2015-16 Havre High Basketball Previews: HHS Boys

The expectations were high last season for the Havre High boys basketball team. And with a talented team set to return for the 2015-16 season, the expectations might be even higher.

Last year, the Blue Pony boys posted a 15-9 record and came within a 3-pointer of playing for the Class A state championship. As it turned out, the Havre boys failed to win a trophy at the state tournament, which is why they are so motivated to get back.

One thing that should benefit the Ponies this season is experience. The Ponies did lose a pair of starters from last season's team in Michael Bakke and Jase Kato, as well as a key reserve in Wyatt Lindbloom. But, the Ponies, who are led again by head coach Curt Leeds, have played at the state tournament in back-to-back seasons and that has prepared them for another run at Class A basketball's biggest prize.

"I think that because we have done it, gotten to the state the last two years, it's more of an expectation at this point, not a goal," Leeds said. "We are going to spend the first part of the season trying to figure out who we are and what works for us. But after that, we want to focus on trying to play our best basketball at the end of the season and trying to get back."

Leeds' confidence may be bolstered by the fact that Havre boasts quite possibly the best player in Class A in Dane Warp. Warp is a three-time All-State selection and last season he was the state's leading scorer with an average of 23.2 points per game. Not only did Warp lead the Ponies in scoring a season ago, he was the team's second-leading rebounder with 5.9 per game. He shot an impressive 46 percent form the field and a team-high 36 percent from beyond the arc.

There is no doubt that Warp is an outstanding player, but the fact remains that Havre lost its top rebounder from 2014-15 in Bakke (9.3 RPG), who was also Havre's third-leading scorer. Kato and Lindbloom may not have made big impacts statistically, but they provided rebounding and a solid presence inside on both ends of the floor.

With their graduation, the Ponies are thin up front and that has caused Leeds to re-think the way his team plays basketball.

"We don't have the ability to replace Bakke, Lindbloom and Kato with what we have this year," Leeds said. "So we need to kind of morph who we are. We do have some kids that can play inside and help us get back some of what we lost. But we are going to go with more guards in our lineup because that's what we have."

Along with Warp, the Ponies have a solid group of perimeter-oriented players in Nate Rismon, Jerod Boles, Jacob LaBrie and Nate Korb, all of whom saw extend minutes last season. Rismon has earned Central A All-Conference Honorable Mention honors the past two seasons and did so last year after averaging 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Rismon was also third on the team in 3-point shooting at 32 percent.

Boles was another solid contributor for HHS last season, ranking fourth on the team in scoring at 7.8 points per game. Jacob LaBrie, a junior, also came on strong at the end of the last season and finished with an average of 4.3 points per game and a 3-point percentage of 34.

While the five guards listed above will all see plenty of minutes, Michael Loftus, Zach Hunt, Bridger Bibeau and Ryan Bakke will provide the presence needed inside for Havre, while Isaac Warp, Bobby Personnett and Ivar Aageson will provide depth on the outside.

"We are losing about 12 points and 15 rebounds a game with Bakke and Kato," Leeds said. "So we are going to have do more of a dribble-drive offense at times with either four or five guards. We will have times when we have a guy down low and we can try to do some of the stuff that we did last season, but the biggest thing is going to be our defense. We are going to have to try and throw some other things at teams defensively to find a way to make up for what we lost."

Over the past few seasons, the Ponies have battled it out with conference foes Belgrade, Browning, Livingston and Lewistown for a berth in the state tournament and this year they will compete with those teams along with the six from the Eastern A to get to state. The Eastern A consists of Miles City, Billings Central, Glendive, Laurel, Sidney and Hardin. Five teams from the East and four from the Central A will come together for the nine-team Eastern A Divisional in late February, with the top four teams advancing to state.

"I think in some ways it makes it easier to get to state," Leeds said. "I think it takes some of the pressure off of the players because in the old divisional tournament, if you lost one game you probably weren't going to get to state. Now, you can lose a game, but you know as long as you come back and get into the consolation, you are going to state. I think it will make it harder on the coaches, because you are going to have to prepare really hard to play against teams that you haven't seen all season."

Belgrade has won the Central A Divisional tournament three years in a row, but lost almost their entire starting lineup. Browning has some talent returning led by Josh Monroe, while Livingston returns the second-leading scorer in the Central A in Ladan Ricketts. Lewistown was just 8-13 a season ago, but returns also its entire starting lineup. Yet, at the end of the day, Havre remains the favorite.

"I think that right now, on paper, we are probably the best team," Leeds said. "But, Livingston has a new coach and Lewistown has a new coach, so it will be interesting to see what they do and how they play differently."

In addition to their four conference opponents, the Ponies will also go head-to-head with Malta, Great Falls High, CMR, Conrad and Rocky Boy in home-and-home matchups to round out their non-conference schedule.

Regardless of what happens in the regular season, the Ponies will be defined by what they do in the postseason and are going to set their sights on the Eastern A Divisional in at the Metra in Billings on Feb. 24-27 as well as the Class A state tournament in Missoula starting on March 3.

"I think that we can compete with anyone in the state," Leeds said. "But that is a ways down the road. First we need to figure out our identity and who we are. But the boys have a lot of confidence. They have been practicing hard and they are ready to go."

Havre will tip off its 2015-16 season on Saturday in Malta against the Mustangs. The game will start at 7:30 p.m.