Men's Basketball Thursday, October 26, 2023 NWC Athletic Communications

SEASON PREVIEW: 2023-24 Red Raider Men's Basketball

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern College men's basketball team is set to begin a new season next weekend, opening the year at the IU East Classic in Richmond, Indiana. On the heels of their fourth-straight berth in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament, Northwestern is poised to make another run at the postseason this season under the direction of head coach Kris Korver.

2022-23 IN REVIEW
Battling injuries and lineup changes through the early part of the 2022-23 season, the Red Raiders found their identity near the New Year, winning nine of 10 games to cement themselves at the top of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) race. Earning a No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, Northwestern fell in the quarterfinal round and proceeded to drop a close contest in the First Round of the NAIA tournament.

The Raiders finished 20-10 (13-7 GPAC), also receiving individual accolades as Dillon Carlson (Sr., Ankeny, Iowa), Craig Sterk (Sr., McBain, Mich.), and Matt Onken received All-Conference honors. Carlson and Sterk were named NAIA Honorable Mention All-Americans for their efforts.

Last season marked Northwestern's 17^th 20-win season under Korver.

THE ROSTER
Three starters return from last year's squad for the new campaign, while key reserves will look to step into larger roles. Three of the top-four scorers from last season are back in Carlson (19.8), Sterk (18.0), and Conner Geddes (Jr., Harrisburg, S.D. – 8.0). Northwestern will also welcome back Alex Van Kalsbeek (So., Sheldon, Iowa) from injury, as he averaged 18.0 points and 10.3 rebounds in four appearances in 2022. The Raiders also received quality minutes from Kaleb Booth (So., Carroll, Iowa), Zach LaFave (Jr., Elkhorn, Neb.), and Keyton Moser (Sr., Hull, Iowa), each of whom will provide a boost again this season.

Among newcomers, the coaching staff highlighted Kasen Bailey (R-Fr., Washington, Iowa) and Marcus Kelderman (R-So., Boyden, Iowa) as players to watch. Bailey played in one game last year and Kelderman comes to the Raiders from NCAA Division II Truman State University (Mo.).

THE SCHEDULE
The non-conference schedule opens on the road with two opponents out of the River States Conference (RSC) in Indiana University East and Oakland City (Ind.) as part of the IU East Classic on November 3-4. The Bultman Center will be occupied for the first time of the year the following weekend with the Pizza Ranch Classic, as Northwestern welcomes Viterbo (Wis.) and Bellevue (Neb.). Northwestern will have four additional non-conference showdowns in the month of December, going to California to face Westcliff, Vanguard, and Hope International, and hitting the road for a date with Tabor (Kan.) ahead of the New Year.

The GPAC will be a battle once again this season, opening with a conference quarterfinal rematch between Northwestern and Concordia (Neb.) in the Bultman Center on November 18. The 20-game GPAC schedule sees the Raiders at home four times before Christmas and six times in the second semester. The season will conclude with a pair of home games against Morningside and Dordt on February 21 and 24, respectively.

Six opponents on the schedule qualified for the 2023 NAIA tournament in Concordia (Neb.), Dordt, Hope International (Calif.), Jamestown, Morningside, and Westcliff (Calif.).

NAIA TOP-25
The Red Raiders will open the year ranked No. 21, the NAIA office announced via their preseason coaches' poll on Wednesday morning. It marks the first time that Northwestern has been ranked since February 22, 2021 when they were ranked No. 23. Three other GPAC schools were represented in the poll as Morningside is No. 13 and both Dordt and Jamestown are receiving votes.

🏀 Men's Basketball Begins Year in Top-25.

📰: https://t.co/ybtDPnLoFY #RaidersStandOut | @NWCBasketball pic.twitter.com/l2zJRTDnpY
— NWC Red Raiders (@nwcraiders) October 25, 2023

GPAC PRESEASON POLL
Northwestern was picked to finish second in the GPAC standings by the league's head coaches, only one vote behind Morningside. Both Northwestern and Morningside received five first-place votes. The Raiders were last picked second in the 2020 edition of the GPAC preseason poll.

THE KORVER FILE
Entering his 24^th season in 2023-24, Kris Korver is the longest-tenured and winningest coach in Northwestern men's basketball history. Taking over in the 2000-01 season, Korver has two NAIA Division II National Championships (2001, 2003), six trips to the NAIA D-II Quarterfinals, and five trips to the NAIA D-II Semifinals. He has the fourth-most wins among active NAIA coaches (522) and has coached 47 NAIA All-Americans and one NAIA Player of the Year (Brandon Woudstra, 2003). Korver resides in Orange City with his wife, Ann, and has three children: Christian, Elizabeth, and Luke.

FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
All home games inside the Bultman Center will be live streamed (free to watch) on nwcraiders.com and will also have live stats, powered by SIDEARM Sports. Links to the stream and stats can be found on the women's basketball schedule page. All GPAC conference games can also be listened to on the radio on KSOU (93.9 FM), courtesy of Sioux County Radio with Doug Broek on the call.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

#34 Matt Onken: F; 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior

#3 Conner Geddes: G; 6' 2"; Junior

#4 Dillon Carlson: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#24 Craig Sterk: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#30 Zach LaFave: F; 6' 5"; Junior

#32 Keyton Moser: F; 6' 2"; Senior

#33 Alex Van Kalsbeek: F; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#2 Kaleb Booth: G; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#10 Kasen Bailey: G; 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman

#1 Marcus Kelderman: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#34 Matt Onken
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#3 Conner Geddes
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G

#4 Dillon Carlson
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#24 Craig Sterk
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#30 Zach LaFave
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F

#32 Keyton Moser
: 6' 2"; Senior
: F

#33 Alex Van Kalsbeek
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: F

#2 Kaleb Booth
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: G

#10 Kasen Bailey
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#1 Marcus Kelderman
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G