For the first part of the season, the Knoxville Boys Basketball Squad will have to deal with injuries to start the season. Already Coach Troy Pearson has half of his senior leadership out for an extended amount of time. Jay Kellar is still recovering from an injury during football season, Noah Keefer will be lost for the entire season due to a football injury, and junior Post Player Kaiden Smith is nursing a knee injury suffered during the preseason. Pearson tells KNIA/KRLS Sports the two seniors that are not injured, Connor Willis and Carson Uitermarkt will have to shoulder the load of the leadership and minutes to start the season.

Pearson: “Four counting Noah out this year, and Jay will be out for a while. The other two seniors are Connor Willis and Carson Uitermarkt, who both put in a lot of work during the preseason, and Kaiden Smith has improved a lot this season so we’re looking forward to the start of the season.”

Kellar hopes to be ready by January, and Smith will likely play before the Christmas break after suffering a knee injury during the fall workouts. Pearson also has several new players to varsity that will get several looks during the first part of the season. Knoxville played Winterset on Tuesday in an Achieve Scrimmage, and will have another scrimmage Friday at Montezuma.