~courtesy of The Scranton Journal
The Greene County boys basketball team is gearing up for the first game of the season with Roland-Story on Dec. 4. Practice was delayed until Nov. 30 because the school went to online learning and activities are not allowed during those times. A makeup game with Ogden will be played Dec. 5 and the one with Perry will be Dec. 12.
The Rams, who drop to Class 2A, will be led by 14-year veteran coach Chris Nelson. He is assisted by Dean Lyons.
Greene County went 5-17 in 2019/20.
Returning letterwinners are senior Zach Goff; juniors Bryce Stalder, a 2019-20 honorable mention all-conference player, Jackson Morton and Max Riley; and sophomores Jesse Miller and Richard Daugherty. Top newcomers include junior Caden Telleen and sophomores Brayden Roberts, Patrick Daugherty, Jose Velazco and Mason Happe.
Ball handling, team defense and multiple options for scoring will be the Rams’ strengths. Rebounding and cutting down on turnovers are things the team will work on to improve.
Nelson thinks Roland-Story and Nevada will be the early favorites for the Heart of Iowa Conference title. South Hamilton and Prairie City-Monroe will be competitive. West Marshall, new to the conference, is an unknown and Saydel is improving.
“We have a chance to be right at the top if we can adjust to our new roles quickly and take care of the small things early,” stated Nelson. “One of our main goals is to win conference. Other goals include Rule of 50: Shoot 50 percent or better as a team from the field and hold teams to 50 or fewer points a game. We just want to make the most of the opportunities we get. We want to get better each day and have fun playing as a team from JV2 to varsity.”
