CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The leaves releasing themselves from the trees into the cool, crisp air not only means that winter is approaching, but also that high school basketball is near. This means lots of early morning sprints, pre-practice lifts, and the dreaded few weeks of conditioning before games begin. 

For the Cedar Falls Tigers, things will be looking a lot different this year than previously. This year’s squad is returning just one previous starter from last year’s state semi-finalist and 20-1 overall team. The Tigers, led by 6’4 Senior and UNI basketball commit Trey Campbell and 6’8 junior Dallas Bear, will need some younger guys to step up after losing senior Hunter Jacobson to a torn ACL during football season along with four players from last year who all went on to play college basketball.

Campbell was the Tigers 2nd leading scorer a year ago with an average of 13.9 points per game, along with leading the team in assists with an average of five a game. Bear, who currently holds offers from Augustana and Bryant University along with interest from several Universities around the Midwest, adds to this dynamic duo by coming off a year where he shot 41.7% from three point range as just a sophomore. Bear finished the season averaging 5.1 points per game to go along with 3.1 rebounds per game. 

Sophomore, Cade Courbat, will begin his varsity career this season after the departure of his older brother and current UNI basketball player, Chase Courbat. Senior and Concordia Nebraska basketball commit, Aaron Brost, is another name expected to be in the starting lineup for Cedar Falls. The three point sharp shooter appeared in 18 games for Cedar Falls last year but will have a much more important role this season for the Tigers. Other names like Owen Denholm, Carter Juhl, Derek Woods, and sophomores Tanner Jacobson and Jake Peters will also play roles in this once again deep, Ryan Schultz led, Cedar Falls team. 

The Tigers will add some height to their team this year with foreign exchange student Joris Van den Huevel hoping to get some meaningful minutes for Cedar Falls. As strong as this Tigers offense should be, their defense is expected to be even stronger behind Schultz’s brilliant defensive minded coaching. They allowed just 47.7 points per game a season ago and boasted 73.1 points per game themselves. Of those 73.1, Cedar Falls is returning just 31% of those points. 83% of that comes from Campbell and Bear. Home court advantage is a real thing for the Tigers as they’ve won 18 straight home games and have won 22 of their last 24 home games dating all the way back to their state championship season in 2019, their 2nd straight state championship. 

Coach Schultz will be entering his 9th season for Cedar Falls when he leads the 5th ranked Tigers into the season on Friday, December 10th at Waterloo East High School against the Trojans at 7 p.m.

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