Team preview: RHS boys’ basketball

The Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team emerged from the pack last season to claim a share of the Great Northern Conference title for the first time in six years. With a large amount of the rotation back from that squad, the Hodags have even bigger aspirations this season.

“We know we are capable of doing some really special things and we’re excited for that opportunity,” coach Derek Lemmens said. “But we also have the reality that if we don’t play as a team, if we don’t do the details then we are just any other team and can lose on any night.

“I would like to think this could be a team a top-seed team that is really looking at making some noise in the sectional. But that’s a long ways away. We’ve got to take it one day at a time and make sure that we understand if we don’t have that strong foundation, we’re not doing the details, then we’re just an average basketball team.” 

While some media pundits are favoring the other GNC co-champ from last year, Mosinee, for this year’s title, the Hodags bring back a pair of all-conference selections and weapons in both the frontcourt and the backcourt. 

For the Hodags to be successful this year, they must replace a few key pieces off of last year’s squad, including defensive-minded guard Will Quinn and forward James Heck, but the biggest shoes to fill are those of Will Gretzinger. He averaged a team-best 17.0 points per game last year, and served as a vocal leader during the team’s conference title run. 

Lemmens said he’s counting on this year’s senior class — including returning starters Seth Nofftz and Truman Lamers — to fill that void.

“I really like our senior leaders,” Lemmens said. “Seth and Truman have really stood out and have brought that. Will definitely was a vocal leader. He pushed and challenged his teammates, and that was always great … This group here. These seniors have stepped up beyond what I was expecting at this point. Guys like Truman and Seth are not afraid to be vocal, and they’re very positive and passionate. They just do it the right way.”

    In this Jan. 19, 2024 file photo, Rhinelander’s Devon Feck attempts a 3 over Antigo’s Gus Schuessler during the first half of a GNC boys’ basketball game in Antigo. Feck is just one of only two returning players in the GNC who earned first- or second-team honors in the conference last year, and averaged 10.9 points per game off the bench for the Hodags a season ago. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

There certainly appear to be plenty of options to replace Gretzinger’s scoring production. Lamers averaged 11.3 points per game last year, second on the team, and received honorable mention in the GNC. Nofftz added 5.5 points per game, including a career-high 20 in a win at Shawano last February. Junior Devon Feck is a sharpshooter who made a major impact last year as Rhinelander’s sixth man. He averaged 10.9 points per game, shot just over 49% from 3-point range and garnered second-team honors in the conference. 

“It’s exciting but, at the same time, it’s always going to be a challenge,” Lemmens said. “When you have this many guys that put in as much time as they have, they have the skills and the want, but they also have the desire to do things individually. If we can take that individual mindset, keep it at bay and always think team-first, that’s when it becomes special.” 

Evan Shoeder will be the most experienced forward for the Hodags. The junior averaged 4.9 points and 4.1 rebounds a contest a year ago. On paper, the Hodags could be considered thin at that position, following Heck’s graduation and a shoulder injury that will sideline junior Caden Sieker for the season. But Lemmens said he thinks the Hodags could be surprisingly deep in the front court. Hayden Schommer, a 6-4 senior, has transferred into the district from Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs. Though he saw limited minutes for the Ledgers last year, Lemmens said he and 6-3 sophomore Abe Gretzinger figure to bolster the Hodags down low. 

“Hayden Schommer coming in, a new student, he’s going to bring some physicality. He’s going to bring an inside presence,” Lemmens said. “Evan is back and he’s looking good. He’s strong. He’s physical inside and the one that surprises you is Abe Gretzinger. Abe’s really crafty underneath. He’s not afraid to be physical and really plays a lot bigger than he is. I feel like, with those three, that’s a great presence. Then you’ve got guys like Truman who are long and athletic, and they can help out with that.”

The Hodags averaged 59.8 points per game and 0.98 points per possession last year while shooting just under 36% from beyond the arc. Lemmens said the Hodags have the pieces in place to be a more dynamic offense this year.

“There are so many things we can do. It’s exciting for me as a coach because I get to really give them a small structure and just sit back and watch them,” he said. “We don’t have to give them things to put themselves in position. They know how to do this on their own. It allows us to be more creative with what we do as coaches too.”

Defensively, the Hodags allowed 53.4 points per game and 0.87 points per possession last year while averaging more than seven steals a contest. Lemmens said this year’s team has the ability to be disruptive both in the full court and the half court.

“Again our length and our athleticism, we could be a really frustrating team to play against with all those things,” he said.

Lemmens noted the team may have the ability to go as many as 10 deep in the rotation this season, making the squad as deep or deeper than it was a year ago.

“We’ve got guys that probably won’t play much that could,” he said. “They have the ability too. This is going to be one of those teams where we have guys who aren’t getting a lot of minutes that could be starting on other teams. I really think we have a lot of good players.”

Overall, the GNC appears to be in transition this year. Of the 23 players who earned all-conference honors last year, only seven return. There are no returning first-team players and only two returning second teamers — Feck and Mosinee forward Treve Stoffel. 

The Hodags will get their first taste of conference play at home against Antigo Dec. 6, but first Rhinelander hits the road tonight to face Crandon in the regular-season opener. Lemmens said he wants the game to serve as a good dress rehearsal to set the tone for the regular season.

“I want to see our intensity, defensively. I want to see what our offense looks like against someone else and I just want to see us play hard, play together and really have a great first day where we demonstrate unselfishness, hard play and see how things will just fall in place from there,” he said.

The Hodags play four of their first six games at home. Lemmens enters the season three wins shy of 200 for his high school coaching career and could possibly hit that milestone in a home non-conference game against Wittenberg-Birnamwood Dec. 10. 

The Hodags will play in six doubleheaders this year in conjunction with the RHS girls’ basketball team — home and away tilts with Antigo (Dec. 6, Jan. 24) and Lakeland (Jan. 10, Feb. 14), away at Three Lakes (Jan. 7) and at home against Shawano (Feb. 11). Rhinelander’s matchups against Mosinee are set for Jan. 14 on the road and Feb. 21 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].