New Era, More Numbers At Whitko
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
“We knew when I came here we’d have to get kids out (for basketball). There were only 13 kids in the whole high school that played last year,” Fleetwood said. “Six of those 13 graduated, so there were only seven kids who played on any team (varsity, JV or freshman team) coming back. Thirteen has to be the lowest number of any high school program in the state of Indiana.
“So our first thing to do was try and beat the bushes and get the kids back out that had played in the past but not last year. We had 32 kids come out, and we’ve made some cuts and now we’re down to around 26 or 27 in the total program. We actually have a ‘C’ team. I feel good that the first phase of what we’re trying to do was very successful, and that we’ve gone from seven players to 27.
Now the next part, making the parts into a team. Only three Wildcats have any varsity experience. Juniors Devon Adkins and Roger Helblig played last season.
Adkins averaged seven points per game and Helblig scored three per game. Senior Cole Kessie played varsity as a sophomore, but didn’t play last year.
So Fleetwood finds himself in a teaching mode, rather than an install offensive plays and defensive sets frame of mind.
“We’re just trying to dribble, pass and shoot right now,” he said. “I absolutely despise the fact we only have 14 days to get ready for the first game. I’ve coached long enough (36 years) to remember we used to have six weeks of practice before the first game. Now we’re down to two-and-a-half.
“It’s a step-by-step process. We’ve got the numbers out, they’re playing hard, and they have good attitudes. But there’s so much to teach it’s almost overwhelming. We’ve got to get better fundamentally every day, but we’ve also got to get ready for a game (Wednesday).
“We’re definitely getting better, we’re definitely improving, we definitely have a chance to get better as the year goes.”
And while the current squad doesn’t have a lot of experience in basketball, there’s something to work with in the players at Whitko.
“We have athletic ability. We’re short in skill right now. We just haven’t had enough guys with a ball in their hands over their lives and play a lot of basketball,” said Fleetwood. “We have to use that athletic ability to our advantage until the skill gets better.
“We’re going to have to look at eight to 10 kids and see what they can do. It may cost us at game-time at first, but we’ve got to see who can do what, and who does well under fire. When you watch open gym, you see certain guys stand out, but when you get to practice they don’t stand out as much as other guys do. The same thing happens when you start playing games; guys who look good in practice don’t play as well in games, and guys who didn’t practice well play better in games. We’ll have to see who does well when the lights are on and the scoreboard is on and see what happens.”
As far as a starting lineup, or even who will be on the varsity squad on a day-in, day-out basis, that situation remains fluid for Fleetwood and Whitko.
“I’ve been around long enough to know not to make any decisions about what we’re going to do until we find out what we can do. When the coach is new and the players are new it’s about finding what’s going to work best against our competition. This way I can lead them into giving them the best chance to compete,” said Fleetwood.
“Last year they were 1-20, and in most of the games they weren’t very competitive. They had a few they could have won but didn’t, but most of the games there was a pretty big margin. Our goal is in every game, with four minutes to go, to have a chance to win. To still be coaching and playing in an attempt to win, rather than just riding out the rest of the game in a glorified practice.
“We may not be ahead, but we can be in the game with a realistic chance to win. That, I think, is a feasible, reasonable goal if we work hard enough at it.”
The Wildcats begin the 2014-15 campaign Wednesday when they travel to Columbia City.[[In-content Ad]]
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“We knew when I came here we’d have to get kids out (for basketball). There were only 13 kids in the whole high school that played last year,” Fleetwood said. “Six of those 13 graduated, so there were only seven kids who played on any team (varsity, JV or freshman team) coming back. Thirteen has to be the lowest number of any high school program in the state of Indiana.
“So our first thing to do was try and beat the bushes and get the kids back out that had played in the past but not last year. We had 32 kids come out, and we’ve made some cuts and now we’re down to around 26 or 27 in the total program. We actually have a ‘C’ team. I feel good that the first phase of what we’re trying to do was very successful, and that we’ve gone from seven players to 27.
Now the next part, making the parts into a team. Only three Wildcats have any varsity experience. Juniors Devon Adkins and Roger Helblig played last season.
Adkins averaged seven points per game and Helblig scored three per game. Senior Cole Kessie played varsity as a sophomore, but didn’t play last year.
So Fleetwood finds himself in a teaching mode, rather than an install offensive plays and defensive sets frame of mind.
“We’re just trying to dribble, pass and shoot right now,” he said. “I absolutely despise the fact we only have 14 days to get ready for the first game. I’ve coached long enough (36 years) to remember we used to have six weeks of practice before the first game. Now we’re down to two-and-a-half.
“It’s a step-by-step process. We’ve got the numbers out, they’re playing hard, and they have good attitudes. But there’s so much to teach it’s almost overwhelming. We’ve got to get better fundamentally every day, but we’ve also got to get ready for a game (Wednesday).
“We’re definitely getting better, we’re definitely improving, we definitely have a chance to get better as the year goes.”
And while the current squad doesn’t have a lot of experience in basketball, there’s something to work with in the players at Whitko.
“We have athletic ability. We’re short in skill right now. We just haven’t had enough guys with a ball in their hands over their lives and play a lot of basketball,” said Fleetwood. “We have to use that athletic ability to our advantage until the skill gets better.
“We’re going to have to look at eight to 10 kids and see what they can do. It may cost us at game-time at first, but we’ve got to see who can do what, and who does well under fire. When you watch open gym, you see certain guys stand out, but when you get to practice they don’t stand out as much as other guys do. The same thing happens when you start playing games; guys who look good in practice don’t play as well in games, and guys who didn’t practice well play better in games. We’ll have to see who does well when the lights are on and the scoreboard is on and see what happens.”
As far as a starting lineup, or even who will be on the varsity squad on a day-in, day-out basis, that situation remains fluid for Fleetwood and Whitko.
“I’ve been around long enough to know not to make any decisions about what we’re going to do until we find out what we can do. When the coach is new and the players are new it’s about finding what’s going to work best against our competition. This way I can lead them into giving them the best chance to compete,” said Fleetwood.
“Last year they were 1-20, and in most of the games they weren’t very competitive. They had a few they could have won but didn’t, but most of the games there was a pretty big margin. Our goal is in every game, with four minutes to go, to have a chance to win. To still be coaching and playing in an attempt to win, rather than just riding out the rest of the game in a glorified practice.
“We may not be ahead, but we can be in the game with a realistic chance to win. That, I think, is a feasible, reasonable goal if we work hard enough at it.”
The Wildcats begin the 2014-15 campaign Wednesday when they travel to Columbia City.[[In-content Ad]]
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