2024-25 BCR Boys Basketball Preview: 5 storylines to watch

With the 2024-25 boys basketball season tipping off this week, here are five storylines to look for around Bureau County.

A real Colmone Classic

Bureau Valley and Princeton fans didn’t think they would get to see their teams match up this season. The Storm were leaving the Three Rivers and no longer scheduled to play their longtime Bureau County rival Tigers.

Not so fast.

When the 2024 Colmone Classic pairings were released last week, Storm and Tiger fans were pleasantly surprised to their teams pooled together and scheduled to meet on the first night of the tournament at 6 p.m. Dec. 7.

Princeton holds the all-time series edge 26-19, defeating Bureau Valley in their last meeting, 63-56, in last year’s regional semifinals.

Can the Tigers repeat?

Princeton has won three straight regional championships with back-to-back sectional finals appearances. They bring back the firepower headed by senior standouts Noah LaPorte and Jordan Reinhardt along with classmates Jayden Fulkerson, Wyatt Koning and Luke Smith and seniors Asa Gartin and Arthur Burden, who have rejoined the team this year, along with incoming talent to contend for another regional crown and make another deep postseason run.

“If we can get those guys all working the same rope, I like our chances in a lot of different aspects,” PHS coach Jason Smith said.

Last season, the Tigers beat Bureau Valley (63-56) and Morrison (57-55) at regionals and Rockford Christian (69-68) in the sectional semifinals before falling to Byron (59-43) in the finals game.

Princeton, which had been ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, beat Hall (88-44) and Stillman Valley (68-37) for the 2022-23 regional championship and Riverdale (77-40) in the sectional semifinals before falling to Rockridge (64-46) in front of packed house in Geneseo in the sectional finals.

LaPorte closes in on all-time scoring record

Noah LaPorte has made a big splash since he arrived on the Princeton varsity as a sophomore straight from the freshmen team, averaging 9.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals, named Second Team TRAC East All-Conference.

Last season, he stepped out of the shadow of all-staters Grady Thompson and Teegan Davis, nabbing BCR Player of the Year honors by averaging 21.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.

He became the 13th player in program history to score 1,000 points, ranked ninth with 1,027 career points.

This year, he aims to make a rise to the top of the Tigers’ scoring chart held by Thompson at 1,486. Thompson, made a historic run to overtake Tiger legend Joe Ruklick, who was a prep and collegiate All-American and held the record for 68 years.

To get there, LaPorte will have to climb the ladder overtaking Rick Larson (1966-69) 1,077, Matt McDonald (1989-92) 1,140, John Rumley (1976-79) 1,179, former teammate Teegan Davis (2020-23) 1,181, Vern Magnuson (1956-59) 1,234, Gary White ((1963-66) 1,298, Ruklick (1953-55) 1,306 and Thompson (2020-23) 1,486.

Storm in new conference

After years in the Three Rivers Conference, the Bureau Valley Storm venture into the Lincoln Trail Conference this season. There, they will take on Abingdon-Avon, Annawan, Galva, Knoxville, Monmouth United, Princeville, Stark County, Ridgewood, ROWVA-Williamsfield and Wethersfield.

“It is a great new challenge for us with the Lincoln Trail and playing some schools that probably look a bit more like us in terms of size and rural community make-up, especially as TRAC continues to evolve,” Storm coach Jason Marquis said. “We are in for an incredibly challenging conference slate in the LTC.

New coach at DePue

Isaac Reyes was a late hire in the summer to take over as the DePue Little Giants boys basketball coach this season and is making up for lost time. The Little Giants finished 7-24 last year, 1-9 in the Little Ten.

“It has not been easy for us. We had a lot to cover in this short amount of time. They came in and have been working at it every day. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to start my coaching career,” Reyes said.

Reyes succeeds Trae Blumhorst, who resigned after two seasons and is now the freshman assistant coach at Ottawa High School where he teaches health.