Photo credit: Kim Meyer-Bancroft Register/Swea City Herald Press: Front row: Nick Mitchell, Jayden Hagedorn, Drew Henderson, Cole Nicoson, Emmitt Bierstedt, Khael Jones, Landon Manwarren, and Lane Bruhn; Second row: Thomas Price, Max Heinen, Noah Campbell, Luke Hansen, Brekkyn Morphew, Donnie Stevens, Carson Crouch, Lane Engelby; Back row: Liam Eischen, Kael Vaske, Taylin Jones, Dyson Wikert, Drake Nelsen, Greyson Colegrove, Hunter Geitzenauer and Broc Bollig.

ARMSTRONG – Last season was a tale of two halves for the North Union High School boys basketball team. Injuries to starters Grady Madden and Drew Henderson plagued the early portion of the season. With a combined 15 points per game missing in the first part of the year, the Warriors began the 2024-2025 campaign with a 1-7 record following December.

However, after returning a handful of players and gaining more chemistry as a team, North Union finished the year winning nine of its last 15 games. The Warriors beat Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn in the opening round of the Class 1A, Substate 1 playoffs before falling to Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn/Remsen-Union.

“Definitely just the clean bill of health this year will help us get started off a bit faster and gel a little bit sooner,” North Union head coach Alex Fisher said. “We are definitely flowing a little bit better this year, a lot more continuity built up from where we were last year.”

Fisher lost two seniors from last year’s roster in Madden and Caden Walders, but retained over half of the team’s scoring with a plethora of returning talent.

Headlining the class is former Top of Iowa West Second Team All-Conference honoree Khael Jones. Jones led the Warriors in scoring the year prior as a junior, averaging 16 points per game while adding over five rebounds and assists.

Fisher expects big things from junior Greyson Colegrove and senior Henderson. The two averaged over 7 points per game last winter, with expectations of raising their production with a bigger workload this season.

Seniors Cole Nicoson and Lane Bruhn round off the projected starting five for the Warriors with their presences in the post. Fisher says Bruhn will look to be an even bigger presence in the paint after his successful season a year ago, averaging nearly eight points per game.

“Just the speed of the game from JV to varsity is just a big jump,” Fisher said. “The physicality of it, too, realizing there are no possessions where you can get caught flat-footed, or you are getting buried under the hoop. I think there is some confidence with it too after adapting to the speed, now the game comes a little slower for them, and they can use their skills.”

A typical North Union offense under Fisher has been taking advantage of any transition opportunities the team sees throughout the game, running quick actions to create easy advantages before the opposing defense settles in.

In the halfcourt, the Warriors run a typical four-out-one-in offensive concept. However, Fisher will try to implement a double post presence during offensive movements with the abilities of Nicoson and Bruhn.

“We are trying to put two posts in a little bit more,” Fisher said. “Trying to find a way to get them to play on the floor at the same time … But really, I think [our offense] is very player friendly. We are a conceptual offense, where we are just trying to find concepts within the possession that give us an advantage.”

Fisher and his program pride themselves on their defensive capabilities, saying other teams know North Union produces a stiff defense year in and year out. With the Warriors bringing back six players from last year’s defensive unit, a group that allowed under 55 points per game in the season’s final 15 games, Fisher expects another strong year on that front.

The Warriors will try to play more man-to-man than zone schematically, but will mix and match throughout different games depending on matchups.

“Historically throughout the years, teams know we bring a good defense year in and year out,” Fisher said. “I expect this year to be the same. Keep teams in the 50s, and we are hoping to score in the 60s. According to my math, that wins you a lot of games.”