On paper, the Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team returns some of the key players from last year’s squad that posted a 16-8 record and qualified for the Class 4A state tournament.
Centennial coach Bob Fontana knows, however, that another successful season is not guaranteed.
“We do have a nucleus to build around and having experience can be beneficial,” said Fontana. “But, as I told our team and their parents at our preseason meeting, ‘One year older doesn’t always mean one year better.’ I’ve experienced this working both ways over the years, where a group was in the state tournament the year before and came back hungry and won 22 games and they were in the state tournament again. And, unfortunately, I had a group that was part of four consecutive conference championships and came back their senior year and didn’t make it past the substate semifinal because all season they were inconsistent in their approach.
“I think our group this year understands what is in front of them, and you can’t take any nights off,” he added.
The Jaguars boast a trio of returning starters in senior forward Chase Schutty and senior guards Nick Vaske and Luke Winkel. All three players earned all-league honors after helping Centennial to a 9-7 mark in the CIML Conference a year ago.
Winkel enjoyed a breakout season as a junior, when he averaged a team-high 16.8 points, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 47.3 percent from the field, 32.2 percent from 3-point range and 78.9 percent at the free-throw line.
Winkel scored in double figures in 21 of the 24 games. He scored a career-high 31 points in a victory at Cedar Rapids Prairie, then matched that total in a win at Southeast Polk.
Winkel was named to the Class 4A all-state first team by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association. He was a unanimous pick to the CIML Conference first team and was also selected to the all-substate team in Substate 2.
Winkel, who led Centennial to the second state tournament berth in school history, recently committed to St. Cloud State.
“I think Luke is glad he made his decision, and I think he handled everything in a mature fashion,” said Fontana, who was the Substate 2 Coach of the Year. “As for this season, he understands you have to take one day at a time and he will do his best to continuously improve himself and also help our team to improve as the season moves along.”
Vaske averaged 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds a year ago. He was a third-team all-conference pick.
Vaske was a defensive menace for the Jaguars in the postseason. He held Iowa City West’s Jack McCaffery to a season-low three points in a substate semifinal, then limited Cedar Falls all-stater Dallas Bear to just seven points–13 below his average–in the substate final.
The 6-foot-5 Schutty, meanwhile, will again provide an inside presence. He averaged 5.0 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds last season.
Schutty, who also led the squad with 21 blocks, received all-conference honorable mention. He is now focusing on basketball after helping Centennial’s football team to the Class 5A semifinals earlier this month.
“The practices have been efficient and productive so far,” Fontana said. “Our four football/basketball guys just started practice on (Nov. 16).”
Senior guard Connor Welsch is one of those four players coming off the football season. He played in all 24 games for the Jaguars a year ago, averaging 2.5 points off the bench.
Seniors Drake Dittmar, Harrison Jensen, Kael Jones, Joey Oakie and Isaac Runchey could all have expanded roles this season. They each played in at least six games as juniors.
Evan Abbott, a 6-4 freshman, could also make an impact.
“(Abbott) could play with the sophomore or varsity team, or both,” Fontana said. “We want him to get quality playing time for the sake of his development and for the development of our team moving forward.”
The Jaguars will open their season on Tuesday with a conference game at Urbandale.
“There are several keys for our team to be successful this season: Everyone understanding their role, staying healthy, defending like we need to, rebounding and taking care of the ball,” Fontana said.
