BILLINGS – When the Midland Roundtable’s Montana-Wyoming All-Star basketball series returns to Billings Saturday night, there will uncharacteristically be only one Billings player on the court.
Generally, the boys and girls field at least one hometown player on each roster, but this year Billings Senior High’s Connor Kieckbusch is the lone draw.
Kieckbusch was one of the top players in Class AA last season helping Senior reach the semifinal round of the state tournament. Individually, he led the AA in made free throws, finished third overall in scoring and was the Eastern Conference’s scoring leader. He also closed his senior season second in steals and fourth in assists among AA players.
Kieckbusch admits earning his roster spot in this series was a longtime goal.
“Definitely exciting. You know, I’ve been watching this game since I was a little kid with my parents, and have always dreamed of playing in it,” Kieckbusch said. “So when I finally got the call I was on the team, it was pretty exciting.”
Montana’s boys own 12 straight wins over Wyoming in this series, and Kiechbusch is eager to make it 14 this weekend.
When players broke camp Wednesday in Billings, the Montana Tech-bound guard already felt at ease with teammates from all four of Montana’s classifications.
“It’s going to be fun,” he said. “We’ve talked to each other. I think I’ve talked to every one of these kids, whether it be AAU or the high school summer tournaments, so getting us all on one team is going to be pretty exciting.”
The Midland Roundtable series tips off Friday night in Sheridan, Wyo. The girls get the early game at 5:30 p.m. Boys follow around 7:30. Tip times are the same Saturday night when the series shifts Rocky Mountain College.
