Whitko Wildcats In Rebuilding Mode
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Graduated from last year’s team are Times-Union All-Area Team selection Gabe Powell, as well as three-year starter Alex Stoddard, Trey Weber and Stephen Bennett.
Whitko also lost some players who elected not to play this season, leaving the program with a total of 13 players for the varsity and JV teams, but Wessel isn’t harping on who isn't with the team.
“We had some kids leave the program, not wanting to be a part of it,” Wessel said. “We are what we are, and we’re trying to deal with that.
“I was proud we had 13 kids there that were ready to work and wanted to be a part of it,” he added. “We’re going to get better. We have 50-some kids in our middle school program right now, so we’ll be fine.”
For now, senior point guard Dylan Cumberland has the Wildcats’ only significant varsity experience, averaging 6.7 points, 6.4 assists, 3.1 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game as a junior.
“He’s gotten just a ton better over the fall and summer,” Wessel said of the 6-foot Cumberland. “I think he’s gotten a lot better. His leadership’s improved a lot. He and the other seniors have done a nice job getting us going into the right direction.”
The other seniors are 5-10 guard Seth Patrick, 6-2 forward Danny Zawlocki, 6-0 forward Ian Keirn and 5-11 newcomer Tyler Baugher.
“We’re doing the best we can,” Wessel said. “We’re young this year, we’re inexperienced. Really, we have one guy coming back that played significant varsity minutes. Other than that, we’re going to have three seniors coming back that all played JV last year, then a freshman coming in and a sophomore that played JV last year. So, we’re very inexperienced to say the least.”
The sophomore is 6-0 forward Roger Helblig, who’s size will be his biggest asset.
“Roger’s going to be that guy that’s going to come in and bang for us,” Wessel said. “He has to be able to guard, he has to be able to screen and rebound.”
As for the freshman who’ll be counted on for his offense, that will be 6-0 guard Nate Walpole.
“Nate’s going to have to be able to score for us,” Wessel said. “He’s probably our best offensive player, but he’s a freshman also. He’s going to make some mistakes and probably hit that freshman wall that all freshmen go through. We’re hoping he can work through that quickly. He’s just got to be able to step up.”
Wessel also said 6-3 sophomore guard/forward Devon Adkins will be called on, while freshman Kyle Whelpley completes the varsity roster.
With so much inexperience on the floor, the seniors will still be counted on for leadership and Wessel feels they can bring that.
“Communication and their leadership are the things they’re doing,” Wessel said of the seniors. “They’re getting on guys, making sure they’re getting in the gym. They’re doing the little things around here that we need done to make sure we’re taking this program in the right direction.
“These last two weeks have been good for us,” he added. “We just finished up two-a-days on Tuesday. I’d say we got a really good first 10 days of really the kids just learning, and the kids want to get better, which I think is just huge.”
Wessel hopes to see that communication result in a lot less turnovers this season.
“Last year, we were 6-16 because we averaged 22 turnovers a game,” he said. “We shot 45 percent from the field, but when you turn it over 22 times, that’s 22 less times you get to shoot and 22 more times they get to shoot. They killed us.
“In our 22 games last year, I’d say we were in 19 of them for about three quarters, then our turnovers got to us,” he added. “Then, we only shot 51 percent from the free-throw line and we lost four games by two points. We just need to be better fundamentally.”
Outside of the turnovers and poor free throw shooting, Wessel sees this year’s squad following last year’s template.
“Just like last year, our team is going to play a team game,” he said. “We don’t have one guy that can do everything, but we’re a team. We know our roles.
“The expectations don’t change,” he added. “We expect to compete in every game. We expect to be competitive in the Three Rivers Conference, if not win it. Those are the same expectations we had last year.”
Before getting into TRC play, Whitko once again opens its season the day before Thanksgiving against Whitley County rival Columbia City.
Following the Columbia City game, the Wildcats travel to Leo Nov. 30.
“Columbia City and Leo are two great programs – people that are really doing extremely good things,” Wessel said. “I want to come out, have a good showing and really compete in those two games, hoping to get wins.”[[In-content Ad]]
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Graduated from last year’s team are Times-Union All-Area Team selection Gabe Powell, as well as three-year starter Alex Stoddard, Trey Weber and Stephen Bennett.
Whitko also lost some players who elected not to play this season, leaving the program with a total of 13 players for the varsity and JV teams, but Wessel isn’t harping on who isn't with the team.
“We had some kids leave the program, not wanting to be a part of it,” Wessel said. “We are what we are, and we’re trying to deal with that.
“I was proud we had 13 kids there that were ready to work and wanted to be a part of it,” he added. “We’re going to get better. We have 50-some kids in our middle school program right now, so we’ll be fine.”
For now, senior point guard Dylan Cumberland has the Wildcats’ only significant varsity experience, averaging 6.7 points, 6.4 assists, 3.1 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game as a junior.
“He’s gotten just a ton better over the fall and summer,” Wessel said of the 6-foot Cumberland. “I think he’s gotten a lot better. His leadership’s improved a lot. He and the other seniors have done a nice job getting us going into the right direction.”
The other seniors are 5-10 guard Seth Patrick, 6-2 forward Danny Zawlocki, 6-0 forward Ian Keirn and 5-11 newcomer Tyler Baugher.
“We’re doing the best we can,” Wessel said. “We’re young this year, we’re inexperienced. Really, we have one guy coming back that played significant varsity minutes. Other than that, we’re going to have three seniors coming back that all played JV last year, then a freshman coming in and a sophomore that played JV last year. So, we’re very inexperienced to say the least.”
The sophomore is 6-0 forward Roger Helblig, who’s size will be his biggest asset.
“Roger’s going to be that guy that’s going to come in and bang for us,” Wessel said. “He has to be able to guard, he has to be able to screen and rebound.”
As for the freshman who’ll be counted on for his offense, that will be 6-0 guard Nate Walpole.
“Nate’s going to have to be able to score for us,” Wessel said. “He’s probably our best offensive player, but he’s a freshman also. He’s going to make some mistakes and probably hit that freshman wall that all freshmen go through. We’re hoping he can work through that quickly. He’s just got to be able to step up.”
Wessel also said 6-3 sophomore guard/forward Devon Adkins will be called on, while freshman Kyle Whelpley completes the varsity roster.
With so much inexperience on the floor, the seniors will still be counted on for leadership and Wessel feels they can bring that.
“Communication and their leadership are the things they’re doing,” Wessel said of the seniors. “They’re getting on guys, making sure they’re getting in the gym. They’re doing the little things around here that we need done to make sure we’re taking this program in the right direction.
“These last two weeks have been good for us,” he added. “We just finished up two-a-days on Tuesday. I’d say we got a really good first 10 days of really the kids just learning, and the kids want to get better, which I think is just huge.”
Wessel hopes to see that communication result in a lot less turnovers this season.
“Last year, we were 6-16 because we averaged 22 turnovers a game,” he said. “We shot 45 percent from the field, but when you turn it over 22 times, that’s 22 less times you get to shoot and 22 more times they get to shoot. They killed us.
“In our 22 games last year, I’d say we were in 19 of them for about three quarters, then our turnovers got to us,” he added. “Then, we only shot 51 percent from the free-throw line and we lost four games by two points. We just need to be better fundamentally.”
Outside of the turnovers and poor free throw shooting, Wessel sees this year’s squad following last year’s template.
“Just like last year, our team is going to play a team game,” he said. “We don’t have one guy that can do everything, but we’re a team. We know our roles.
“The expectations don’t change,” he added. “We expect to compete in every game. We expect to be competitive in the Three Rivers Conference, if not win it. Those are the same expectations we had last year.”
Before getting into TRC play, Whitko once again opens its season the day before Thanksgiving against Whitley County rival Columbia City.
Following the Columbia City game, the Wildcats travel to Leo Nov. 30.
“Columbia City and Leo are two great programs – people that are really doing extremely good things,” Wessel said. “I want to come out, have a good showing and really compete in those two games, hoping to get wins.”[[In-content Ad]]
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