Chemistry was key element in regular season

By MIKE BROWN
STRYKER – Is chemistry still a required course in high school? It certainly is a required element for basketball teams, and chemistry was the accurate cliché statement heard loud and long all season among the area’s small-school teams.
It is always fun to look back at the preseason previews. Then and now, the word chemistry is frequent, essentially studying how the boys and girls mesh their personalities, meet or exceed potential, and how successful are they in combining elements of determination as one unit?
As the regular season ends and the playoffs start with hopes and dreams for several local teams starting anew of making a long tournament run, here’s an inside look at some of the small-school squads.
It would not be fair to say our coaches are over-paid and have an easy job of bringing out the best from the boys and girls. Stryker coach Dave Schultz has worked long hours to put figure out the complex chemistry of a team that is not particularly tall but is very talented.
The Panthers showed all kinds of chemistry issues and were not a smooth, confident team last week but they still only lost by a few points to Pettisville. They have potential to still make a strong playoff run but need to get the ball to Jordan Jaggers at key times, and also get far more scoring production from Zach Erb and Jordan Olmstead.
The entire Lady Panther coach staff led by head coach Steve Brown might have produced the best coaching effort of the year. Their chemistry has been incredibly positive and energized. The Lady Panthers are short on height and scoring prowess but tall on heart and determination.
They crafted a rewarding regular season despite many people wrongly predicting they wouldn’t come close to the undefeated regular season success achieved last year. This year’s team will likely finish the regular season at 15-3.
Don’t be surprised if the Lady Panthers go longer down the tournament trail than last year’s team that was stunned by Kalida in the playoffs. Stryker is starting to get more creative scoring and an improving short-range game led by three outstanding guards in seniors Brooke Hancock, Jacquelyn Laws and junior Nicole Brown. That’s the key, the short game on mid-range shots, and if Stryker is reduced to standing around the perimeter bombing three pointers, the tournament run will be short.
Chemistry and the learning curve are great success stories in North Central this winter with coach Justin Houk’s Eagles. Derek Wyrick’s will to win and versatile game has been surrounded by a team cohesion illustrated in a big recent win over Edon when five different players reached double figures for NC. The Eagles could be the surprise success story of the area in the tournament.
Edgerton and Hicksville both have schoolgirl teams that don’t quite have cohesion but they are not short on talent, height and coaching prowess. Both teams could be big surprises in the tournament. The one weakness of both squads is the lack of consistent mid-range scoring.
Hicksville has the potential to have a strong post game and senior guard Kendra Katschke can pour in 25 points on a good night.
It’s easy to admire long-time Hicksville coach Lindsey Kees and his recent strategy putting in screen and rolls and some “old school” basketball moves. It brings out the best in Katschke and his tall post players. It’s a mystery to me why these proven scoring strategies were put on the shelf in recent years. Most local teams concentrate on a perimeter game limited by sluggish player movement and the ball is repeatedly rotated around slowly to three-point shooters.
That perimeter game and passion for the triple is the primary reason team scoring averages are very low in the 40’s and low 50’s. There were several games this season where both teams combined didn’t reach 70 total points. The common style is relatively easy to defend and most area players show little instincts to create a shot with fakes, create penetration into the paint, or beat defenders by dribbling or shooting with either their left or right hands.
Lady Bulldog coach Kelly Thiel has frequently mentioned the chemistry concept about her talented team. However, Edgerton has lost a ton of games this year despite having three or four tall post players and a depth of scoring potential that other local teams just don’t have available.
Could they suddenly jell and win some tournament games? Juniors Brooke Riehle and Jayma Nihart might be the key elements of that Edgerton chemistry that can make the difference not just next year but now.
Sticking with the chemistry theme, Edon has been the classic up and down, explosive kind of team. The boys have beaten powerhouse North Central and they stunned Edgerton by burning down a 19-point deficit and winning at the buzzer. But can they share the ball, and can they play any level of defense? The Eagles gave up 96 points last week in a losing rematch game with the Eagles.
The Edon girls are all about chemistry under the microscope, too. The Lady Bombers lost to Edgerton, scored only 27 points in the game, and six-foot-one senior Megan Wiler managed only six points. A mere five days later, the Lady Bombers rolled to an easy win and Wiler had 35 points before the end of the third quarter. What a contrast.
The Bombers will likely end up in the tournament against long-time rival Stryker High. If Edon’s guards can master the entry pass, get the ball to Wiler for at least 20 points, and of course survive against the legendary Panther press, don’t be surprised if this is a very close game.
The final chemistry theme focus is on Hilltop. At the start of the year, the Cadets had the most size, talent and scoring power of any schoolboy team in the area. But the chemistry has never been right. Explosive scorer Chad Beals didn’t stay on the team very long, and talented Shawn Miller didn’t join the team until late in the season.
The powerful front line of Logan Mercer, Logan Armbruster and Nate Shaffer are taller and far stronger than any team they will face in the tournament. But in the regular season, this trio was consistently outplayed by shorter opponents. Junior guard Nick Smith has the same level of scoring talent as Stryker’s Jordan Jaggers, that is, if Smith would turn to penetration and mid-range jumpers rather than just looking for long triples.
Fans and reporters don’t have to be psychologists to see the chemistry issues on the Hilltop. However, the magic of the tournament is that this Cadet team could be stunningly great on any given night with their balance of size, depth and scoring ability.
All the ingredients are there for surprising success by many local teams but who knows what results will evolve once the magic elements of the tournament get started this month.