Eagles in the GNL hunt

A year ago, four Great Northern League basketball teams qualified for Class 2A state and went a combined 0-8.

This year six teams have the opportunity to improve upon that, including the defending league champion and state perennial West Valley boys and an Eagles girls team seeking its first bid since 1997.

“I honestly didn’t know if we were a state team last year,” said WV boys coach Jamie Nilles. “And to win the league. … I thought there were better talented teams out there. But this year, obviously after going 0-2 at state with the majority of kids back, you’d like to get another chance so they can do a little more.”

If Nilles and his staff were uncertain about last year’s prospects, it didn’t enter the players’ minds, said returning guard James Cahalan.

“I think it surprised the coaches, but not the players,” he said. “We thought we’d make it. We thought we were good.”

Cahalan rotated through the Eagles lineup last year, spelling players like All-GNL selections Bryan Peterson and Jordan Lupfer-Graham, plus point guard Parker Flynn.

Lupfer-Graham was a sophomore revelation last season, the second-leading scorer on the Eagles state qualifiers behind Peterson with a 13.3 average.

The pair will factor heavily again this year if WV is to repeat as league champion, which won’t be easy in a senior-dominated and highly competitive league.

“We won eight games by three to five points,” Nilles pointed out.

Lupfer-Graham, said WV’s coach, will warrant more defensive attention this year even with six players returning, all of whom contributed.

“Last year no one knew about me, so I got my looks at the hoop,” Lupfer-Graham said. “All our players helped me out, basically.”

He was a relative late-comer to basketball, first playing in sixth grade upon the encouragement of his stepfather, Eagles assistant John Graham, after eight years playing hockey.

“Midway through the season I really liked it,” Lupfer-Graham said, expressing surprise he made varsity as a sophomore.

Cahalan, though a non-starter, will get plenty of minutes in his senior season, said Nilles, in WV’s four guard/wing-oriented offense.

Cahalan, saying he is comfortable in his role, said he knows he’ll never be the leading scorer.

“I like coming off the bench,” said a player who started on freshman and sophomore teams. “Since then I knew I would not start over Bryan and Parker. I think it’s a good fit having someone coming off the bench who can still get things done.”

Getting back to state is a goal.

Finally getting to state is the goal of the WV girls team.

The Eagles return six players from last year’s fourth-place league finisher, whose 10-13 record was its best in years. Melissa Mauro returns and the Eagles have been bolstered by freshmen Hannah Love, ex-Eagles star Tyler Hobbs’ stepsister, and Shaniqua Nilles, Jamie’s daughter. Hannah had 28 points and Shaniqua 20 in a pair of non-league wins.

WV’s girls finished fourth in 2A state soccer and eighth in volleyball this fall. Most of the basketball team played for one or the other, so a state basketball trip isn’t out of the question.

Lupfer-Graham may have been speaking on behalf of all the Eagles when he said of WV’s move to the GNL two years ago: “I like where we’re at.”