New South Central Calhoun girls coach Brady Dicks

LAKE CITY — Brady Dicks excelled on the hardwood during his playing days with both Newell-Fonda and Buena Vista University.

Now, Dicks takes over the South Central Calhoun girls basketball program, following in the footsteps of Dave Birks and Eric Francis.

A 2015 graduate of Newell-Fonda, Dicks is very familiar with the ins and outs of competing in the Twin Lakes Conference. The Titans are coming off a fifth-place league finish, going 15-7 overall and return four starters and three more letterwinners from a year ago.

“We have a lot of talent and varsity experience coming back, but we will be changing a few things up both offensively and defensively,” Dicks said. “It will be interesting to see the impact of those changes. We want to play fast, and we are putting a big emphasis on our defense, both in the half-court and full-court.”

Leading that charge for South Central Calhoun will be senior Brielle Korleski, along with fellow returning starters Sayer Steig, Riley Batta and Kylee Schleisman. Batta led the team in scoring at nearly 13 points per night with Korleski right under 10 and Schleisman at eight.

Sally Musselman, Addisyn Korleski and Sophie McKinney all saw key playing time a year ago and will be looked to contribute even more this winter, with Ashley Hanks, Emma Anderson and freshman Chloe Judisch playing key roles as well.

“We should be pretty solid defensively due to our athleticism and quickness,” Dicks said. “The girls have also made great strides in their ability to shoot the basketball. That will be important to knock down shots.

“We will be challenging them to make the extra pass and to understand their roles on the floor or bench in an attempt to create quality looks at the basket.”

Dicks, who also serves as the head girls golf coach and an assistant football coach, earned all-state honors while competing for Newell-Fonda. During the 2017-18 season, Dicks played in 20 games for Buena Vista, helping the Beavers to a 17-9 record.