{"id":7528,"date":"2025-04-01T03:12:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T03:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7528"},"modified":"2025-04-01T03:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T03:12:09","slug":"tigers-will-have-familiar-faces-and-new-ones-2024-25-princeton-boys-basketball-preview-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7528","title":{"rendered":"Tigers will have familiar faces and new ones: 2024-25 Princeton Boys Basketball Preview – Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"


Jordan Reinhardt and the Princeton Tigers are reloading for another regional championship run. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
Princeton High School basketball fans will find some familiar faces, some old but familiar faces and some new ones suiting up for the Tigers this season.
The five returning seniors – Jayden Fulkerson, Wyatt Koning, Noah LaPorte, Jordan Reinhardt and Luke Smith – will be reunited with classmates Asa Gartin and Arthur Burden, who took last year off.
The Tigers also add the talents of senior Jeremy Borsch, who played on the JV last year, juniors Stihl Brokaw, Ryan Jagers, Gavin Lanham, Jackson Mason and Daniel Barnes, a transfer from Princeton Christian Academy, and sophomore Luke LaPorte.
\u201cWe have a solid group coming back. A group that played really well together this summer and that was without Ryan who was still coming off an ACL injury,\u201d PHS coach Jason Smith said. \u201cI love the way we compete and I believe we have quite a bit of depth this year. We might struggle early (due to extended football playoffs) but the more practices and games we have with each other and the more continuity, the better we will be.\u201d
Everybody knows about the talents of Noah LaPorte, the Tigers 6-6 senior standout and Northwestern University football recruit. The BCR Player of the Year averaged 21.5 points and 12 rebounds a year ago and will be taking aim on the all-time school scoring record set by Grady Thompson two years ago.
Most of all, Smith wants LaPorte to be a leader this year.
\u201cHe\u2019s going to do a lot on the basketball court for us. He needs to be the on the floor and off the floor leader that he\u2019s capable of doing,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAll eyes are on him this year. He\u2019ll embrace that. He\u2019s used to that all through football this year and last year and the focal point was on him last year anyway. I\u2019m just looking forward to him being Noah LaPorte and he\u2019ll do fine and help his team win. He wants to win. He doesn\u2019t like to lose. It\u2019s contagious and I love it.\u201d
Princeton’s Noah LaPorte is the reigning BCR Player of the Year. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
While Smith plans to play LaPorte more away from the basket this year and have him handle the ball some, the Tiger coach acknowledged there will be the Twin Towers in play with the LaPorte brothers, including the 6-4 and growing Luke.
\u201cYou\u2019ll see a little LaPorte and LaPorte connection. You\u2019ll see big brother get a little frustrated with little brother from time to time and probably vice-versa,\u2019 Smith said with a laugh.
Reinhardt gives the Tigers a 3-point weapon and benefits starting the season healthy after having come in injured off football a year ago. He averaged 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds as a junior.
Smith said it\u2019s nice to have Gartin, a 6-2 forward, who played his freshman and sophomore seasons, back in the fold.
\u201cI was disappointed he didn\u2019t play last year. He\u2019s just a nice addition,\u201d Smith said. \u201cHe plays with a little edge, which is what a lot of these guys need. He\u2019s got a lot of skill. He\u2019s quick. He doesn\u2019t get tired. He\u2019s strong and can shoot the ball outside, but he\u2019s a bit of a slasher for us. And he can play some defense. He\u2019s smart and all those intangibles add up to pretty good basketball player.\u201d
Burden, a standout linebacker for the Tiger football team who wrestled last year, will also be a nice addition, Smith said, providing some inside muscle as a 6-2 forward.
\u201cHe came in probably a quarter a way through the summer and asked me if he could play. I said, \u2018Here\u2019s a jersey. You bet.\u2019 You can never have enough athletic, skilled kids,\u201d Smith said. \u201cHe\u2019s a strong physical kid. An athletic kid who likes to play basketball and is very coachable. He\u2019s going to help, especially down low in rebounding and playing defense.\u201d
Smith is excited to have Jagers back in action after missing his sophomore season and summer basketball recovering from an ACL injury. Classmates Lanham and Mason are expected to provide key minutes as well.
The Tiger coach said this may be his best shooting team with the likes of Reinhardt, Fulkerson, Noah LaPorte, Jagers and Mason.
Brokaw and Barnes will be utilized on the JV team along with juniors Cayden Benavidez, Eli Burden and Jack Orwig.
The Tigers have won three straight regionals, including two Sweet 16 appearances, and Smith said he\u2019d be disappointed if they didn\u2019t make another deep postseason run and play for another regional championship.
\u201cAny time you have a talent of Noah and Jordan and combine them with a bunch of juniors the likes of Gavin, Ryan and Jackson and Luke LaPorte coming in as a sophomore, it\u2019s good,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIf we can get those guys all working the same rope, I like our chances in a lot of different aspects.\u201d
The Tigers will open the season at the Shootin\u2019 the Rock Shootout at Ottawa at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26 against Oak Forest.
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network<\/p>\n

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Jordan Reinhardt and the Princeton Tigers are reloading for another regional championship run. (Scott Anderson)Princeton High School basketball fans will find some familiar faces, some old but familiar faces and some new ones suiting up for the Tigers this season.The five returning seniors – Jayden Fulkerson, Wyatt Koning, Noah LaPorte, Jordan Reinhardt and Luke Smith – will be reunited with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t