G-R Senior William Kiburis earned Times-Republican Area Player of the Year honors after leading the Rebels to the Class 1A state tournament and averaging over 26 points per game during the 2022-2023 season. PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

REINBECK — It was a hump the Rebels just couldn’t get over in William Kiburis’s sophomore and junior seasons at Gladbrook-Reinbeck. Two straight years in which a fourth-quarter lead in the substate finals went begging, including a heartbreaking loss in overtime against Bellevue in 2022.

There were moments in 2023’s matchup with Lynnville-Sully that evoked memories of the past two seasons, especially late in the fourth quarter — but when the dust settled and the final whistle blew, they had reached the light at the end of the tunnel.

An appearance in the Class 1A state boys’ basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena was the final and crowning achievement in Kiburis’s G-R basketball career — and the end to a season that earned him Area Player of the Year honors from the Times-Republican. He’s received the honor once before, named Co-Player of the Year in 2021 alongside Meskwaki’s Taurice Grant following his breakout sophomore season.

The senior guard/forward was at the head of the state in multiple categories this season, and not just in Class 1A. His 26.1 points per game was fifth in the state among all four classes, and his cumulative single-season point total of 678 was the highest mark in the state for 2022-23. He was tied for second in total assists with 207 and tied for fifth in the state in assists per game at 8.0. In addition to his 8.0 rebounds per game, he was near the top of the state in free throws made (274) and free throws attempted (393). With 74 steals, he ended his high school career at 280 pickpockets — tied with G-R legend Joe Smoldt for the most in school history. Kiburis’s 280th and final steal? A pilfer that led to a breakaway dunk at The Well during the state tournament.

He said it felt like a fitting end, despite the pain that came with a quarterfinals loss to Remsen St. Mary’s.

“That was a really cool experience and I definitely wanted to experience it as a player,” Kiburis said. “It was super cool to get out on the floor and see pretty much the whole community show up for your game.

“We have a good community that comes and supports all of our games, so it was really cool to get out there and see all the people who have been watching our games and could come out to watch us play one more game. We’re always gonna wish that we won that game and play a couple more, but I’m pretty happy with getting there.”

G-R had a charmed season, going 23-3 and using a strong man-to-man defense to create turnovers and set up easy looks for Kiburis, Luke Riffey, Caleb Egesdal and Isaac Clark in the fast-break. But it was in the half court where Kiburis and the Rebels could really shine with a number of different sets and actions. The main goal was to either get Kiburis attacking the basket or finding one of his teammates for an open look. Egesdal feasted on those looks from three, ending his career as the third most prolific G-R player from deep in school history with 185 makes.

Kiburis’s assist numbers were far and away the best in school history, with his ability to read the floor resulting in 646 career helpers — over 100 more than Smoldt’s previous mark of 528.

Head coach Scott Kiburis, William’s father and the 2022-23 Area Coach of the Year, said his ability with the ball in his hands has always been a strength. His growth spurts at the start of high school changed him from a player with point guard size into a do-it-all ballhandler with forward height and rebounding ability.

“He’s taken a lot of what he’s seen from our other players,” Scott said. “He just kind of knows what we do and always kind of has an idea of suggesting what we could do to get other guys open or to get him a different shot or something and how we want to approach games.”

He felt the pain of two straight good seasons coming to an end before the state tournament. While he said there wasn’t a conversation or any specific change in the team’s mentality going into 2022-23, the experience most of the team had in making those consecutive playoff runs was more than valuable — it was necessary to help get the Rebels across the finish line. Not just in the postseason, but all year long.

The Rebels only lost two times in the regular season — a 58-52 loss to Grundy Center at home and a 57-56 loss at Alburnett late in the regular season. Both games were against Class 2A teams, and in both cases G-R bounced back with better play in the following games.

Following the loss to Grundy Center, a game in which William said the Rebels might not have been worried enough about their opponents, the Rebels scored over 80 points in nine straight games and won all of them — including an 81-50 road smackdown of the Spartans. After losing at Alburnett, where G-R struggled on the offensive end despite a solid defensive performance and lost a lead in the fourth quarter, G-R then scored 85, 88 and 77 points in its first three playoff games. The Rebels responded to defeat with offensive explosions and their best stretches of the season. .

“We were a bit starstruck and it was a big moment for us because I think we started playing a lot better after [the GC loss],” William said. “It showed our guys that we were still gonna have to come out and compete every day just to be a better team.”

A true basketball junkie, William can often be found watching the sport when he’s not on the court playing (or preparing for his second sport, baseball). He can be found watching anything from NBA League Pass and the NCAA Tournament to the Division III and Division II schools in Iowa that are currently recruiting him. Those teams include Central, Wartburg, Dubuque and Coe in D-III and Upper Iowa in Division II — the same school where the player William was up against in most of G-R’s school records played his college ball.

At this point in the season, there’s not a decision anywhere in sight for the senior. He said he wants to keep his focus solely on baseball when the season begins, and hasn’t closed the door on attempting to play both at the collegiate level — although he is cautious given the workload he would be taking on along with being a full-time college student.

“I know playing two sports is hard in high school, so playing two sports in college is definitely going to be a difficult thing,” William said. “That’ll be a decision I’ll probably make further into the upcoming season and if it works then I’ll be able to do it hopefully and if not I’ll be focused on basketball.

“I’m getting towards the part where I’m trying to narrow it down a little bit and hopefully make a decision.”

With a decision some time from happening, there’s not much for the Kiburis father and son duo to do but reminisce, get ready for baseball and look towards the future. While he has one more season left to coach his son, Scott said his lasting memory from their years of basketball together will undoubtedly be Will stepping onto the Wells Fargo Arena court to play for the Rebels — the realization of years of hard work.

“I was really excited for him because he deserves to be out there and he wanted to be a part of that,” Scott said. “It was kind of fun to watch that and to take pride that you led your team to the state tournament. To recognize your son is a pretty darn good basketball player is really kind of cool, and to watch him hit a three in the state tournament and get a dunk in the state tournament, I mean there is some personal satisfaction out of getting to do that. I’m happy I was able to get to do that and watch that.”

2022-2023 Times-Republican All-Area Boys Basketball Teams

Player of the Year — William Kiburis, sr., Gladbrook-Reinbeck

Coach of the Year — Scott Kiburis, Gladbrook-Reinbeck

FIRST TEAM

Treshaun Brooks, jr., Marshalltown

Junior Brown, sr., East Marshall

Caleb Egesdal, sr., Gladbrook-Reinbeck

Dalen Huston, jr., Marshalltown

Drake Kapayou, sr., Marshalltown

Luke Riffey, sr., Gladbrook-Reinbeck

SECOND TEAM

Ivan Alvarado, sr., South Tama

Drew Eilers, so., Gladbrook-Reinbeck

Jaxson Eisenbarth, sr., Marshalltown

Cayden McLeland, sr., BCLUW

Landen Neuroth, jr., East Marshall

Jabari Woodbury, jr., GMG

THIRD TEAM

Isaac Clark, jr., Gladbrook-Reinbeck

Josh Dostal, so., North Tama

Carter Giannetto, jr., Marshalltown

Cael Keller, jr., BCLUW

Anthony Schuler, sr., West Marshall

Adrian Arifi, sr., East Marshall