Whitko Set For Blackford Regional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
"If we rebound, take care of the ball and play good defense, we should have a chance to win," Whitko coach Rob Irwin said.
Facing the 9-14 Harding Hawks in the noon game Saturday, the 18-5 Whitko Wildcats are careful not to take the team lightly.
"They play in one of the best conferences," Irwin said, referring to the Summit Conference, which contains (Class 4A, No. 6) Fort Wayne Snider, (Class 2A, No. 2) Fort Wayne Luers and (Class 3A, No. 4) Fort Wayne Dwenger. "They're quick, athletic and are really good at getting offensive rebounds. We need to keep them off the boards and contain their dribble penetration."
Harding's two biggest post threats are 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior Xavier Carr and 6-4, 210-pound junior Roderick Smith, making Whitko's 6-9, senior Kaden Krull step his game up.
"Kaden's going to be critical on the boards," Irwin said of Krull, who has averaged three rebounds a game this season.
With their 63-60 upset of Dwenger in the New Haven Sectional championship Saturday, the young Harding team proved to have an inside presence, as well as some quick guards, such as junior La'mondre Warren.
"We do have experience playing against quick guards, such as Fort Wayne Wayne," Irwin said "We also played against (Marcus) James of Lakeland, who's super quick and penetrates, much like (Bruce) Grimm at Rochester."
And for Whitko, having freshman guard Logan Irwin back at full strength will be a needed commodity.
After suffering a concussion in a loss to NorthWood Feb. 27, Logan Irwin was cleared to play last week, but following an additional seven days of rest, is back at 100 percent.
"He's back to normal," Rob Irwin said of his son and leader in scoring (17.5 ppg), assists (4.1) and steals (1.6), while also averaging 4.1 rebounds a game.
But with Logan Irwin back at full strength, that doesn't mean everyone else is.
During a Tuesday practice, Krull tweaked his ankle and the flu bug has also hit the Wildcats, causing senior Ryan Bumbaugh and sophomore Max Elder to miss a couple days.
"If something didn't go wrong, it wouldn't be Whitko," Rob Irwin joked.
In Saturday's 51-49 sectional championship win over Lakeland, things do go right for Whitko, mainly by junior Travis Lepper's 6 for 9 shooting from three-point range.
"He's been looking good in practice," Rob Irwin said about Lepper keeping that hot shooting touch.
Following the sectional victory, the Wildcats returned to South Whitley as conquering heroes, continuing a tradition began by former coach Bill Patrick.
"We did the same thing coach Patrick did when his Whitko teams won a sectional," Rob Irwin said. "We have a lot of traditions. The guys rode in on fire trucks and just had a lot of fun."
On top of the Saturday night celebration, the guys have also gotten more exposure in the media, including television crews showing up for practice.
"It's been a neat experience for a lot of the kids," Rob Irwin said. "But, like I've told them, 'You have to enjoy this, because you never if you'll be able to do it again.' But I want them to remember this."
And if they want the good times to continue, they'll need to get through a Harding team that was in the Class 3A state championship game just a season ago. On top of that, Harding is making its fourth-straight appearance in a regional, while this is Whitko's first since the 2000-01 season.
"As long as we don't turn the ball over, we should be in a good spot," Rob Irwin said.
In Saturday's 10 a.m. game, No. 13 Delta (20-4) squares off with No. 8 Peru (19-4), a team that defeated Whitko 50-39 on Dec. 30 in the Holiday Tournament at Maconaquah High School.
"We played (Peru) tough," the Whitko coach said. "I'd say those two teams are the favorites to win the regional, but at this time of the year, anyone can beat anyone. Once you get this far, everyone's pretty good."[[In-content Ad]]
"If we rebound, take care of the ball and play good defense, we should have a chance to win," Whitko coach Rob Irwin said.
Facing the 9-14 Harding Hawks in the noon game Saturday, the 18-5 Whitko Wildcats are careful not to take the team lightly.
"They play in one of the best conferences," Irwin said, referring to the Summit Conference, which contains (Class 4A, No. 6) Fort Wayne Snider, (Class 2A, No. 2) Fort Wayne Luers and (Class 3A, No. 4) Fort Wayne Dwenger. "They're quick, athletic and are really good at getting offensive rebounds. We need to keep them off the boards and contain their dribble penetration."
Harding's two biggest post threats are 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior Xavier Carr and 6-4, 210-pound junior Roderick Smith, making Whitko's 6-9, senior Kaden Krull step his game up.
"Kaden's going to be critical on the boards," Irwin said of Krull, who has averaged three rebounds a game this season.
With their 63-60 upset of Dwenger in the New Haven Sectional championship Saturday, the young Harding team proved to have an inside presence, as well as some quick guards, such as junior La'mondre Warren.
"We do have experience playing against quick guards, such as Fort Wayne Wayne," Irwin said "We also played against (Marcus) James of Lakeland, who's super quick and penetrates, much like (Bruce) Grimm at Rochester."
And for Whitko, having freshman guard Logan Irwin back at full strength will be a needed commodity.
After suffering a concussion in a loss to NorthWood Feb. 27, Logan Irwin was cleared to play last week, but following an additional seven days of rest, is back at 100 percent.
"He's back to normal," Rob Irwin said of his son and leader in scoring (17.5 ppg), assists (4.1) and steals (1.6), while also averaging 4.1 rebounds a game.
But with Logan Irwin back at full strength, that doesn't mean everyone else is.
During a Tuesday practice, Krull tweaked his ankle and the flu bug has also hit the Wildcats, causing senior Ryan Bumbaugh and sophomore Max Elder to miss a couple days.
"If something didn't go wrong, it wouldn't be Whitko," Rob Irwin joked.
In Saturday's 51-49 sectional championship win over Lakeland, things do go right for Whitko, mainly by junior Travis Lepper's 6 for 9 shooting from three-point range.
"He's been looking good in practice," Rob Irwin said about Lepper keeping that hot shooting touch.
Following the sectional victory, the Wildcats returned to South Whitley as conquering heroes, continuing a tradition began by former coach Bill Patrick.
"We did the same thing coach Patrick did when his Whitko teams won a sectional," Rob Irwin said. "We have a lot of traditions. The guys rode in on fire trucks and just had a lot of fun."
On top of the Saturday night celebration, the guys have also gotten more exposure in the media, including television crews showing up for practice.
"It's been a neat experience for a lot of the kids," Rob Irwin said. "But, like I've told them, 'You have to enjoy this, because you never if you'll be able to do it again.' But I want them to remember this."
And if they want the good times to continue, they'll need to get through a Harding team that was in the Class 3A state championship game just a season ago. On top of that, Harding is making its fourth-straight appearance in a regional, while this is Whitko's first since the 2000-01 season.
"As long as we don't turn the ball over, we should be in a good spot," Rob Irwin said.
In Saturday's 10 a.m. game, No. 13 Delta (20-4) squares off with No. 8 Peru (19-4), a team that defeated Whitko 50-39 on Dec. 30 in the Holiday Tournament at Maconaquah High School.
"We played (Peru) tough," the Whitko coach said. "I'd say those two teams are the favorites to win the regional, but at this time of the year, anyone can beat anyone. Once you get this far, everyone's pretty good."[[In-content Ad]]
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