Class B Region 1 “Maple Valley” Team Preview

Class B Region 1 &#8220;Maple Valley&#8221; Team Preview

Richard Koontz

September 25, 2023 @ 09:22 AM

The Maple Valley Raiders come into Region 1 with a breath of fresh air... I say this lightly in comparing the previous Region 1 play to this new schematical one. The Raiders returns most of core players from last season and look to make an improvement upon their solid finish last year. In terms of returners, they've got a solid duo at guard in [player_tooltip player_id='245121' first='Kiana' last='Lerud'] and [player_tooltip player_id='245107' first='Iris' last='Richman']. Both Kiana and Iris are solid prospects that can shoot! Iris this past season averaged just under 10 points and 5 rebounds a game. She's going to be looked too in boosting the scoring margin nightly for the Raiders. The same can be said about Kiana. She's a crafty guard that plays angles well and someone you absolutely can't leave open. Aside from their offensive gift both guards are natural defenders. Kiana excels in this category with a low center of gravity being quick handed and laterally aggressive. If both of these players find their comfort zone on the court you're in for a night of flying 3's.   Aside from the Raider's backcourt let's take a look at their front court. Standing at 6' we have rim protector [player_tooltip player_id='245109' first='Adyson' last='Hannig']. Adyson is an athletic big body that has a ton of upside to her game. She's a back to the basket big that's progressively improved over the years. She's impressive on both ends of the court and with two years left to play you gotta love the talent that could be there in that time.   Last but certainly not least we need to talk about the X factor for this team. They've got a young talented up and coming guard by the name of Violet Richman that impressed scouts at the ND 100 camp. She's got a high ceiling and already plays at a high level. Some of our scouts were most impressed by her decision making and ability to dissect defenses in the open court. Surrounding her with shooters sounds like a great plan and exactly what the Raiders will do this season. Violet is a play maker, and you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you she was the class of 2028. Between these core 4 the Raiders look to be great shape this coming season. They had wins over 5 of the 7 other teams in the district and my prediction is it stays that way. I think they compete for second but ultimately get third behind Sargent County. Truthfully though this could be a surprise team that takes the district by storm given their talent. I'm predicting a better year than last year with at least 3 more wins added to their belt.

The Maple Valley Raiders come into Region 1 with a breath of fresh air... I say this lightly in comparing the previous Region 1 play to this new schematical one. The Raiders returns most of core players from last season and look to make an improvement upon their solid finish last year. In terms of returners, they've got a solid duo at guard in Kiana Lerud Kiana Lerud 5'5" | CG Maple Valley | 2024 State ND and Iris Richman Iris Richman 5'8" | CG Maple River | 2024 State ND . Both Kiana and Iris are solid prospects that can shoot! Iris this past season averaged just under 10 points and 5 rebounds a game. She's going to be looked too in boosting the scoring margin nightly for the Raiders. The same can be said about Kiana. She's a crafty guard that plays angles well and someone you absolutely can't leave open. Aside from their offensive gift both guards are natural defenders. Kiana excels in this category with a low center of gravity being quick handed and laterally aggressive. If both of these players find their comfort zone on the court you're in for a night of flying 3's.