NORMAL, IL. – Expectations were high for the Normal Community Ironmen boys basketball team heading into the 2023-24 season.
Their starting five of Niko Newsome, Braylon Roman, Dexter Niekamp, Noah Cleveland, and Jaheem Weber had an average height of over 6-feet, 6-inches, taller than the average height of the Miami Heat’s starting lineup in the NBA Finals in the spring of 2023.
That team lived up to the hype, earning the No. 6 spot in the final Class 4A AP poll and making a run all the way to the IHSA Class 4A State Championship game, where they fell to Palatine 58-38.
The team, however, had one flaw – its age. All five of the Ironmen starters were seniors, meaning massive losses for the Ironmen heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
The feeling coming into this season wasn’t nearly the same. While he returned important role players from a season ago like Kobe Walker and Trey Birditt, head coach Dave Witzig had to roll with an entirely new starting lineup.