November 24, 2021 at 7:34 a.m.
Team Preview: RHS boys' basketball
Hodags face 'uphill battle' in transition year
Team Preview: RHS boys' basketball
Lemmens said the goal for Rhinelander remains a GNC championship, but he classified his team as maybe the fourth- or fifth-best in terms of talent this past offseason. For Rhinelander to contend for, let alone win, a conference title, a lot of variables are going to need to fall into place.
"I think this year, more than ever, it's an uphill battle," Lemmens said. "I hope guys embrace that challenge and I'm hope they're kind of eager to prove me wrong but, if we keep growing as a team, I'm not going to rule that out."
The Hodags have only one starter back from that year's squad, along with a couple of other rotational players. Spots in the starting five, let alone the rotation, are still up for grabs with the team one week out from its season opener on the road next Friday night at D.C. Everest.
"The roster and the rotations, I expect those things to change a lot as the year goes on," Lemmens said following last Friday's scrimmage at Wausau West. "Guys just have to understand that if you perform, you get minutes. If you don't, someone else will."
Senior point guard Jacksen Smith is the most-known commodity returning from last year's squad. Smith, who earlier this fall announced his commitment to UW-Superior to play college men's basketball, averaged 10.8 points and 3.4 assists for the Hodags last season as he received honorable mention in the Great Northern Conference. Beyond that, only two players are back who saw rotational minutes last year.
Senior guard Caleb Olcikas averaged 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds last year, but has been limited early in practice and sat out of last Friday's scrimmage with an ankle injury. Forward Jackson Zettler averaged 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds last year coming off the bench.
"Jacksen's going to bring a lot. JZ (Zettler) has some varsity experience," Lemmens said. "The other guys, they're all going to be learning for the first time. It's going to be a trial by error."
Overall, the Hodag senior class is eight strong. Ty Welk and Alexx Huff saw limited varsity minutes last year while Beau Howard and Jaden Beske are moving up from the JV squad. Senior Ryan Jamison has also rejoined the squad after not being on the roster the past couple of winters.
Sophomore Will Gretzinger and juniors Justin Orth, Kaleb Winter and Braden Mork were among those who split time between varsity and JV during last Friday's scrimmage.
"I think right now I'm seeing from our seniors overall some pretty good things," Lemmens said. "They're all doing what it takes. We've got about six guys now that are we're thinking our split-timers (between varsity and JV) and we're saying what happens there is yet to be determined. Justin Orth brings us a nice bench player as a non-senior. With us not having a lot of size, him being solid is going to be really important."
Height appears to be the Hodags biggest issue. Zettler is the tallest on the roster at 6-3.
"Rebounding is going to be big emphasis," Lemmens said. "All five guys have to commit to the glass. We're too small. We had a lot of guys watching and waiting. We have to commit to rebounding."
In reality, Lemmens said scoring, rebounding and defending are all going to have to be a total team effort, and his team's margin of error is smaller than it has been in previous seasons.
"We need to continue to be great with the basketball and executing the details," he said. "Once we think we can just step on the court and do things, we're going to be in trouble. We're going to be a team that the more focused we are, the better we're going be. We're not going to get away with just showing up. We're going to have to be focused if we want to beat teams."
As for the conference, Medford went undefeated last year and Mosinee was strong, battling Rhinelander in three close games a season ago. But Lemmens said upstart Northland Pines, which finished fourth in the GNC last year, is his pick to win the conference.
"Pines, they lack depth I think, but when you talk about the first five, watch out. I don't think anyone in the conference matches up with their first five," he said.
Rhinelander got its first taste of action as it scrimmaged Wausau West, coached by Derek Lemmens' younger brother, Nate, this past Friday. The Warriors outscored Rhinelander in each of the three sessions - a 30-minute set focusing on half-court offense, a 15-minute set working on transition offense and a roughly 45-minute session that featured six, six-minute sets that simulated and actual game.
Smith had 11 points for the Hodags in the scrimmage, while Zettler had nine points and Howard had eight, according to numbers tracked by the River News. The half-court and transition sessions were close, but West pulled away by a wide margin down the stretch, which Derek Lemmens chalked up to tired legs.
"For the first three-fourths of that scrimmage, guys did some really good things. We have a lot we can be excited about and we can build on," he said. "I thought our offense was a lot better than what it has been. Guys were really patient, purposeful, early on especially. As our legs went, those things went and, obviously the execution isn't going to be there."
The Hodags play a pair of Valley schools to open the season with D.C. Everest next Friday before the team's home opener against Wausau East the following Tuesday. The conference slate opens for the Hodags at home against Northland Pines Dec. 10.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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