June 30, 2017 at 1:32 p.m.
Hodag hoops holding its own this summer
Lemmens: Turnout OK but 'I'd like to see more'
Hodag hoops holding its own this summer
The Hodags offseason program this summer consists of plenty of open gym opportunities, time in the weight room and weekly games in Wausau.
When asked how the turnout has been for these basketball opportunites, Lemmens offered what seems to be a yearly refrain - good, but could be better.
"When you look at some programs, I think we're doing all right. When you look at others, we're a little short," he said. "I think in some cases it's been inconsistent, but I have a handful of guys who have put in a ton of time. It's a little inconsistent. I'd like to see more. I know kids are busy, but I think kids have to keep working to say, 'you know what, I can do this and I need to do this.'"
The Hodags are currently 6-1 in the UW-Marathon Country Summer League, which is held on Tuesday nights in Wausau.
"The one that they lost was the second game (of a night) when we had five guys," Lemmens was quick to point out.
The Hodags typically play one or two games a night against several other area teams, most of which hail from the Great Northern or Wisconsin Valley conferences. This past Tuesday, the Hodags earned a 44-38 victory over conference rival Lakeland.
"I was really pleased with the way they played," Lemmens said of how the team played Tuesday night. "They're moving pretty well without the ball, moving well off (senior-to-be forward) Owen (White) and actually playing with a little more purpose and a little more mental toughness then you sometimes see in the summer. Sometimes we develop bad habits in the summer and I think guys are doing a pretty good job of avoiding that kind of practice."
Lemmens said the Hodags don't play zone defense in the summer, strictly man-to-man, nor do they do anything special offensively. He said the summer is as much about player development as it is team development.
"I think the biggest thing we can get out of summer is just learning how to play and getting better at playing the game of basketball, understanding the situations," he said.
The summer schedule is half over for the Hodags. After taking a break for the Fourth of July, the Wausau Summer League returns the following two Tuesdays, prior to the league tournament July 23-25. That overlaps with the one other tournament the Hodags will participate in, the UWSP Team Camp July 21-23 in Stevens Point.
Additionally, there are open gym and weight room opportunities three to four days a week throughout the month of July.
None of the activities are mandatory, but attendance is strongly encouraged.
"The guys that have been coming into to work out in the gym have been working out in the weight room. The problem is there's a pretty large number of kids who haven't been coming into the gym and they haven't been coming into the weight room. We're spending an entire summer and we're not getting better. We've got to try to eliminate that," Lemmens said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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