By Jeff Dahn
 The Gazette

  When Matt Lesan’s name comes up during any high school basketball conversation, it’s usually in regard to his exceptional scoring prowess.
  A 6-foot-1 senior at Solon, Lesan has scored a school-record 1,523 points in his four-year, 85-game career, a total that will continue to rise as the season plays itself out. Lesan is averaging 22.3 points per game this season for the Spartans, who are 9-1 and ranked fifth in the latest Class 2A poll. But Lesan insists scoring isn’t what it’s all about.
  ‘‘Defense is what sparks us,’’ Lesan said. ‘‘Coach (Brad) Randall spends the most time in practice working on defense. It’s what you have to do to be a championship team.’’
  With Lesan, fellow senior Michael May and sophomores Matt Morrison and Ben Weeks leading the way, Solon has the aspirations of a championship team. It advanced to the state tournament last season but lost in the first round to eventual state champion Nodaway Valley and finished with a 23-3 record.
  Solon has won 38 of its last 40 Eastern Iowa Hawkeye Conference games and Lesan has played a huge role in that success.
  ‘‘Matt is a four-year starter and there are not many people who come along who have a passion for the game like he has,’’ Randall said. ‘‘He’s played a lot of AAU basketball and he’s one of the top point guards in the conference and the area.’’
  Lesan is a tremendous shooter and is hitting 54.4 percent of his field goal attempts this season, including 35 percent of his 3-point attempts (16 of 46).
  But again, his game goes far beyond putting the ball in the hoop. ‘‘Along with the physical ability he’s worked hard to develop, he’s got great knowledge for a kid in high school,’’ Randall said. ‘‘He really has a feel for what the defenses are doing. He thinks the game and he has great suggestions at times. And when he suggests something, most of the time he’s right.’’
  Lesan also is a great defender in Randall’s patented 1-3-1 zone that has held Solon’s first 10 opponents to an average of 42.0 points per game.
  ‘‘Ever since we started the 1-3-1 its really helped things out,’’ Lesan said. ‘‘But our defense still needs to get better.’’
  Lesan teams well with Morrison, who averages 11.1 points per game, and Weeks, who is averaging 10.6 points per game since transferring from Highland. The three played together on the Iowa Barnstormers AAU team during the summer.
  ‘‘We knew the chemistry would be huge,’’ Lesan said. ‘‘Ben and Matt are really great ballplayers. My scoring is down a little this year but that’s all right. Now (opposing teams) have to prepare for me, Matt and Ben. We’re a lot more diverse.’’ Lesan is picking up where another great Solon player left off. David Gruber starred for the Spartans before moving on to Kirkwood and the University of Northern Iowa, and now plays professionally in Australia.
  Gruber’s parents live across the street from the Lesans. Matt Lesan’s father, Bob, is the Solon High School principal.
  Randall said there are a lot of similarities between Matt Lesan and David Gruber.
  ‘‘Matt comes from an educated family and his dad was a coach;. David’s dad was a coach,’’ Randall said. ‘‘They are coach’s sons and they’re both really good people. I think there is something to that. They’re both leaders on and off the court. And they’ve both had a tremendous influence on our basketball program.’’ Lesan also has had an influence on Solon’s football and baseball programs, both of which are equally as successful as the basketball program. Lesan was a starting wide receiver on the football team that advanced to the state championship game. ‘‘We’ve been talking about how football helps out basketball and basketball helps out football,’’ Lesan said. ‘‘There’s just nothing else like it.’’
  Lesan said he may follow the same route as Gruber when he completes high school. He said Upper Iowa has expressed interest, or he might go to Kirkwood for a couple of years and see if any larger schools become interested.
 

• Contact the writer: (319) 368-8841 or jeff.dahn@gazettecommunications.com