Hoops slate to get hectic in coming weeks

Back in November, New Hampton boys basketball coach Chad Sweitzer touted depth as one of his team’s strengths.  The Chickasaws may need it, thanks to a rash of postponements that will force New Hampton into playing 13 games over the next four weeks, starting Friday when Sweitzer’s team looked to gain its first Northeast Iowa Conference win in a game at Oelwein.  “Guys are going to have to be ready to play because it’s going to have to be all hands on deck,” Sweitzer said Tuesday morning after he learned that his team’s game at Crestwood had been postponed. “It’s a lot of games, and really it’s not a lot of practices.”  He’s right; in fact, between now and Feb. 3, the Chickasaws play more games than they will have practices because if you throw in the four Sundays between now and then, New Hampton has 12 practices scheduled.  The Chickasaws are 2-4 but have had four games postponed already.  More details may be found in the Jan. 6 Tribune.