Wawasee Keeping It Positive As 2019-20 Slate Dawns
November 22, 2019 at 1:05 a.m.
Wawasee Keeping It Positive As 2019-20 Slate Dawns
By Steve Krah-
The Warriors ended on an “up” — playing in the IHSAA Class 3A Wawasee Sectional championship game against Tippecanoe Valley.
The 2019-20 edition of Wawasee basketball opens its season Tuesday at Fairfield and plays host to Angola Nov. 30.
“Our goal early on is to make sure we’re really competitive and pick up where we left off last year,” says fourth-year Warriors head coach Jon Everingham. “We were a very competitive basketball team.
“We have a nice mix of senior leaders along with some skilled younger players. Our strength is diversity in our roster.
“Our team chemistry is outstanding. We’ve got really, really good kids in our program. We’re hoping that pays dividends somewhere along the line.”
Led by returning seniors Austin Miller (12.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game with 37 3-pointers and a team-high 56 assists in 2018-19 when Wawasee went 6-17 overall and 0-7 in the Northern Lakes Conference) and Ethan Hardy (5.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a junior), the Warriors will begin the season with solid rotation of seven players.
Junior point guard Kameron Salazar started about half Wawasee’s games in 2018-19. Sophomore Keaton really came on strong in his first year of varsity basketball a year ago. Sophomore Jack Stover is also in the starting mix Everingham says the first two players off the bench are likely to be senior Jaydon Boyer, a three-year letterwinner who will be looked upon to provide some energy, and junior Justin Castro, a football lineman who returns to the hardwood after a few year’s absence.
The varsity roster also features seniors Marten Kent and Ray Lenoir, junior Adam Beer and sophomores Mason Possell and Caleb Welty.
In the past few seasons, the Warriors have been deliberate on offense.
“When you’re not very skilled and not very deep, you cannot play 60 possessions in a basketball game,” says Everingham. “That’s where we’ve been.
“But we feel like we are adding skill and depth to our roster. Therefore, I think we can play a few more possessions.”
Wawasee averaged 44.6 points per outing in 2018-19 after putting up a norm of 37.7 in 2017-18.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we took another step forward offensively in playing some more possessions,” says Everingham. “We’re definitely not going to be a team that tries to reduce possessions. I think we can find good shots a little quicker this year.”
As last season ended, Everingham’s status as head coach was in question. But the coach says it hasn’t been an issue in the off-season.
“That was a thing of the past,” says Everingham, who is also the school’s work-based learning coordinator and helps at Wawasee Career Center and Technical Cooperative. “There was no carryover of any negativity as we entered into the summer. It’s something we haven’t discussed at all since last season.”
In the summer, the Warriors attended a team camp at the University of Findlay (Ohio) and a few shootouts. Many players went on to play AAU basketball in July.
“We had nearly 100% commitment from our guys in the summertime,” says Everingham. “We’ve built that foundation of what is expected of a Wawasee basketball player and that continued in the summer.”
Nate O’Connell and Chad Hoffert are varsity assistants this season. Derek Coy is the junior varsity head coach. Scott Hetrick is a statistician and volunteer coach. Glenn Hefter and Kelci Freds are volunteer coaches. Andrew Wilson is the head freshmen coach.
The Warriors ended on an “up” — playing in the IHSAA Class 3A Wawasee Sectional championship game against Tippecanoe Valley.
The 2019-20 edition of Wawasee basketball opens its season Tuesday at Fairfield and plays host to Angola Nov. 30.
“Our goal early on is to make sure we’re really competitive and pick up where we left off last year,” says fourth-year Warriors head coach Jon Everingham. “We were a very competitive basketball team.
“We have a nice mix of senior leaders along with some skilled younger players. Our strength is diversity in our roster.
“Our team chemistry is outstanding. We’ve got really, really good kids in our program. We’re hoping that pays dividends somewhere along the line.”
Led by returning seniors Austin Miller (12.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game with 37 3-pointers and a team-high 56 assists in 2018-19 when Wawasee went 6-17 overall and 0-7 in the Northern Lakes Conference) and Ethan Hardy (5.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a junior), the Warriors will begin the season with solid rotation of seven players.
Junior point guard Kameron Salazar started about half Wawasee’s games in 2018-19. Sophomore Keaton really came on strong in his first year of varsity basketball a year ago. Sophomore Jack Stover is also in the starting mix Everingham says the first two players off the bench are likely to be senior Jaydon Boyer, a three-year letterwinner who will be looked upon to provide some energy, and junior Justin Castro, a football lineman who returns to the hardwood after a few year’s absence.
The varsity roster also features seniors Marten Kent and Ray Lenoir, junior Adam Beer and sophomores Mason Possell and Caleb Welty.
In the past few seasons, the Warriors have been deliberate on offense.
“When you’re not very skilled and not very deep, you cannot play 60 possessions in a basketball game,” says Everingham. “That’s where we’ve been.
“But we feel like we are adding skill and depth to our roster. Therefore, I think we can play a few more possessions.”
Wawasee averaged 44.6 points per outing in 2018-19 after putting up a norm of 37.7 in 2017-18.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we took another step forward offensively in playing some more possessions,” says Everingham. “We’re definitely not going to be a team that tries to reduce possessions. I think we can find good shots a little quicker this year.”
As last season ended, Everingham’s status as head coach was in question. But the coach says it hasn’t been an issue in the off-season.
“That was a thing of the past,” says Everingham, who is also the school’s work-based learning coordinator and helps at Wawasee Career Center and Technical Cooperative. “There was no carryover of any negativity as we entered into the summer. It’s something we haven’t discussed at all since last season.”
In the summer, the Warriors attended a team camp at the University of Findlay (Ohio) and a few shootouts. Many players went on to play AAU basketball in July.
“We had nearly 100% commitment from our guys in the summertime,” says Everingham. “We’ve built that foundation of what is expected of a Wawasee basketball player and that continued in the summer.”
Nate O’Connell and Chad Hoffert are varsity assistants this season. Derek Coy is the junior varsity head coach. Scott Hetrick is a statistician and volunteer coach. Glenn Hefter and Kelci Freds are volunteer coaches. Andrew Wilson is the head freshmen coach.
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