At 7-0 and 3-0 in the NICL-Central, Aplington-Parkersburg Boys Basketball coach Aaron Thomas says the team is right where it wants to be at Christmas Break.
Thomas says the defense has carried the team throughout December, especially on nights that shots aren’t falling as often as they’d like.
“We’ve shot a lot better at home from three than we have on the road, but our defense has been consistent,” Thomas says. “I didn’t think we guarded real well the third quarter against DNH. Outside of that, I think we’ve been very solid defensively for most of the year. If we can guard for the entire game, if we don’t have our best shooting night, or if we have maybe a couple more turnovers than we like, we can kind of overcome some of those things when you guard, when you only allow teams to get one shot on the other end. And our guys have really done a good job buying into that.”
The team has shot 44 percent on the season with a serviceable 12 turnovers per game. Benny Waller leads with 17.3 points per game, Caleb Campbell scores 14.4 and Tyler Wedeking adds 10.9 per game with a team-high 17 made three-pointers.
Thomas says the pace of development is on the right track.
“It helps having Mason Ridder and just an inside presence back. And then our other guys, we keep developing as a team. Some of our last couple teams have been so experienced, I worried about almost peaking early. I don’t have that worry with this group, because we have so many new parts and pieces kind of coming together. And that will just continue to evolve. The goal has always been to be your best come February as we start postseason. We have room for improvement. As long as we stay hungry and keep working hard, I’m excited to see where this team gets.”
The Falcons will resume the season Friday, January 3 at Grundy Center on 99 The Wave.
Aaron Thomas interview:
