Watertown basketball teams to meet Brookings in season openers.

Let’s be trustworthy once we speak in regards to the 2022-23 Watertown High School basketball teams and simply know that there is a good likelihood the women will likely be in place for a greater season this winter.

Chad Rohde is taking up as head coach of a women’ workforce bringing again three starters and various different regulars from a workforce that gained 9-12 final winter, this system’s finest report since 2012.

“It’s like I said last summer when I took over with Pat (McClemans) who certainly got a lot of things rolling,” Rohde mentioned. “To be trustworthy, with that and the truth that now we have numerous returnees, there’s numerous pleasure for us. The women are having enjoyable and the workout routines had been fairly energetic.”

McClemans is still involved in Arrow basketball, just this winter in a slightly different capacity. After 20 years as a girls’ basketball head coach in South Dakota, including two stints with Watertown, he is preparing to begin his first season as a boys’ head coach with the Boys of Watertown.

The Arrows’ whole beginning lineup and most of their offensive manufacturing, together with All-State participant Drew Norberg, have departed.

“We have to do the little issues or basic items extraordinarily effectively,” he said. “We have to take cost, get down on the bottom for unfastened balls and ensure we’re making contact with somebody on each shot and never giving up offensive rebounds.”

The Watertown teams open their season against Brookings tonight (Friday). The girls will host the Bobcats and the boys will head to Brookings for 7:00 p.m. games.

Here’s a look at each Arrow squad:

Watertown girl

• head coach — Chad Rohde, first year as head coach. He replaces Pat McClemans, who has led the Arrows to a 15-27 record for the past two seasons.

• assistants – Tia Hemiller, Stacey Hendricks and Mackenzie Buelow.

• 2021-22 record – 9-12 overall, 6-2 in the Eastern South Dakota Conference.

• top returnee – Jaida Young, 5-foot-8 sr. guard-forward (team-leading 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game, All-ESD selection); Maddy Rohde, 5-7 sen. Guard (7 ppg and 3.2 rpg, 32 3-pointers); and Kendall Paulson, 5-9, Sr. forward (6.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg).

• others to look at – Miranda Falconer, 5-7, Jr. protection (3.4 ppg); Emery Thury, 5-10, so. forward (3.1 ppg); Grace Corey, 5-9, so. forward (3.1ppg, 2.9rpg); and Jade Lund, 5-8, jr. Forward protection (4.2 ppg). Addi Johnston, a 5-6 jr. Guard and Avery Munger, a 5-11 jr. Forward center, each appeared in 15 games.

• Conference class AA – The Arrows had one run last winter in their first ESD Championship since 2011, starting 6-0 before Brandon Valley clinched the title with a record 7-1 after losses to Pierre and Aberdeen Central. Brandon Valley was set to compete again this winter along with Harrisburg, Pierre, Huron, Aberdeen Central and Watertown.

Defending champion Sioux Falls O’Gorman is ranked #1 in the Class AA preseason poll, followed by Sioux Falls Jefferson, Sioux Falls Washington, Brandon Valley and Pierre.

• Schedule — The Arrows girls have nine home and eleven away games scheduled for the regular season. They will also feature Douglas (Dec 17) and Tea (Jan 17) as part of the girls-boys doubleheaders with other remaining home games against O’Gorman (Jan 6), Huron (Jan 24), Sioux Falls Lincoln (January 31), Sioux Falls Jefferson (February 7), Aberdeen Central (February 14) and Harrisburg (February 23).

The Class AA SoDak 16 state qualifying games are scheduled for Friday, March 3, with the state tournament scheduled for March 9-11 in Sioux Falls.

• season outlook – The Arrow girls have qualified for the state since 2009 and appear to have the pieces to at least challenge for a top-8 seed and earn a chance to play a SoDak 16 state qualifier at home for the first time.

Young, who recently signed on to play college basketball with Dakota Wesleyan, and Rohde, a recent University of South Dakota Athletics signing, are each three-year starters, and Young also saw action as a freshman. Paulson also started some games as a sophomore and is a three-year starter. Munger and Madisyn Grimsrud, a 6-1 sophomore, add some size to the lineup.

“There’s been quite a bit lacking in Watertown women’ basketball over the past 10-12 years. Our women are fairly centered and decided to definitely put in the trouble that’s wanted,” said coach Rohde. “This is a gaggle of ladies decided to rebuild the custom and tradition of Watertown women’ basketball that has been lacking because the late 2000s.”

Watertown boys

• head coach — Pat McClemans, first year. He replaces Zach Wevik, who led the Arrows to a 34-50 record in four seasons.

• assistants – Matti Kranz, Tommy Mattingly and Zach Toben.

• 2021-22 record — 6-15 overall, 3-5 in the ESD.

• top returnee — Kohen Kranz, 5-11, jr. protection (3.5 ppg); Jake Olson, 6-1 jr. forward (2.8 ppg); and Marcus Rabine, 6-1, jr. forward (1.4 ppg).

• others to look at — Jack Heesch, a 5-11 sr. guard; Dalton Baumberger, 6-0 senior, guard; and Izack Redfield, 6-4, Sr., middle, also saw varsity time last winter. Baumberger was used in seven games, Heesch in five and Redfield in four.

• Conference class AA — Mitchell won the conference 7-1 last year, and Aberdeen Central, Brandon Valley, Harrisburg and Yankton each finished second, 5-3. Pierre, who ranks fifth in the Class AA preseason poll, is among the teams to beat in the conference this winter, along with Mitchell, Brandon Valley, Harisburg and Yankton.

Sioux Falls Roosevelt capped off a perfect 24-0 season with a second straight Class AA title last March, but lost a number of key players in the finish. Sioux Falls Jefferson is ranked #1, Harrisburg is #2, and Sioux Falls Lincoln and O’Gorman are each #3 in the preseason poll.

• Schedule —The Arrow boys have 10 home and 10 away games on their schedule. They will be hosting Douglas (Dec 17) and Tea Area (Jan 17) as part of Boys-Girls Doubleheaders, and will also host Mitchell (Dec 13), Pierre (Dec 20), Brandon Valley (Jan 3). .), Aberdeen Central (January 10), Yankton (January 13), Sioux Falls Washington (February 3), Sioux Falls Roosevelt (February 10), and Huron (February 17).

The Class AA SoDak 16 state qualifiers are scheduled for Saturday, March 4, with the state tournament scheduled for March 16-18 in Rapid City.

• season outlook – It’s kind of the same old story for the Arrows, who basically have a team of guards and small forwards and aren’t the same size as many of the state’s other AA teams.

“Sometimes you simply cannot change the size. You do not get numerous straightforward pictures more often than not and bounce is changing into a problem,” McClemans said. “If you do not have an anchor in the center to deflect pictures, it is simply going to be troublesome.”

Norberg scored 21 points a game en route to the first-team Class AA All-State last winter, but now some others have a chance to step up.

McClemans knows the odds are slim, but he believes the Arrows have a number of players who can make important contributions this winter.

“While it is definitely good to have somebody who has the potential to take 20 factors, I’d simply as very like to have seven guys who can provide you an eight,” McClemans said. “I feel now we have the power to try this and the potential to have a balanced workforce that may possibly unfold the wealth.”