AKRON - With players returning from a 19-5 campaign that included an appearance in the regional championship game last March, veteran boys basketball coach Bill Patrick is confident his Tippecanoe Valley Vikings will be able to put points on the board this season.
Right now, the silver-haired coach that sports a career mark of 642-220 says he is more concerned with defense and rebounding."I think scoring wil be one of our strong points," said Patrick, who enters his 10th season at Valley boasting a 164-40 mark with the Vikings, a run that already includes eight consecutive Three Rivers Conference championships. "We have three or four kids that can really shoot the ball. I'm more concerned with our defense and rebounding."
The Vikings open the season Wednesday when they host Kosciusko County rival Warsaw, a team with no seniors and just one returning starter.
As has been the case for years, when asked about Wednesday's season opener he dished out praise for the opposition and was guarded when talking about his team.
"I think their freshman, Nic Moore, is going to be a good guard for them," Patrick said of the Tigers. "Ryne Robinson had some great games for them last year, I think he'll be one of the better players in the area. Last year, Justin Clemens was just a freshman, but he really hurt us in the first quarter. I think they're gonna be a solid team. They're young, but their sophomore group is really talented with (Andy) Conrad and Clemens. I think they're going to be a pretty good team."
It's fair to say that many think Valley is going to be a pretty good team, too.
With Patrick at the helm, the Vikings have won consistently - posting at least 19 wins in five consecutive seasons.
With six seniors, including last season's leading scorer Chad Hoffer, on the team it could be another successful season for Patrick and Co.
"We have four seniors with some experience," said Patrick, who in 38 seasons has never had a losing season. "I think we're going to be a senior-led team. The seniors have worked hard, and I think we'll be pretty competitive. I think Shane Salyer will have more of an influence and Steven Tillman had a good spring and summer. He was in the gym everyday and worked hard."
Seniors on this year's Valley roster include Ryan Scherzer (5-foot-10), Kyle Ritchey (5-10), Darren Byers (6-3), Salyer (6-7), Tillman (6-1) and Hoffer (6-2).
Juniors on the team include Jordan Boggs (5-11), Josh Cooper (5-11), Ross Miller (6-1), Devin Vogel (5-9) and Brad Shepherd (6-2).
Patrick will also have the services of three sophomores, Anthony Tolson (5-10), Caleb Rovenstine (5-7) and Taylor Burkhart (6-1).
In all, there are 14 players listed on Valley's varsity roster.
"We've got enough numbers to have three teams (varsity, JV, freshman)," said Patrick. "It's not the kind of numbers we had years ago, but we've got enough kids out. We'll probably dress 12 and then rotate a couple onto the JV team."
Graduated from last year's regional runner-up team are starters Kevin Kindig, Adam Nelson and Jerrod Parker.
That trio combined to score 28 points per game.
Hoffer returns for his senior season after averaging a team-high 14 points per contest last season. He also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
Both Salyer and Tillman averaged nearly eight points per game last year.
Though it may not be 100-percent set in stone, Valley's starting linuep could be senior-laden with Hoffer, Salyer, Tillman, Ritchey and Scherzer.
Following Wednesday's season-opener with visiting Warsaw, the Vikings hit the road Tuesday for the TRC opener at Wabash, and then travel to non-conference opponent Knox on Nov. 30.
Having already seen its share of excitement since Patrick took over, the Valley program will most likely be surrounded by excitement again as Patrick gets closer to his 650th career win.
The earliest Patrick could reach the milestone would the opening-game of the Rochester Tournament on Dec. 28.
In typical Bill Patrick fashion, the coach didn't really want to talk about the milestone, rather the kids and the upcoming season.
He did give credit to the assistant coaches he's had over the years, as well as the support of the schools, players, parents and administrators.
