After making it to the IHSAA state tournament last year, the stakes are high for the Pleasant Valley boys basketball team this 2023-2024 season. With this in mind, the team is actively devising their game plan.
There are several pieces that must come together to make a team dynamic work. PV boys basketball is committed to puzzling those pieces together.
Nearly the entire starting lineup will be returning this year, only losing one senior, Connor Borbeck. Though they lost a crucial part of the team, the players are optimistic about their odds. “I feel even more confident than this time last year because we are returning so many players,” senior Caden Rubel said.
With so many returning players, others are confident in PV’s abilities as well. The team is projected to be ranked second in the MAC according to a coaches poll, voted on by every boys coach in the MAC.
This poll occurred on Nov. 3 at the annual Iowa Boys MAC Luncheon, hosted for coaches and players around the area. Four boys from PV’s starting lineup were chosen to attend with assistant coach Brett Ahlgren. There, coaches from each team expressed what should be expected from them, providing valuable insight for the PV boys to consider.
The poll also reported that North Scott is projected to be first in the MAC and Bettendorf is projected to be third.
With rivals Bettendorf and North Scott in such tight standings with PV, the boys have an extra motive to work hard this season, especially after losing to Bettendorf in football this past season. “It’s going to have a big impact on the kids who played football. We don’t want to lose to them again,” said basketball and football player Coy Kipper.
This group of boys is notorious for their outstanding winning streaks; in the 2021-2022 season, the boys went 22-0 before ending their season in the third round of sub-state.
An outcome like this does not come easily.
Though the official basketball season has not begun for boys basketball, the team has been putting in the work on and off of the court. Weight training, open gyms and fall league basketball are all crucially important to the performance of this team.
IHSAA law states that coaches shall not coach specific drills and techniques or hold official practices until the authorized date. This year, that date falls on Nov. 13.
Instead of mandatory practices, open gyms are one of the few ways the team has to bond and prepare for the season. While not mandatory, all of the boys attend, showing their commitment to the sport.
High school fall league basketball is another way for the team to get some practice working as a team before the season starts.
In this league, only PV players are permitted to play. There are no practices to prepare for these games, only open gyms in which the coaches are not allowed to coach at. Eight players from the PV team play for the fall league. “It helps our team chemistry and helps us get a feel of how to play with each other and gives the younger guys a chance to figure out their roles at the varsity level,” Rubel remarked.
The physical preparation is only half the battle. “Our team needs to put in hard work and continue to build chemistry with one another by trusting each other,” said senior, Max Muszalski. The boys are ready for that push.
