HHS boys in the mix for NCC basketball title

Humboldt boys’ basketball coach Jason Thurm and his squad have their eyes on the prize this season.

Thurm, who begins his sixth season guiding the Wildcats, usually has his team in the hunt for a North Central Conference championship and this season should be no different as Humboldt returns four lettermen from last year’s squad that went 15-8 overall, 10-4 and runner-up in the NCC.

The returning lettermen include senior guard/forward Elliot Carlson, a second-team all-NCC pick, and senior guard Coen Matson, a third-team all-conference pick. Senior Mason Van Pelt, a versatile guard/forward is a returning starter and 6-foot-6 senior Jackson Dodd is back with extensive experience.

Carlson averaged 19 points, five rebounds and two assists per game last year. Matson added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists and Van Pelt tallied six points, four rebounds and three assists.

“We have three starters back in Elliot Carlson, Mason Van Pelt and Coen Matson. Those guys have been around for a while and have had a lot of success. We’ll be looking to those guys for leadership. We’ll lean on them to give us guidance going forward,” Thurm said.

“Elliot has been a starter for two years already. He brings a great offensive skillset to our team. He averaged close to 20 points per game. Anytime you have that coming back, that’s a nice place to start,” Thurm said. “He puts in a lot of time and he’s ready to go.”

“Mason Van Pelt is a great competitor. He’s been playing since he was a sophomore. He’s that glue-type of guy. He’ll do anything you ask him to do. He does the little things. He’ll take the charge and get the rebound. He’ll play tough defense,” Thurm said.

“Coen Matson had a tremendous season for us last year. He shot the ball really well for us. He was over 40 percent from three-point range. We’ll rely on those guys for a lot this year but we feel we have some other pieces of the puzzle back, too,” Thurm said.

Thurm made no bones about it in pre-season, improved defense will be a must and point of emphasis this winter.

“Everything starts on the defensive end. That’s something we are trying to re-connect with. Build that mentality that we are going up with. We have athletes so we have to be aggressive, tenacious and make things miserable for the opponent early on,” Thurm said. “We’re building that mindset in pre-season.”

Last year Clear Lake went 14-0 to win the NCC title. Humboldt was four games out at 10-4 with Algona and Hampton-Dumont-CAL next at 9-5. Thurm gives Clear Lake the early nod.

“Clear Lake is the early favorite in the conference. We’ll be up there competing for the conference title alongside Clear Lake. Fort Dodge St. Edmond made great progress last year. They had that 6-foot-6 kid from Fort Dodge who transferred in and was a tremendous asset. He fits in well with a good junior class,” Thurm said. “Algona is good with the Helmers kid back. Clarion-Goldfield had young kids last year who gained valuable experience.”

“But you know, it’s a long season and you have to go out every night and play with it and a lot of things can happen. We love our guys and we feel like we can be competitive and we’ll give it everything we have. We’ll see where we are at the end of the season,” Thurm said.

“It’s a great conference and it will be competitive and so we will be ready to go,” Thurm said.

See full story in the Humboldt Independent.