With the turn of the leaves, basketball season is upon us. The LHS boys basketball team has a great foundation, starting their season off 3-0. The team over the years has grown from not even making it into the state tournament up in Rapid to losing in the semi-finals, to now relying on a younger team to get the job done. Everyone is excited to see what this team can do this year and how it uses the loss of teammates, coaches, and a recent loss in state football to fuel its drive. Let us lay out each individual athlete on the starting line-up and learn more about the team.
The starting lineup of the 2025-2026 LHS boys basketball season is Sam Ericsson, Sam Degroot, Brody Shaefer, Brody Nour, and Owen Duffy. Ericsson is a senior at LHS who has gotten minutes on the varsity team since sophomore year. Coach Luke Hannemann always says to the boys, “If you are open, shoot the ball.”
That goes hand in hand with his position and his coach’s confidence in him as a player. He wears number eleven, he is 6’3”, and he sits on the court at either point guard or shooting guard. Degroot is another senior at LHS who wears number fifteen on the court, who measures to be 6’6″, and is another primary shooter who plays both positions of shooting guard and small forward. He has been a player on the varsity roster since his sophomore year and is a player who is a chunk of points every game.
Shaefer is a junior at LHS who wears number twenty-three on the court. He stands at 6’0″, and his primary position on the court is point guard. Ball handling is, so to say super power, handling the ball extremely well in any position.
Nour is a junior at LHS, graduating class of 2027. He plays shooting guard, measures 6’0”, and wears number twenty-one on the court. These are not Nour’s first minutes of playing time on varsity; he got in on a few occasions last season.
Duffy is also a senior on the team and wears number thirteen on the court. He starts at shooting guard and measures 6’0”.
The new coaching staff, as of last year, has really made a difference in the boys basketball community here at LHS. Scott Embry, an assistant coach as well as an assistant coach in track and field, coaches mid-distance. Jared Jansen, an assistant coach who has been an assistant coach on the staff for many years. He is also a teacher in the one hundred hallway, teaching math right by Hanneman. John Vining is also a member of this fantastic four. Along with the head coach, Hanneman, who you can also find in the one hundred hallway, teaching long division.
