Mitchell trio earns Class AA boys basketball all-state honors
Mar. 28—MITCHELL — Three Mitchell Kernels earned places on the Class AA boys basketball all-state teams, as announced Thursday by the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association.
Markus Talley and Colton Smith received first-team honors, while Gavin Soukup headlined the second team. Each team consists of six honorees, giving state champion Mitchell a 25% share of the total players recognized.
Talley, who took over the lead guard role for the Kernels this season, put together a breakout junior campaign. The 6-foot-1 guard led Mitchell in points (17.3) and assists (4.1) per game and was second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per outing.
"Markus consistently affects the game at all three levels — rebounding, offense and defense," said MHS coach Ryker Kreutzfeldt. "He was a no-doubter."
Smith, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward/guard, routinely stuffed the stat sheet, finishing either first or second on the Kernels in all major categories with 16.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
"I think about how much Colton has grown from last year to this year," Kreutzfeldt said "He changed the way he played to be more of a perimeter guy but still went in the post when we needed him to. He improved so much."
The Mitchell duo was joined on the Class AA all-state first team by Harrisburg's Jacoby Mehrman and Braeden VanBockern, Brandon Valley's Josh Olthoff and Huron's Blake Ellwein.
Mehrman, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, was recognized as Class AA player of the year. The University of Sioux Falls commit posted 17.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season, as the Tigers claimed third place at the state tournament. VanBockern, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, provided a potent backcourt scoring punch alongside Mehrman with 16.1 points per game.
Olthoff represented the state runner-up Lynx on the all-state list, as the 6-foot-8 center averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Rounding out the first team, Ellwein, a 6-foot-8 sophomore guard, notched 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as Huron placed seventh at the state tournament.
On the Class AA all-state second team, Soukup posted 12.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The 6-foot-3 senior guard was at his best in the state tournament, averaging 17.3 points and 4.7 assists per game to help the Kernels capture the state title.
"Even though (all-state) is voted on beforehand, he was probably the best player at the state tournament," Kreutzfeldt said. "He's so smart and plays the game the right way. And he's another guy that, if you told me he got that much better, I might not have believed you."
Watertown senior guard Dylon Rawdon, Sioux Falls Washington junior guard Tommy Hoffman, Sturgis junior forward Ryan Heinert, Sioux Falls Jefferson senior guard Dawson Sechser and Sioux Falls Roosevelt senior guard Hayden Goff.
Seniors Jett Zabel (Pierre), Cam Phipps (Harrisburg), Tate Schafer (Sioux Falls Lincoln) and Landon Potts (Yankton) and juniors Landon Dulaney (Brandon Valley) and Dayler Segrist (Rapid City Stevens) were honorable mentions.
