Budding big man Owen Schelske provides scoring spark off Kernels' bench

MITCHELL — At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, Owen Schelske is impossible to miss, and the sophomore is rapidly becoming impossible for opponents to handle. Making his first extended varsity basketball impact this winter, Schelske has turned raw size and football-honed strength into a reliable weapon for the Mitchell High School boys basketball team.

That evolution crystallized Tuesday night in Sioux Falls. Needing a victory to keep alive their dream of hosting a SoDak 16 playoff game, the Kernels leaned on Schelske for a season-defining 52-49 win over Washington. Coming off the bench, the sophomore registered his first varsity double-double—15 points and 12 rebounds—while pacing Mitchell in both categories.

“We had the size advantage, and playing with Colton (Smith), a lot of attention is on him, so I just got a lot of rebounds and put up a lot of layups,” Schelske said matter-of-factly after the game.

Through 16 minutes per night this season, Schelske averages 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds, numbers that belie his growing influence. He has reached double figures in three of the Kernels’ last seven outings and has twice drawn starting assignments when matchups dictated. Head coach Ryker Kreutzfeldt said opposing coaches now single out Schelske right after senior standout Colton Smith when devising defensive plans.

“He’s just so hard to guard; so big and physical, and most of the time, he goes right at you,” Kreutzfeldt noted.

Schelske’s interior tenacity was forged during daily battles last season against 6-8 Gavin Hinker, then a Kernel senior and now a Dakota Wesleyan University center. Those sessions taught the underclassman how to carve out space, finish through contact and turn rebounds into quick put-backs.

“Playing against Big Gav last year… really taught me how to be physical in the post and just get to your spot right away,” Schelske said.

Colton Smith, who wrestles with similar physicality every practice, praised Schelske’s fearlessness. “A lot of kids shy away because it’s constant fighting for your shot, fighting for a rebound. You’ve just got to get in there and work as hard as you can, and that’s when he’s at his best.”

Comfortable in his reserve role, Schelske studies the flow from the bench before entering to shift momentum. Kreutzfeldt’s staff routinely calls the sophomore’s number early in his stint, confident the offense will perk up once the ball reaches the big man’s hands.

The next phase of development, according to Kreutzfeldt, centers on efficiency: Schelske currently shoots 45 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the stripe. Incremental improvement, plus the eventual addition of a face-up jumper, could transform the sophomore from energizer to centerpiece.

“When he takes that next step,” Kreutzfeldt said, “he’s going to be a real load to handle inside.”

For now, Mitchell will keep deploying its budding big man as the ultimate change-up, a super-sub whose sheer presence can tilt a must-win game and keep postseason hopes alive.