Experiences by Immersion - Mside freshman understands the moment on veteran squad

Twenty-nine games played … 13 starts … Seven double-digit scoring contests.

A resume possibly fit for a three-or-four-year member of the Morningside College men's basketball team.

Another check of the stat line shows it goes to a newcomer who has played and plays like anything but that in 2019-20.

LeMars, Iowa native Will Pottebaum has become a Mustang fan favorite and with good reason. The never-wavering look of confidence in any situation, not letting the game get too big, has turned him into a valuable asset for the 2019-20 Great Plains Athletic Conference champions.

"Honestly, I think it's just because of always being on the floor in high school (as a four-year team member and three-year starter for the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 3A Bulldogs)," Pottebaum noted. "The four guys I play with (at Morningside) have been through a lot of things so they understand what needs to be done. (That intangible) allows me to keep playing and trust myself … I don't need to overthink things."

His dad, Al, got Will into the game at a young age. The rise to loving the game didn't take long, as he got on a local travel team in fourth grade and upped that to an area travel team in sixth grade. The rest of his hoops career saw varsity playing time as a freshman, the aforementioned three years of starting and a shot at walk-on status at Iowa State University until a coach he knew left the program allowing him to shift his focus to Morningside.

"(Iowa State) was just a little too big," Pottebaum reflected. "I like the smaller school (at Morningside). You get to know almost everybody on campus.

It's also cool knowing that the LeMars – Morningside basketball connection continues," he added. "I had known Tyler having played with him on varsity as a freshman, so when I decided to leave ISU, I thought it'd be great to have another chance to join him and the veteran team here. It's not often you get a chance to take the floor with four guys who are all 1,000-point scorers. For Coach Sykes and the staff to have that faith and trust in my game to the point of putting me on the floor and allowing me to start as much as I have this season is a big deal."

While his first bucket at the 2020 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Division II Championships puts him still 800 away from adding his name to the school's quadruple-figure scoring list, the possibility could be there in the future.

"My role is different (than in high school) where I was a straight-up scorer," he said. "That might change … but you never know. I'll do whatever needs to be done to keep this program doing what they're doing."

Continually immersing himself in experiences … much like he has during his first season at Morningside College.