The Warsaw Tigers aren't starting completely over, though 12th-year coach Doug Ogle says it's close. After graduation took the bulk of the scoring from last season's sectional championship team, Warsaw enters the 2013-2014 campaign with little varsity experience outside of seniors Jordan Stookey and Nate Pearl and junior Rashaan Jackson. “We're just really inexperienced, and that kind of makes me anxious,” said Ogle, who has guided the Tigers to a mark of 164-84 with four sectional titles and three Northern Lakes Conference crowns in 11 seasons. “We're going to play a lot of guys who are new to the varsity level. We can't simulate in practice what it's going to be like to go to Tippy Valley or Columbia City. We just don't have a lot of experience. I'm not losing sleep over it, but there's a lot of question marks.” Graduated from last season's team, which was 13-11 overall and 3-4 in the NLC, are Jared Bloom, John Swanson, Taylor Cone, Jason Ferguson and foreign exchange student Quim Romans. Bloom, now a preferred walk-on at IPFW, scored 425 points last year, while Swanson scored 203, Cone added 182 and Ferguson chipped in with 62. Romans scored eight points in limited action. “Not only did we lose a lot of scoring, a lot of which was Jared Bloom, but we lost some exceptional leadership,” said Ogle. “That group practiced hard, worked hard, was respectful and didn't give up when things didn't go our way. I'm starving for some guys to be solid, consistent leaders. It's not tough to be a leader in practice, because it's not real stressful. We need our guys to be leaders in games.” The Tigers open the season Wednesday at county rival Tippecanoe Valley. Warsaw is 30-6 all-time against the Vikings and has won the last six meetings. To extend that streak to seven, Ogle and the Tigers will rely heavily on Stookey and Jackson, their two most-experienced players. Stookey scored 219 points last year, while Jackson added 133 points and senior Nate Pearl chipped with 77. No other player on Warsaw’s varsity roster scored more than 11 points last season. “Jordan Stookey has probaly close to 30 starts and Rashaan Jackson has about eight,” said Ogle. “If you look at Tippy Valley, with (Tanner) Andrews, (Robby) Groom, (Logan) Britton, they have a lot more starts than we do. Valley has a lot of experience back. “With Tippy Valley, my first thought is Andrews got us for 25 points last year,” added Ogle. “We couldn’t stop him. That’s a concern. They have size and a good amount of experience coming back from a sectional championship team.” Ogle said Warsaw’s second game, a Nov. 30 contest at Columbia City, will be more even in terms of experience. Other players on Warsaw’s varsity roster include seniors Darren Walcott and Moses Marandet, juniors Peyton Long, Cameron Hoskins, Tim Swanson, Nick Sands and Jake Mangas, and sophomores Paul Marandet and Riley Rhoades. Due to injuries, Ogle said he was unsure of exactly when Rhoades and Sands will be available to play. Rhoades, said Ogle, had surgery on both hips. Ogle said Sands had a chance to start, but is out with a knee injury. If his team were playing Valley today, Ogle said his starting lineup would include Stookey and Pearl on the wing and Jackson and Mangas in the post. He wasn’t completely sure who will start at point guard, but said it would be either Long or Paul Marandet. Following games on the road at Valley and Columbia City, the Tigers will host Homestead on Dec. 6 and Huntington North the next night. Warsaw opens conference play Dec. 20 when it hosts Wawasee. “I think we can be competitive in the conference, it just looks on paper like you wouldn’t put us near the top,” said Ogle. Ogle said he expects Concord, Northridge and NorthWood to be contenders in the NLC. Gone from Warsaw’s schedule this season are South Bend Clay, Fort Wayne South, Rochester and Kankakee Valley. New to the schedule are a game at Manchester (Dec. 12), a two-game holiday tournament at Hamilton Heights (Dec. 27) and a home game with Elkhart Christian (Feb. 18). “I think we can end up being a good team by the end of the season, going into the tournament, but it’s going to take some time to get everyone acclimated to the varsity level.”
