Cupboard Far From Bare At Warsaw
November 22, 2016 at 6:10 p.m.
Cupboard Far From Bare At Warsaw
By Dale [email protected]
The cupboard for this season, however, is anything but bare, and as coach Doug Ogle put it, the Tigers “aren’t feeling sorry for ourselves.”
Warsaw opens the season Wednesday by hosting county rival Tippecanoe Valley, and fans will see a lot of familiar faces among the Tigers.
Key returners include seniors Kyle Mangas and Jeremy David, both of whom were starters last season, as well as juniors Ross Johnson, Jaceb Burish and Braxton Minix.
The rest of the roster includes seniors Sam Miller, Aaron Sandoval, Kyle Skeans and Shane Powers; and juniors Asher Blum, Jack Rhoades, Zach Riley and Jack Grose.
Graduated from the team are three-year starter Paul Marandet, Riley Rhoades and Evan Schmidt.
“I think that our losses are significant,” said Ogle, who takes a 218-101 record into his 15th season at the helm of the program. “Paul Marandet right now is probably Spring Arbor University’s best player. And then, Riley Rhoades and Evan Schmidt were better basketball players than people probably give them credit for.
“It is good that we do have Kyle Mangas and Jeremy David back, both starters, and Ross Johnson, who was in a major role last year off the bench. We graduated some really good basketball players, but we’re not feeling sorry for ourselves.”
The Tigers, who are 43-7 overall and 14-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference over the past two seasons, enter Wednesday’s county clash ranked No. 5 in 4A.
Warsaw boasts talent, depth and height.
Valley’s 11-man varsity roster has just two players taller than 6-foot and none taller than 6-3.
The Tigers’ starting lineup, according to Ogle, will feature the 6-3 Mangas, 6-4 David, 6-7 Blum, 6-2 Johnson, and either the 6-7 Minix or 6-2 Burish.
“Burish and Minix both had important roles in several games and both made a difference,” said Ogle. “They both bring experience. I’m anxious to see how Asher Blum will do in a varsity role.
“I don’t think I’ve ever started the season with 13 varsity players. And we have 11 junior varsity players. I would say our depth, throughout the program, is pretty good. A season like we had last year helps with that, because a lot of the younger players saw how fun it was to be on a team like that, and I think it provides motivation. I’m hoping we have a carryover from last season.”
It goes without saying that a lot of the excitement surrounding this team is generated by Mangas.
The Indiana Wesleyan University commit averaged 19.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and two assists per game during his junior campaign.
Mangas shot 56 percent from the floor overall, 48 percent from the arc, and 80 percent from the free throw line en route to 523 points last season.
He was a member of the Junior All-Star team and needs just 193 points this season to become the 12th player in Warsaw boys hoops history to score 1,000 career points.
“My dad used to say to me, ‘if you’ve got Peyton Manning you’ve got a chance,’’ said Ogle. “That’s how I feel about Kyle Mangas. If you’ve got Kyle Mangas on your team, you’ve got a chance to beat just about anybody if he plays well and we get contributions from others. That’s probably as big a reason as any for our optimism, is him.
“We’re excited to see him lead us this year. I think he’s gotten stronger. He has the college choice thing nailed down, so that’s good. Indiana Wesleyan is excited to have him, and he’s excited about going there. He averaged about 20 points per game on 11 shots per game last year.”
After Wednesday’s opener, Warsaw will host Columbia City on Saturday and then travel to Homestead and Huntington North on Dec. 2 and 3, respectively.
The Tigers open Northern Lakes Conference play on Dec. 16 at Wawasee.
“I think Concord will be better. Wawasee has a new coach, and I think they could be significantly better,” Ogle said when asked about the NLC. “Goshen has a new coach. I have a lot of respect for Brian Bechtel, but with a new coach there’s new energy.
“With Kyle Mangas, I think we’d have to be the favorite to win the conference. It’s going to be a challenge to get through it again. NorthWood returns three starters, so I think us and then NorthWood, and then there’s probably three or four other teams that could beat NorthWood or us on a given night.”
Other key games on Warsaw’s schedule include at trip to Crown Point on Dec. 17, a rematch of last season’s regional final, and a trip to New Castle for the Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 30.
In the HOF?Classic, Warsaw will play 4A No. 1 and defending state champion New Albany, a team that features one of the best players in the country in junior Romeo Langford.
The Tigers will finish their schedule with Merrillville (Feb. 11), Carmel (Feb. 18) and Carroll (Feb. 24).
“If you look at our schedule, we added Crown Point, a regional final rematch, that’s exciting,” said Ogle. “Going down to New Castle to play New Albany, with Romeo Langford, is exciting. And then we added Merrillville, who is gonna be good. We still have Carmel on the schedule. We still have Carroll. Our last three games are Merrillville, Carmel and Carroll. Our schedule is as daunting as it’s been.”
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The cupboard for this season, however, is anything but bare, and as coach Doug Ogle put it, the Tigers “aren’t feeling sorry for ourselves.”
Warsaw opens the season Wednesday by hosting county rival Tippecanoe Valley, and fans will see a lot of familiar faces among the Tigers.
Key returners include seniors Kyle Mangas and Jeremy David, both of whom were starters last season, as well as juniors Ross Johnson, Jaceb Burish and Braxton Minix.
The rest of the roster includes seniors Sam Miller, Aaron Sandoval, Kyle Skeans and Shane Powers; and juniors Asher Blum, Jack Rhoades, Zach Riley and Jack Grose.
Graduated from the team are three-year starter Paul Marandet, Riley Rhoades and Evan Schmidt.
“I think that our losses are significant,” said Ogle, who takes a 218-101 record into his 15th season at the helm of the program. “Paul Marandet right now is probably Spring Arbor University’s best player. And then, Riley Rhoades and Evan Schmidt were better basketball players than people probably give them credit for.
“It is good that we do have Kyle Mangas and Jeremy David back, both starters, and Ross Johnson, who was in a major role last year off the bench. We graduated some really good basketball players, but we’re not feeling sorry for ourselves.”
The Tigers, who are 43-7 overall and 14-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference over the past two seasons, enter Wednesday’s county clash ranked No. 5 in 4A.
Warsaw boasts talent, depth and height.
Valley’s 11-man varsity roster has just two players taller than 6-foot and none taller than 6-3.
The Tigers’ starting lineup, according to Ogle, will feature the 6-3 Mangas, 6-4 David, 6-7 Blum, 6-2 Johnson, and either the 6-7 Minix or 6-2 Burish.
“Burish and Minix both had important roles in several games and both made a difference,” said Ogle. “They both bring experience. I’m anxious to see how Asher Blum will do in a varsity role.
“I don’t think I’ve ever started the season with 13 varsity players. And we have 11 junior varsity players. I would say our depth, throughout the program, is pretty good. A season like we had last year helps with that, because a lot of the younger players saw how fun it was to be on a team like that, and I think it provides motivation. I’m hoping we have a carryover from last season.”
It goes without saying that a lot of the excitement surrounding this team is generated by Mangas.
The Indiana Wesleyan University commit averaged 19.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and two assists per game during his junior campaign.
Mangas shot 56 percent from the floor overall, 48 percent from the arc, and 80 percent from the free throw line en route to 523 points last season.
He was a member of the Junior All-Star team and needs just 193 points this season to become the 12th player in Warsaw boys hoops history to score 1,000 career points.
“My dad used to say to me, ‘if you’ve got Peyton Manning you’ve got a chance,’’ said Ogle. “That’s how I feel about Kyle Mangas. If you’ve got Kyle Mangas on your team, you’ve got a chance to beat just about anybody if he plays well and we get contributions from others. That’s probably as big a reason as any for our optimism, is him.
“We’re excited to see him lead us this year. I think he’s gotten stronger. He has the college choice thing nailed down, so that’s good. Indiana Wesleyan is excited to have him, and he’s excited about going there. He averaged about 20 points per game on 11 shots per game last year.”
After Wednesday’s opener, Warsaw will host Columbia City on Saturday and then travel to Homestead and Huntington North on Dec. 2 and 3, respectively.
The Tigers open Northern Lakes Conference play on Dec. 16 at Wawasee.
“I think Concord will be better. Wawasee has a new coach, and I think they could be significantly better,” Ogle said when asked about the NLC. “Goshen has a new coach. I have a lot of respect for Brian Bechtel, but with a new coach there’s new energy.
“With Kyle Mangas, I think we’d have to be the favorite to win the conference. It’s going to be a challenge to get through it again. NorthWood returns three starters, so I think us and then NorthWood, and then there’s probably three or four other teams that could beat NorthWood or us on a given night.”
Other key games on Warsaw’s schedule include at trip to Crown Point on Dec. 17, a rematch of last season’s regional final, and a trip to New Castle for the Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 30.
In the HOF?Classic, Warsaw will play 4A No. 1 and defending state champion New Albany, a team that features one of the best players in the country in junior Romeo Langford.
The Tigers will finish their schedule with Merrillville (Feb. 11), Carmel (Feb. 18) and Carroll (Feb. 24).
“If you look at our schedule, we added Crown Point, a regional final rematch, that’s exciting,” said Ogle. “Going down to New Castle to play New Albany, with Romeo Langford, is exciting. And then we added Merrillville, who is gonna be good. We still have Carmel on the schedule. We still have Carroll. Our last three games are Merrillville, Carmel and Carroll. Our schedule is as daunting as it’s been.”
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