Greene County began boys’ basketball practice today, some nine days later than most teams in Iowa. That’s because the school district was on 100% virtual learning from Nov. 16-24, and the state rules stipulate no school activities of any kind can take place when a district is learning 100% virtually.

Coach Chris Nelson returns just one starter from the 2019-20 season in which the Rams went 5-17. Junior Bryce Stalder averaged more than eight points per game as a sophomore, and he’s the leading returning scorer on the team.

Raccoon Valley Radio asked the four-sport athlete to talk about being in football shape, then transitioning to basketball conditioning. “I think Coach Nelson will do a really good job conditioning us because you are obviously running up and down the floor for constant periods of time, whereas football, you run one play, then get a 30 second to a minute break. It’s a completely different type of conditioning, so sprints obviously help a lot.”

When asked when he thinks he’ll feel like he’s in basketball shape, he said normally it’s after two weeks of practice and the first game. This year, the Rams have just nine calendar days before opening the season at home on Dec. 4 with a girl/boy doubleheader vs. Roland-Story (Story City) in the brand new Greene County High School gym on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com. Those nine days include the Thanksgiving Holiday and a Sunday.