a 24-18 record. Assisting him will be Levi Izer, Steve Busta and Adam Hanson.
A look back
With four seniors and five letter returning letter winners, the Trojans featured a small but talented line-up in 2022-23.
It was a matter of putting it all together during the regular season. The Trojans had some ups and downs, finishing the conference portion of the slate with an 11-5 mark and 14-9 overall.
In the first round of the postseason, the Trojans narrowly survived East Buchanan 48-45. That placed the Trojans into the district semifinals against Maquoketa Valley. It all came down to the final period as Turkey Valley concluded its season with a 47-42 loss.
Three Trojans were named all-conference with Noah Busta earning a second team nod, while Calvin Bodensteiner and Oliver Schmitt were honorable mention selections.
Following the conclusion of the season, the Trojans graduated four seniors. Hanson led the squad in assists with 91, steals with 62 and rebounds with 144. He was third in scoring with 204 points for the season with a top field goal percentage of 47.2 percent. Bodensteiner was second in rebounds with 85 defensive and 47 offensive (132 total) to go with 197 points for the season, 42 steals and 12 blocked shots. Busta contributed 123 points, 34 assists, 43 total boards and 24 steals. Chase Hayek provided 69 points during his senior campaign to go with 105 rebounds (63 defensive, 42 offensive), 21 assists, 12 steals and four blocks.
Young and upcoming
The Trojans return three players with a letter, among them is Schmitt who led the Trojans in scoring a season ago with 244 points. In addition, he provided 93 total rebounds (59 defensive, 34 offensive), 49 steals and 39 assists.
Caleb Kurtenbach, another senior, returns as the second leading scorer. He drained 206 points last season including 32 three-point shots. Kurtenbach also finished the 2022-23 season with 54 defensive and 16 offensive rebounds, along with 38 steals and 34 assists.
Back for his senior campaign is Russell Nieman who provided 51 points last year, along with 49 total boards, 21 steals and 11 assists.
Also suiting up for the Trojans this season will be seniors Braylen Byrne, Aidan Holthaus; juniors Ethan Orvis, Jonah Orvis, Calen Franzen; and sophomores Logan Busta and JD Kruse.
“This will be an interesting year for us, having lost four seniors who played a lot of minutes for the last three, even four years in all sports. With Oliver, Caleb and Russell logging minutes last year, I like the core there,” said Coach J. Izer. “Braylen Bryne, Logan Busta, JD Kruse and Aiden Holthaus will all need to step up.”
With a small core with experience, depth is Coach J. Izer’s biggest concern as he hopes the good numbers in the sophomore and freshman class will see some step up and contribute as well.
Look ahead
In spite of low varsity numbers, Coach J. Izer believes his Trojans will be able to compete for a top-three spot in the Upper Iowa Conference with North Fayette Valley, MFL MarMac and South Winn also possibly at the top of the league.
The Trojans open their 2023-24 campaign at home Monday, Nov. 27, against New Hampton at 7:30 p.m.
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