Princeton twist, SWCC men open with Statesman
By KYLE WILSON
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kwilson@crestonnews.com
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Last year, Southwestern head men’s basketball coach Mike Holmes and company posted the best record in 10 years at 17-14. They placed fifth in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference. Again, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished in a decade.
From that team, Southwestern graduate Australian Kristian Williams was named player of the year by the college. But they return the same style of play, and the same types of players.
The Spartans run a Princeton style of offense with a slight twist, Holmes said. A continuously moving offense centered on unselfish play and team basketball.
“There is no way to exist if we don’t (believe in team),” said Holmes in his second year at SWCC and 21st overall. “We are as anti-individual performance as there is. The reality is, we are one of the smallest Iowa colleges. We won’t have the revenue some other colleges have. You only have to look at warm ups and realize we don’t have the body sizes other schools have. That’s the reason for our style of play.”
Center Trent Fisher returns in the middle for Southwestern. The Johnston graduate can dribble and pass well for a center and was in the top three in team scoring last year for Holmes. Keenan Lindsey, a 6-foot guard from Lewis Central High School, brings physical toughness to floor, Holmes said.
Chad Boston returns with floor experience aplenty, has the ability to finish around the basket and plays much bigger than he is on the defensive end, Holmes noted.
Other sophomores include John Van Meer from Saydel and Mike Ridnour from Clarinda.
The sophomores had their first chance to mold with the incoming freshman against William Penn JV Tuesday, defeating the Statesman 83-74 to improve to 1-0 overall.
Boston led the Spartans with 27 points and Lindsay chipped in 11 points. Freshman B.J. Bonamy from Nasau, Bahamas reached double figures with 10 points. Another freshman from Ankeny, Nate Nygren, scored 13 points.
“Our first half we came out just like we wanted, but we set the tone for a bad second half with a bad shot, bad pass and an open shooter that let William Penn think they could get back into it,” Holmes said.
The Spartans, like past years, will play against national competition in the ICCAC, with Iowa Lakes ranked No. 1 overall in the preseason. Meanwhile, Kirkwood and DMACC are included in the top 15.
“We saw all of them all in the jamboree,” Holmes said. “Everybody is very, very good (in the conference). If you look at NJCAA polls right off the bat, Iowa Lakes is No. 1, Kirkwood and DMACC is in the top 15. We are going to try to bust in the top four but it will be tough.”
The Spartans continue play Saturday, hosting North Central Missouri at 4 p.m.
