SOUTH WAYNE — With a 9-4 conference record last season, Black Hawk took third in the Six Rivers East. Head coach Trent Wyssbrod sees a title in his team’s future if they can put in the work. 

“I expect to compete for a conference championship,” Wyssbrod said. “The kids need to buy into the program.”

Black Hawk graduated three All-Conference Honorable Mention players in Dempsy Schliem, Elijah Shelton and Dayton Burmeister, all of whom played a large role on last year’s team. 

“Dempsy was our No. 1 point guard,” Wyssbrod said. “Elijah was our best defensive player, and Dayton was one of our leading scorers.”

Depite the losses, the Warriors return their leading scorer and rebounder in senior Lucas Milz and Seth Dunlavey, respectively. They will be joined by Trae Hagan and Carter Baumgartner, who are also expected to play key roles. 

“Trae will help us with scoring this year, as well as bringing the ball up the court,” Wyssbrod said. “Carter will help us defensively.”

With his current roster, Wyssbrod sees defense as a key aspect of the team’s game. The defense will hold teams offensively, as the Warriors work on their shooting. 

“We are going to have to hold teams to low scoring,” Wyssbrod said. “We will struggle to put a bunch of points on the board. We need to become better shooters and shoot the ball with confidence.”

In order to win a conference title, Black Hawk will have to defeat contenders Barneveld and Argyle.

“Barneveld had a good team last year when they were young,” Wyssbrod said. “Now they have a year or two under their belt. Argyle will be good as well. They looked strong all summer and have kids that are committed to their program.”