Newton boys head basketball coach Jason Carter says this past season was one of opportunity and adversity. The team started their schedule with Dawson Maki being the only player who participated in all 23 games the season before, when he averaged 5 points per game. Coach Carter says that gave a lot of players the opportunity to compete for playing time.

“We had a lot of different starting lineups to start the year. I don’t think we really solidified that until after Christmas break. It was close to ten games in, about halfway through the season, before we felt comfortable sticking with a certain group in the starting lineup and our seven to eight-man rotation.”

In addition to that, Carter says the team fought through injuries and illness throughout the season. Senior Caden Klein, who started 22 games as a junior and averaged 9 points per game, only played in fourteen games. He was injured as the season started, and then sustained a season-ending injury on February 17th in a game at Bondurant-Farrar. Other players also suffered injuries, and the coach says there were some illnesses that hit the team at inopportune times. 

The Newton boys basketball team ended the season 9-12 overall and 2-10 in the Little Hawkeye Conference.