GAYLORD ― Basketball season is here.
We’re two weeks removed from the first area games of the winter and Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston have all joined the fun of the regular season, each logging at least one game with many more to come in the coming months.
We may not know much about how these teams will finish when the season wraps up, but we have seen enough to know the players that could (and should) help the three area teams reach their overall goals. Now, it’s up to you to decide who the top player in the area is coming into the 2024-25 season.
Let us know who you think will be the top boys basketball player this season:
The top name coming into the winter season as the favorite to win the POY award, the reigning GHT Football POY winner was one of the best players for the Snowbirds last season and will be relied on in a similar way this season; the main source of offense as well as the top on-ball defender from his two-guard position.
There’s no way for head coach Zach Napont to replace a player like Luke Gelow, the program’s second-leading scorer and now a member of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. However, Cayden Keck will do his best to help fill the gap a bit as a similarly long, athletic scorer who provides something unique on offense and defense that many Northern Michigan teams will likely struggle to counter.
Averaged about 6 points per game last season but expect that number to increase this season.
The top returning rebounder from the 2023-24 squad, JoBurg senior Kyler Nowak gives the Cardinals a reliable presence down on the blocks on both ends of the floor. Shot 41% on 2-point field goals and averaged 6.81 rebounds per game.
McKinley took over as the Snowbirds QB this past fall and will be relied on in a similar role in his final high school basketball season as the team’s point guard.
If Gaylord wants to have success this season, the Blue Devils will need to be stout on defense and rebound the ball efficiently; both traits that senior Noah Vanderveer excels at. If GHS turns this season into a positive one, expect Vanderveer’s fingerprints to be all over this turnaround.
Junior Wyatt Konkle was the lone JoBurg player to score in double-figures in the Cards’ season opener, leading the team with 12 points in a loss to Roscommon. An all-conference offensive and defensive lineman this past fall, Konkle should be one of the top options in JoBurg’s offense this season.
Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
