Hawks have high hopes in Swanson's 2nd year

DONNELLSON – The Central Lee Hawks boys' basketball team will be looking to build on second-year coach Jonny Swanson’s successful first campaign in Donnellson.
The boys are coming off an 8-6 season in a tough SEI Superconference South Division, that finished with them in a tie in fourth with Mediapolis. West Burlington, Burlington Notre Dame, and Holy Trinity finished 1st-3rd in the South. West Burlington ended the Hawks’ season with a Class 2A, Region 5 second-round 75-57 loss.
The Hawks finished strong last season, winning six of their last games and averaging 70 points a game in their six wins down the stretch.
Swanson said that first year was a learning experience for him with regard to positioning.
“You know, to be honest, going into year one last year, I didn't really know much about the conference and I didn't know much about these guys,” he said.
“So another year of familiarity with these guys and and then looking at what our competition looks like this year - we have some pretty high expectations.”
Senior Will Hayes will be one of the Hawks providing leadership for a group of experienced kids. Hayes worked through the first half of the year trying to find his role next to senior Brayden Wyrick, who was a four-year starter at Central Lee. Hayes averaged 11.5 points per outing and five boards per game, but in the final seven games he scored 99 points, including 22 in the second-round loss against the Falcons.
“He kind of got off to a little bit of a slow start last year and part of that was I probably wasn't putting him in the right positions to be successful,” Swanson said.
“And it was probably about midway through last year - about three-quarters of the way - and he just started looking like a different basketball player.”
Swanson said he started moving Hayes around to take advantage of matchups and said the senior will be looked upon to score from inside and out.
“He’s 6’6” or 6’7”, whatever he is, but we’re not going to just set him on the block. He can handle the ball, he can do things to open driving lanes for other guys and open those shots.”
Hayes agreed that expectations are pretty high for just Swanson’s second year with the team.

“I think we're really working together as a team this year and I think we have an opportunity to make a big splash in the conference,” he said. “You know, hopefully, go for that, and I'll say it, a number one spot.”
Hayes wasn’t afraid to get off the blocks. He shot 26% from the 3-point arc on a team that loved to shoot from long-range. The team shot a respectable 32% as a unit, with junior Owen Swan leading the way at 36%, converting 52 of 143 attempts.
Hayes said he’s more comfortable moving with the ball, but he won’t be afraid to post up and use a little finesse over some of the other league's post players. He also won’t be afraid to draw them out to the perimeter to open lanes for Swan and others.
“I just, like, always feel like I played better with the ball in my hands to where I can see the whole court, not just down low,” Hayes said. “I think I can make more stuff happen off the dribble as one of the bigger guys in the conference."
The Hawks will also be counting on Swan and his brother Kaden Swan, a junior who started 22 of 23 games last season. Despite averaging just over five points a game, Swan was a part of the Hawks' up-tempo style and averaged 41% shooting 3s, a team high. He also shot 94% from the freethrow line, also a team best. The two brothers combined for 110 assists on the year.
Junior Carson Morrison was also part of the perimeter play, starting 18 of 23 games and shooting 37% from long-range.
Junior Brett Cook and senior Ward Fraise will also see playing time and provide needed minutes off the bench. Both came off the bench last year, but played in all 23 games. Cook is an athletic leaper and pulled down 52 boards.
“Kaden Swan will probably be one of our more traditional point guards, but Owen will handle the ball some, too. Carson Morrison will handle the ball some and then we've got a couple guys, Carver Hayes and Ward Fraise, that will handle it, too, so we’ve got some options there,” Swanson said.
He said West Burlington and Holy Trinity graduated a lot of people.
“Burlington Notre Dame and Mediapolis will bring back a ton and we look to compete with those two teams for the conference championship,” he said.
“The rest of the conference is going to be tough, too, and I don’t think there’s any night that’s going to be easy. There’s a lot of teams in the middle that will give everyone their best shot. But we kind of pride ourselves on taking care of our home court, having loud fans, and people showing up on Tuesdays and Fridays.”
The Hawks open the season unofficially Monday at a jamboree at Mid-Prairie and then get right into the thick of things hosting Holy Trinity on Dec. 2.