The Warsaw Tigers graduated a talented group of seniors from last season's boys basketball team that was 7-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference and 18-5 overall. Veteran coach Doug Ogle, however, has a strong foundation for this year's squad in standout guards Paul Marandet and Kyle Mangas. Marandet is back for his third season as Warsaw's starting point guard, while Mangas led the Tigers in scoring last year as a sophomore. “We had a good group of seniors last year, but I feel good about starting this year with a couple of guards like Paul Marandet and Kyle Mangas,” said Ogle, who takes a record of 193-99 into his 14th season with the Tigers. “We graduated a good group of seniors ... Jake Mangas, Rashaan Jackson, Nick Sands, Tim Swanson and Peyton Long were all solid players, but we have our two best players from last year back with Paul Marandet and Kyle Mangas.” Along with the standout backcourt, Warsaw's 2015-16 roster also includes seniors Riley Rhoades and Evan Schmidt; juniors Jeremy David, Sam Miller, Aaron Sandoval, Jaceb Burish and Braxton Minix; and sophomores Jack Rhoades, Ross Johnson and Asher Blum. Joining Marandet and Mangas in the starting lineup for Wednesday's season opener at county rival Tippecanoe Valley will be Schmidt, at a third guard position, and post players David and Minix. Mangas is listed on the roster as 6-foot-3, while fellow starting guards Marandet and Schmidt are both 6-0. David is listed as 6-4, while Minix is 6-7. The Tigers, even without 6-4 Riley Rhoades who would be a starter but is recovering from a knee injury suffered during Week 9 of the football season, are as tall and long as they've been in a long time, said Ogle. Coach Bill Patrick's Tippecanoe Valley team has just two players that are 6-2, and the tallest player on the roster is a 6-4 sophomore. “We're a little more athletic than we were last year,” said Ogle. “I'm definitely excited about our length and lateral movement. I think we'll be a good team. I'm not sure we'll be as good as last year, but we might be. Because of the quality of our guards, and our size, I think we're pretty capable of having a special season. “We're excited about getting the season started. Tippecanoe Valley always plays well against us. We understand we'll be the favorite, but Coach Patrick will have his team ready to go. The combination of games at Tippecanoe Valley and Columbia City will be a good test for us. We'll know where we stand. We're looking forward to it.” The Tigers play at Columbia City on Nov. 28, then have back-to-back home games with Homestead (Dec. 4) and Huntington North (Dec. 5). On Dec. 10 and Dec. 11, Warsaw will play games at Manchester and Lake Central. Lake Central is new to the Tigers' schedule, as is Mishawaka Marian, who will play at Warsaw on Jan. 19. Warsaw will open Northern Lakes Conference play Dec. 18 by hosting Wawasee. The Tigers were perfect in the NLC last year. To repeat that feat, Ogle said his team will have to win a tough game on the road at NorthWood. “Our schedule doesn't set up as well as it did last year,” said Ogle. “We have four conference road games this year instead of three. If we want to win the conference this year, we're going to have to win at NorthWood. I would name NorthWood as the favorite to win the conference, and I'd put us right behind them. They have three all-conference players back, and we have some really good guards and some size. I think it sets up for what could be an important game at NorthWood in late January.”
