La Center Boys Basketball: Wildcats still riding momentum of first state trophy since 1997

La Center didn’t want last season to be over. Not after a postseason run that saw the Wildcats finish in fourth place, the program’s first state trophy since winning back-to-back titles in 1996 and ’97.

“As soon as the season was over, they were already back in the gym ready to start working on things,” coach Jeremy Ecklund said. “They were excited. They just wanted to keep going.”

Six players are back from last year, including the starting backcourt tandem of Hunter Ecklund and Avery Seter. Both were all-league, including first-team honors as a freshman for Ecklund.

“I’ve been mostly working on my speed and quickness,” Hunter Ecklund said. “I know we can get the same as last year, so we’re trying to exceed what we did.”

The Wildcats will have to replace Trico League MVP Jake Wise. But two seniors, 6-foot-7 Wyatt Siebert and 6-foot-5 Jack Hiller, bring physicality and size to the frontcourt.

“We tell (Hiller) to run through a wall and he will, “Jeremy Ecklund said. “Usually he is the brick wall.”