THE DAILY GLOBE • YOURDAILYGLOBE.COM
HOOPS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013
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Much improved Tigers in line to turn things around By JASON JUNO sports@yourdailyglobe.com
MERCER, Wis. — The outlook in Mercer is as bright as it’s been in a long time. The Tigers have more scorers than just Lexi Engler this year. With new pieces from a strong freshman class and a transfer student, Mercer may take some time to gel, but the potential is exciting. “It remains to be seen how we stack up against the Hurleys, Ironwoods, Bessemers and Wakefields this year in the conference,” Mercer coach Shannon Hiller said. “They’re going to have to play a game against us. They just can’t think of Mercer as an easy win this year. We’ve been down for quite a few years. I’m not saying we’re going to beat them until I see how we match up. But we’re going to play against those teams because I’ve got some players this year.” The Tigers used to fight to have enough players. They’ll be at least eight deep this year. They’re even looking to have jayvee games, with 13 total on the roster. They couldn’t commit to that early enough to make teams’ schedules, so it may be limited. A quick Mercer squad can be the team that causes turnovers off the teams without good guards, Hiller said. It used to be the other way around. Mercer’s change may be most apparent with Engler, a 5-5 junior. She not only led the Tigers in scoring the last couple of years, she scored the vast majority of their points. This year, she’s moving to forward, where she may well lead the Tigers in scoring again. But a lot of the weight is off her shoulders. Mercer has enough guards
to change her role; that wasn’t the case last year. “She’s definitely one of our best players. I’m counting on her a lot this year,” Hiller said. “We don’t have to focus totally on her offensively this year. That’s going to be a transition. I’ve kind of rode her coat tails for so long. She’s kept us able to score. We’ve been so young and inexperienced. “I have a lot of guards on my team. I needed to have somebody who is strong under the basket and she is strong. Probably 75 percent of her baskets are in the lane.” Hiller said she has a good knack around the basket, getting rebounds and that should translate to plenty of scoring opportunities. Another potential scorer is Shania St. Germaine, a 5-6 junior transfer student from Lakeland. She’ll be a point guard; she has played hoops her whole life. “She’s going to get her points,” Hiller said. “She is a really, really nice player. I’m excited to have her on the team. She brings a new element.” Freshman Sydney Thompson (5-10) will also be a threat to score double digits and will start this year. She missed last year due to foot surgery and it will take a little while for her to get basketball instincts back, Hiller said. “She’s got tremendous skills for a freshman,” Hiller said. “She’s going to do very well in our conference. I think a lot of these teams, they’re going to have to play her because she’s got good instincts. She understands the game.” Mercer will start two freshmen this year, the other being Caitlyn Hiller, a 5-5 guard. The
Submitted photo
THE 2013-14 Mercer Tigers are from left, first row: Lexi Engler, Kassie Wiedower, Sarah Kirchoff, Brianna Anderson and Mandy Scheels; second row: Sydney Thompson, Linda Tondel, Shania St. Germaine, Camille Kich, Kendra Tutt, Christina Grams, Caitlyn Hiller and Skady Fuchs. freshmen class helped the volleyball team to an East Division conference title. They’re good athletes and coach Hiller expects they will mature earlier than the usual freshmen to sophomore jump. Hiller can score, but she is more likely to set up her teammates to score. “Caitlyn also has really good instincts as a guard,” her coach and dad said. “One of the reasons I moved Lexi in, I have the guards I need. Any good basketball team, you need a good inside game, a good outside game, you can’t be one dimensional. Teams aren’t going to be able to do things against us they used to because we don’t just have one player. We have a lot of players who can play basketball.” Camille Kich (5-9) is a freshman forward. “She’s going to be a really good player. She’s very physical and very quick. She has probably the best instincts for rebounding I
have on the team,” Hiller said. Senior Kassie Wiedower (5-5) is one of Mercer’s four captain,s along with Engler, Mandy Scheels and St. Germaine. Wiedower is another guard. “She’s one of my leaders,” Hiller said. “She’s a great leader. She’s going to be a solid player.” Scheels, a 5-5 junior, has been battling injuries the last couple of years, but she is healthy now. She will also be a part of the guard rotation. “She’s going to be a strong player, too,” Hiller said. “She’s learning the game really well. It’s hard for anybody to be out of the swing of it for two years, but I’ve seen improvement from day one.” Christina Grams (5-5) is another freshman who is expected to help Mercer. She also transferred to Mercer. She’s a guard. “She’s played some AAU basketball. She’s got some experience. She’s going to be a big help to our team,” Hiller said.
Mercer has two foreign exchange students, both juniors, Skady Suchs (6-6), from Germany, and Linda Tondel (5-8), from Norway. Neither have played basketball before, but both are good athletes. Jayvee games would help Suchs, Hiller said. Tondel is a good enough athlete, she’ll probably help out on varsity later in the year. “She’s one of those rare athletes. She’s quick and really strong,” Hiller said. “She plays really good defense. The offense will take awhile for her to be comfortable.” Sophomores Sarah Kirchoff (5-3) and Brianna Anderson (5-2) will likely be on the jayvee team to start. Kirchoff is likely to see some varsity time. Freshman Kendra Tutt (5-7) will also probably play jayvee ball. Hiller still looks at Hurley as the favorite in the Indianhead Conference’s East Division. Nobody’s really challenged the
Midgettes lately. “I will say Hurley will always be a favorite. Nobody’s knocked them off that top ladder yet,” Hiller said. “Melissa (Oja) always runs such a great program there. She’s always developed really quality teams. They have numbers, too. That’s always a good thing when you’ve got competition for playing spots. “I think Wakefield and Ironwood will both be very strong. Wakefield had a young team last year, a lot of freshmen and sophomores. With a year of experience, I think Wakefield could definitely be a tough team. Ironwood didn’t lose a lot.” Hiller expects a lot of competitive games in the East Division with a lot of good teams. “I think girls basketball on the eastern part of the conference is going to be good, which will make for good games,” he said. “Nobody wants to see a 40-point basketball game.” Mercer last finished above .500 in the 2004-’05 season.
Saeger takes over Mercer; 10 of 14 high school boys playing basketball By PAT KRAUSE sports@yourdailyglobe.com
MERCER — Coaching boys basketball in one of the smallest high schools in Wisconsin can be a real challenge for any coach. There are times when success has to be measured in ways other than wins and losses. Take Jake Rozhon, for example. Last year, the Tigers finished the year with a 1-21 record, but Rozhon’s commitment to his teammates and his love for the game of basketball led him to play the entire season with a blown out anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and his left knee’s ACL hanging by a thread and close to snapping. Some thought Rozhon needed surgery, rest and rehabilitation, but his struggles and story were also inspirational. New Tiger coach Vic Saeger has about 20 years of coaching experience at the middle school, freshman and assistant varsity
levels in the Lakeland schools. He chooses to look at the glass as half full, instead of half empty, and is intent on getting the most out of Mercer’s basketball program. “We have 14 boys in our high school and 10 are playing basketball,” Saeger said. “We got out the kids who were reluctant to play last year. One way the new kids are valuable to the program is because it allows us to scrimmage five-on-five and the whole team can improve. We’re getting the most out of the numbers and they are all good kids with positive attitudes.” Saeger said he will measure the success of the season on other things besides the win-loss record. “By the end of the season, we want to look back and say everybody did their best and tried their hardest,” Saeger said. “We want to have grown as a team and improved as the season has gone on. There’s also the life lessons
players learn from playing team sports.” Saeger said he and assistant coach Lesley Grams are looking at “building a program” in Mercer. He has started youth teams beginning with boys in third grade and said there are some good athletes in the lower grades and he wants them to learn the game of basketball and have fun playing it. As an example, the sixth grade team used to have to play eighth grade teams and took some lopsided defeats, which left them discouraged about playing basketball in the higher grades. Now, the teams are playing against players at their own age level and they can compete much better and enjoy more success. Saeger said one of the main strengths of this year’s team is having the 10 players and five returning letter-winners. There are much bigger schools that don’t have 10 players on their roster.
Another of Mercer’s strengths will be senior D’kota Engler (5-10). He has been a starter since his freshman year and will be the catalyst for the offense from his point guard position. Saeger said Engler is the team’s best ball-handler and is a good shooter who will be Mercer’s main offensive threat. Lucas Huybrecht (5-10, junior) will be called upon to play both the guard and forward spots and may even see time in the post. Saeger called him “a smart kid and a smart player.” Huybrecht saw plenty of playing time last season and was a starter when healthy. At 6-3, junior John Klopatek will play in the post and be the team’s main rebounder. Saeger said he has “really improved” and he’s hoping to get some scoring from Klopatek. Saeger said sophomore James Reichard (5-10, G/F) is Mercer’s other outside offensive threat.
“He will give us some speed and scoring,” Saeger said. “He’s pretty good for a sophomore. He’s also our second best ballhandler.” Guard Kyle Lukes (5-9, sophomore) got little playing time last season, but Saeger said he is improving and has a “nice shot.” Lukes is smart and makes good decisions on the court. Kyle Bianga (6-0, senior) has never played organized basketball, but Saeger said he has good athletic skills and could be a starter. Besides being a hard worker, Bianga can jump and Saeger is hoping he provides rebounding and be a good defender. Tyler Bianga (5-8, freshman) did not play middle school basketball. Saeger said he is like his brother in that his athletic skills are ahead of his basketball abilities at this time, but he could work into a starting role at some point. “John Cassiani (5-9, freshman)
is a very good shooter, possibly our best,” Saeger said. Saeger said Brandon Cassiani (6-1, junior) has never played basketball, but he is a strong, rebounder-type who has good hands. He should also be a good defensive player. Senior Brian Kich also has not played basketball, but Saeger said he has good quickness to go with an excellent attitude. Saeger said he is most concerned that the Tigers will struggle offensively. “We have some good shooters but no real excellent shooters,” he said. “We have to work on that in practice and get better.” Saeger said he can only remember watching Indianhead Conference teams play from a fan’s perspective last season, but he thought that in the East Division, Ironwood would be “tough” and he was impressed by Bessemer.
FROM LEFT are Hurley’s Jake Colassaco, Wakefield-Marenisco’s Kevin Lane, Bessemer’s Ben Zielinski, Mercer’s Lexi Engler and Hurley’s Makayla Wolfe (same photo) and Bessemer’s Sarah Trudgeon. Photos by: Jason Juno (Colassaco, Lane, Engler/Wolfe); Pat Krause (Zielinski, Trudgeon).
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