The 2021-2022 Iowa Lakes Men's Basketball team is looking to pick up right where they left off last year. The Lakers are coming off another outstanding season during the 2020-2021 year where they placed 3rd at the national tournament and finished with a record of 21-8.
The Lakers open the season ranked #6 in the NJCAA preseason rankings. For the 2021-2022 season the Lakers have six returning players that played significant minutes last season who will look to lead the team this year.
"We have a great group of returners that have worked very hard on their games in the offseason," commented Coach Troy Larson.
Xzavier Jones, a 6'4" sophomore from Milwaukee, Wisconsin had an impressive freshman campaign. He was named NJCAA first-team all American while averaging 13.5 points per game with a field goal percentage of 50.5% and averaged 7.7 rebounds per game making him the leading scorer and rebounder on the team. Another returning starter for the Lakers is Ryan Hall, a 6'5" sophomore from Kettering, Ohio. Hall started all 29 games last season and averaged 13.2 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, and shot 41.4% from behind the arc. Caleb Johnson a 6'1" returning sophomore from Baltimore, Maryland, averaged 12.2 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and finished the season ranked #7 in the NJCAA in steals with a total of 54.
The Lakers will open conference play before the new year as they play December 1st at home against Southwestern. Four out of the last five National Champions have come from the ICCAC. The recently released NJCAA ranking has Iowa Lakes 6th in the NJCAA with league schools DMACC as #1 and Kirkwood #3.
This season marks Head Coach Troy Larson's 15th season with the men's basketball program. His record as head coach stands at 300 – 141 averaging 21.5 wins per season.
The Lakers are looking forward to playing their first game November 1st against North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, North Dakota. The Lakers have their first home game on December 1st when they host Southwestern at 7:30pm.
OTHER: Interview attached with Coach Larson
Link to Roster: https://iowalakesathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/roster
Link to Schedule: https://iowalakesathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/schedule
MEDIA: For more information, please contact Head Men's Basketball Coach Troy Larson at (712) 362-7915 or the Iowa Lakes sports information office at (712) 362-7928.