H old out your thumb and index finger. Seriously, look at your hand, and hold out your thumb and index finger. OK, good. Now, bring them toward one another until they’re about an inch apart. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how close the Gilbert boys’ bas- ketball team was from being con- sidered a very good squad a season ago. The Tigers’ 5-17 overall record and 4-12 mark in the Raccoon River Conference might indicate otherwise, but if you watched them play, then you know the truth. Six losses decided by six points or less. Big leads twice over a ranked team like Webster City, in- cluding once in the postseason, only to see them evaporate late. Close games late into the fourth quarter with Class 3A state semi- finalist North Polk and a very good Ballard crew. The examples are many. Gilbert didn’t win any of those games, but head coach BJ Terrones and his players remember those battles. And they use them as motivators as they gear up for the 2023-24 season. “Our players competed in a very difficult conference with a senior class that was one of the best I’ve seen in a conference,” Terrones said of the 2022-23 season. “Know- ing that our team competed with them toe to toe, when I look at that, it’s the building blocks for what the future holds with this group.”
No. Name
Gr.
0 1 2 3 4
Billy Terrones
So So Sr So Sr
Preston Stensland Cam Stephens
Gabe Fierce
Dillon Zwanziger
10 11 12 13 14 15 20 21 22 23 24 30 40
Connor Rash
Jr
Truman Kruckenberg Sr
Zain Mueller Bowen Kruse Dylan Terry Isaac Brown Eli Hague Ean Eldred Josh Grouwinkel
Sr
Jr Jr
Sr
Jr
So So
roster from a season ago, and the players are determined to turn the corner over the next few months. And following what Terrones con- sidered a promising offseason, the head coach thinks success could be on the horizon. “I’m really excited for this season because the team chemistry was really something that stood out to me over the summer,” he said. “The way they played aggressive, the way they played defense, and some of the things they were able to do against some really good teams was really encouraging.” It doesn’t hurt that many of the players on the team have tasted significant success in other sports. Senior Truman Kruckenberg, jun- ior Connor Rash, and sophomores Billy Terrones and Preston Stens- land were all key contributors on
last spring’s Class 2A state cham- pionship soccer team, and Stens- land helped the Tigers win a 3A state cross country crown this fall. They know how to win. Now they just want to prove it on the hardwood. “The experience in those mo- ments is going to be very helpful for these athletes,” Terrones said. “Now they’re familiar with those circumstances and situations.” Seven players — Kruckenberg, Rash, Stensland, Billy Terrones, Brody Hague, Dylan Terry, and Will Hawthorne — return after significant minutes a season ago. Seniors Dillon Zwanziger and Cam Stephens figure into the equation as well, and the Tigers proved at their scrimmage against South Hamilton last week that they’re
Brody Hague Ryan Hock John Hales
Jr
Sr
Jr
Matt Zoz
So
43/40 Will Hawthorne
Jr
capable of going even deeper if necessary. Kruckenberg and Terry are two seniors Terrones will look to for leadership. “Truman just makes things happen,” Terrones said of his guard, who came off the bench to average 5.3 points and 2.3 re- bounds per game last season. “There are so many small details he does that many observers don’t notice, and they make the team very successful. NEXT PAGE
Gilbert returns the bulk of its
WINTER 2023-24 | GAME ON 5
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