Hodag Hoops welcomes more than 90 to camp

The last week of July in Rhinelander usually means that last opportunity for organized basketball until the start of the winter.

In excess of 90 students entering grades 4-8 took advantage of that chance last week, participating in the annual Hodag Hoops Camp put on by the RHS boys’ basketball team.

Once again the four-day camp was split into two sessions — with grades 4-6 taking part in the morning and grades 7-8 in the early afternoon. The was a separate Little Dribblers session held for new players at the Crescent Elementary School Gym. 

“This is a great, just seeing kids in the gym, waiting all summer for this. We’re happy with the turnout,” Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. 

    Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball coach Derek Lemmens addresses campers at the end of the third to sixth-grade session of the Hodag Hoops Camp Thursday, July 27 in Rhinelander. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Numbers were slightly up overall, and a bit higher for the morning session than the afternoon. Lemmens noted that the camp was made up of a higher percentage of Rhinelander players than normal and that a handful of early elementary school kids played up with the grade 3-6 group, if they already had previous basketball experience. 

“We brought up some of the younger kids,” he said. “Sometimes I worry with the monotony of our Little Dribblers where we want to introduce (skills). Even though we didn’t really advertise it for that age group, it was nice to see some of those kids be able to come up here.” 

Lemmens and much of the RHS boys’ coaching staff ran the camp. Lemmens said he had two goals for the camp — to make players better at basketball and to instill a love of the game.

“We want to push them and want to make them better. We want to teach them fundamentals, but we also want this to be something that they enjoy and that they just work out on their own and continue to participate,” he said. 

The camp once again featured still sessions along with separate 3-on-3, 4-on-4 and 5-on-5 tournaments amongst the campers.

The event typically marks the end of the summer offseason program for the Hodags. Lemmens said he was pleased with the participation of his players as they look to rebound from an injury-riddled 9-16 season that saw the team finish fourth in the Great Northern Conference. 

“It’s been OK. At the high school level we’ve had such a great core of sophomores and a couple seniors that have really put some time in,” he said. “Every year we have guys that we wish wanted to get in the gym more, or at all, but it’s high school sports and you take what you can get. But, overall, I’m pleased with the guys that did show up.”

That could be key in a GNC that figures to look much different than it did a season ago. Of the 21 players who earned all-conference honors last winter, only five are slated to return — including the Hodags’ top scorer from last year, Will Gretzinger. 

“I think the conference is pretty wide open,” Lemmens said. “I think there are some teams that maybe are the favorites but, at the end of the day, it’s pretty wide open, so it’s going to be who wants to put the time in from now until the start of the season.”

The Hodags put a bow on the summer with a joint contact day Friday with a few other GNC schools, which Lemmens said he hopes sets the tone in the months leading into the start of winter practice in November.

“I hope guys are excited about that and I hope they carry that excitement through the offseason and into the fall and continue to say, ‘Hey, I might be in soccer, I might be in football, but can I still handle a basketball and shoot a basketball a couple times a week,’ and really have a goal and be excited about what we’re capable of doing,” he said. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at jeremy@

rivernewsonline.com.