‘Celebrating us’

A team’s record isn’t indicative of how the players continued to battle and stay together through adversity, Creston boys basketball coach Bryce Schafer said at Monday night’s awards program at Mario’s Sports Bar & Grill.

Seven outgoing seniors were honored and several awards were presented during the program attended by only players and coaches. While teams are judged by their wins and losses, Schafer reminded the players that when he reflects on this season, he’s proud of how they handled the situation.

Creston started the season with eight straight defeats and finished 5-17 overall, tied for ninth in the final season of 11 teams in the Hawkeye Ten Conference at 3-8. (Lewis Central, Red Oak and Shenandoah are moving to different conferences in 2026-27, with Carroll joining the Hawkeye Ten.)

“Record-wise the season wasn’t what we wanted, but the evolution of this team took many forms as the year went on,” Schafer said. “One shining light was that there were many teams that the coaching staff and I have been around, that when you start losing some games, especially ones that you feel you should be winning, there’s a tendency by young people to just take it off, quit, and not put in the same effort day in and day out. I did not see that at all with this group. In the gymnasium you guys were locked in and got along. We supported each other through it. That is a testament to you guys, in continuing to fight.”

After Schafer started using a deeper rotation, he said it’s evident in watching replays on HUDL that players on the bench were more engaged and ready to contribute when called upon. With the loss of seven seniors from the roster, many of those younger players gained valuable varsity experience for next season.

Improvement shown

Creston began playing better after a switch to a 3-2 zone defense, as well, and won four of five games during a successful stretch from late January through Feb. 5. The season ended in a 59-35 loss at Knoxville to open district play.

“Think back to some of the games we competed in to the end and how (the record) could have been different,” Schafer said. “Madrid (64-58 overtime loss), Shenandoah (45-41 loss) and Red Oak (45-40 loss) were close games early. Without than an injury and illness hitting us at the same time, the Chariton game (59-53 loss) probably is a different outcome. Then losing to Atlantic and Harlan the first time and bouncing back to make up for those losses the next time we played them, that’s mental toughness. We’re looking at the real possibility that it could have been 10 or 11 wins this season.”

While this year’s senior group did not experience winning as a grade-level team in their younger years, Schafer said they evolved into leaders of the team this season in doing things the right way.

“You have evolved over time and put yourselves in a position to hold a team on your shoulders and put us in a position where we competed against the best teams we played,” Schafer said. “I’m so proud to have you representing the Creston jerseys that we wear. As a core group, you are fantastic human beings, and that speaks louder than any basketball accolades that I could give you.”

Seniors Cael Barton, CT Stalker, Hector Suazo, Nathan Carroll, Ayden Purdum, Jaxson Jondle and Waymond Foster were presented canvas prints of their uniform numbers.

Driskell shines

Among the team awards presented, junior Rhett Driskell was offensive MVP and junior Tanner Ray was defensive MVP. Driskell, a unanimous first team all-conference selection, accounted for 43% of the team’s offense with 442 points and 39 assists. He averaged 20.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Driskell ranked 13th in scoring in Class 3A.

The team also received the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Distinguished Academic Achievement Award for its 3.299 cumulative grade point average.

Assistants Chris Tibbals and Drew Dornack also spoke on the JV1 and JV2 (freshman) seasons and announced those award winners. The players were also informed of a new interactive shooting system installed in the gym that provides feedback about the players’ shots through an app connected to their device by Bluetooth, with that data also collected by the coaches. Cameras will be installed above the two main baskets in the gym. It will be used during games as well as practices and individual workouts.

Format change

Schafer explained why the event was designed for players and coaches only, and will be that format moving forward. The original plan was to hang out together at Mario’s after the awards and watch the NCAA championship game together, but the players decided to take Jondle his award nearby at Dairy Queen, where he was working Monday evening.

“The staff has been talking about moving to this format or awhile,” Schafer said. “I think you can see, we have our entire roster except for two people here tonight. In the past few years, we’ve had lower attendance rates, both parents and player-wise. We really wanted to get back to something that represented us internally. As opposed to those formal, here’s your award and see you later. I could go on about how proud I am to have all of your parents and the community members supporting us. They were the ones who started this process with your guys in youth sports. In no way was I trying to isolate them. I just wanted it to be more about us, and a way of tying a bow on the season at the end so we can celebrate each other.”

LETTERWINNERS

(Letters earned)

Seniors — Cael Barton (2), CT Stalker (1), Hector Suazo (1), Jaxson Jondle (1), Nathan Carroll (1).

Juniors — Rhett Driskell (3), Garrett Troutwine (1), Baret Lane (1), Tanner Ray (3), Layne Sand (1).

Provisionals (letter this season if varsity letter earned next season) — Brodie Pashek, Jr.; Gabe Kaufman, Fr.

Participation awards — Waymond Foster, Sr.; Adam Thompson, So.; Damian Bowlby, So.; D’Vid Chambers (manager), So.; Kade Goins, Fr.; Jacob Gordon, Fr.; Javen Hyde, Fr.; Harrison Krantz, Fr.; Mason Wilson, Fr.

AWARDS

Offensive MVP — Varsity: Rhett Driskell. JV: Landyn Scherer.

Defensive MVP — Varsity: Tanner Ray. JV: Brodie Pashek.

Most Improved — Varsity: Jaxson Jondle, Jaxson Schaffer. JV: Mason Wilson.

Panther Pride — Varsity: Nathan Carroll, Ayden Purdum. JV: Garrett Troutwine.

Todd Jacobson “Grit” Award — Varsity: CT Stalker. JV: Harrison Krantz.

Hawkeye Ten All-Academic (seniors, 3.5 GPA) — Ayden Purdum, Cael Barton.

All-Hawkeye Ten — First team: Rhett Driskell (unanimous).

Substate 8 All-District — Rhett Driskell.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Scoring — Rhett Driskell, 20.1; Cael Barton, 5.4; Tanner Ray, 5.1; Nathan Carroll, 4.5; Jaxson Jondle, 3.8.

Rebounding — Driskell, 7.1; Barton, 3.5; Ray, 2.6; Stalker, 2.6; Jondle, 2.4.

Assists — Carroll, 2.5; Driskell, 1.8; Stalker, 1.7; Ray, 1.1; Barton, 1.1.

Steals — Driskell, 1.7; Barton, 1.5; Ray, 1.1; Jondle, 0.6; Stalker, 0.5.

3-point shooting — Driskell 59-159 (37.1%); Ray 41-110 (16.3%); Cael Barton 38-103 (36.9%); Carroll 38-107 (29.4%); Jondle 34-81 (22.2%).