Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

ADAMS – When the Southland boys basketball team takes the floor, all egos are left at the door. The team that hangs out together off the court regularly, shares the ball with passion and nobody complains about not getting enough touches.

Southland starters Noah Goergen, Cole Miller, Maverick Hanna, Tate Goergen and Henry Wiste are all currently averaging double figures in scoring as the Rebels (15-0 overall) are off to their best start in at least 20 years. Southland has outscored its opponents on average of 75.9-49.4 points per game and it doesn’t have plans of letting up anytime soon. 

“I’ve coached some really unselfish teams before, but this team is really something. We talk about the importance of sharing the basketball and finding the open man, but we probably don’t have to stress that, because that’s the way these guys are,” Southland head coach Scott Koenigs said. “They’re the ultimate team and they don’t care who scores. They give someone a hard time and they joke around if someone scores too much. I’ve never seen such an unselfish team before.”

Driven to win 

Last year, the Rebels had a good season going, but things took a turn for the worse when Noah suffered an injury that kept him out of the lineup down the stretch. He had to watch from the bench as Southland was knocked out by Kingsland 74-63 in a Section 1A quarterfinal in Mayo Civic Center.

This year, Noah is back and he’s leading the charge for the Rebels, who have a senior core that has played together since they were in youth basketball. He said his time being out with an injury has helped him appreciate the game.

“It hurt, but I knew that there was nothing I could’ve done about it. I just kind of acted like a hype man who gave high fives. I was kind of like a manager or another assistant coach on the bench,” said Noah, a senior. “It helped me a lot, because instead of just relying on my athleticism, I kind of had to understand the game. When I was recovering, I couldn’t just blow by everyone and I had to slow down. It made me a lot smarter as a floor general.”

While senior Cole Miller was in the lineup last year, his role was much different as he played off the bench. He didn’t spend any time sulking or wishing he was playing more, but instead he focused on helping the team as much as he can.

Now he’s playing a vital role as a scorer for a team that loves to share the ball.

“We had a lot of good seniors last year, so I just stayed patient and waited for my time,” Miller said. “We knew this team could be pretty special before the season, and we know Southland team has never gone to state in boys basketball. We all want to win and we can all score.”

Welcome wagon

For Wiste and Tate, it could be a little intimidating or awkward starting as sophomores and sharing the court their older teammates. But the seniors on the team have not only welcomed them into the lineup, they’ve also included them, and the younger Rebels, in team functions away from the court as well.

“The seniors help us a lot and it means a lot to us,” Wiste said. “They’ve been welcoming and if we make a mistake, they help us out. They don’t get too mad at us. It’s nice how we pass the ball and play as a team. It’s fun to play like that.”

Tate, who is the younger brother of Noah, gets in the gym with Noah as much as possible as he’s learned what it means to work hard.

“We’re in here every Sunday trying to make each other better. I kind of look up to my brother. He’s a good player and I model myself after his game,” Tate said. “We all play well as a team. If we want to win, (Henry and I) have got to be on the same level as the older guys.”

Familiar territory 

Just four years ago, Southland had a similar season to this one where the team went 18-3 overall and came up one win short of the state tournament, falling to eventual Class A champion Hayfield 78-72 in the Section 1A championship.

Maverick Hanna’s older brother Harrison Hanna was a key player on that team and some members of that squad still come back to Southland to scrimmage the current Rebels to keep them sharp.

“I went to all of Harrison’s tournaments growing up as a kid and it was pretty cool looking up to him,” Maverick said. “They showed us how to stay humble, play as a team and make the best of it. None of this comes without hard work.”

Not only do the Rebels work hard, they show up every night. Despite being undefeated, they aren’t looking ahead or celebrating any achievements yet.

“We knew we’d be at this point and it’s not a surprise to us,” Noah said. “We treat every game like it’s the Super Bowl. You can’t show up and expect (your opponent) to just give up.”

History calling

Koenigs had coaching stops at Riverland Community College and Lyle-Pacelli before arriving at Southland a few years ago. It’s very familiar territory for Koenigs, who was a sophomore on the Rebel boys basketball team that had a great season in 1983-1984.

“You coach at other places and you enjoy your job and the things we did, but it’s not quite the same as coming home,” Koenigs said. “We had a rich athletic tradition back when I was in school here. We had All-Staters Brad and Scott Tompkins and they were the heart and soul of the team back then. I wanted to bring that desire to win back here.“

Koenigs is also watching his twin eighth grade children make it to varsity this season. His son Brekken is on the varsity squad for the first time this year and his daughter Brynlee is playing big minutes for the girls program.

“We’ve spent a lot of time in the gym over the years and it’s been easier for us to get in here with me being coach,” Koenigs said.

Koenigs hasn’t told his team too much about his playing days as he joked about it being “ancient history.” But he has let the Rebels know that there is a tradition of winning in Southland gym.

Miller said Koenigs has served as a great leader for the team.

“He’s a fun guy to play for and he likes to get after us,” Miller said. “He was on a really good team, ranked number one in the state, and they couldn’t make it. We know how hard it is.”

Southland will host Mabel-Canton at 7;30 p.m. Thursday.