Warsaw boys basketball coach Al Rhodes is so impressed with Marion he feels his Tigers will have to play a perfect game to beat Marion tonight.

Consider Marion is ranked No. 1 in the coaches poll and Warsaw No. 12. Still, even with his team in the top 20, Rhodes believes Marion is on another level. National rankings prove him right: USA Today ranks Marion No. 3 in the nation among high school boys basketball teams.

The Tigers enter 10-3, while Marion is 15-0.

"If we play 30 times," Rhodes said, "they will beat us 28 or 29. It will take by far the best game this team has played this season to have a chance to win this game."

Rhodes knows what's coming: Six-foot-eight senior center Zach Randolph and a team that plays a tenacious match-up zone.

Randolph, headed to Michigan State, averages 23 points and 15 rebounds per game. The matchup zone has held teams to 41 percent shooting from the field and 52.2 points per game. Marion hosted and beat Warsaw 73-41 last year. Randolph had 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds. The Giants extended their lead on the Tigers with Randolph on the bench.

"If you get them out of their matchup zone, they probably won't play man-to-man defense quite as well," Rhodes said. "The problem is, no team has been able to get them out of the zone, and they do play a great zone."

The Tigers will be shorthanded as 6'6' senior frontcourt player Steve Siebenmorgen is sidelined with a concussion. Siebenmorgen, who leads the team with 13.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, is expected to miss at least two more weeks. Junior Josh Buck, a scrapper and a solid defender who provides energy off the bench, will start in place of Siebenmorgen.

"In my opinion," Rhodes said, "Steve has outplayed Zach head-to-head when they've played. Not having Steve hurts our offense, but he's also our best interior defender and our leading rebounder."

On the court, Rhodes cites many concerns: Marion's rebounding. Marion's balanced offense with Randolph and 6'6' Matt Backs (10.9 ppg.) scoring inside and senior guards Todd Chin (9.5 ppg.) and Reggie Nevels (6.9 ppg.) scoring outside. Marion's quick guards and their defensive pressure. Marion's traps.

"I think you have to battle Zach," Rhodes said, "but if you concentrate on him too much, things open up for other players. Last year they extended their lead on us when Randolph was on the bench. Randolph is an excellent passer who is very unselfish."

Surely even Marion must have a weakness.

Marion coach Moe Smedley says his Giants do.

"Free throw shooting," he said. "We're at 68 percent. I'd like us to be above 70. Turnovers. We're at 13.8, which isn't bad, but I'd like to see us down around 10."

Smedley will tell his players before this game Warsaw is the best team they have faced this season. He does this before every game because he feels it keeps his players focused.

"If we're not disciplined," he said, "and if we're not aggressive on the boards, Warsaw will do some things. It's not like we've never been behind in games.

We've been behind in games before. Warsaw is a disciplined team that does not beat itself."

The Tigers believe if 6'6' Zach Nelson (11.4 ppg.), the 6'4' Buck (2.7 ppg.) and 6'7' Paul Finnegan (3.3 ppg.) get the ball inside, they can cause problems by possibly getting Backs and Randolph into foul trouble. If Warsaw gets the ball inside, Rhodes is counting on his perimeter shooters to knock down shots once the ball is kicked outside.

Defensively, Warsaw will throw several looks at Marion.

"We plan to mix our defenses, and we want to try to keep them off the offensive board," Rhodes said. "We want to create some confusion in their guards. We must rebound well. Rebounding well covers up a multitude of sins."

Rhodes placed the responsibility of leading the team on Ross Kesler (8.2 ppg.), Chris Wiggins (13.1 ppg.) and Nelson, three seniors.

"What we need is for those three, our most experienced players, to assert themselves," Rhodes said. "They have to provide leadership to give us a chance.

"The first thing you have to do is believe you can win when you play a great player like Randolph and a great team like Marion. The last 25 years, I feel Marion has been looked at as the top basketball program in the state. We're always trying to measure ourselves against them.

"There's not too many games we come in as the underdog. Marion beat us so badly last year, maybe they'll overlook us." [[In-content Ad]]