Hodag Hoops gets 5 All-GNC nods

It was quantity versus quality for the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball this season in the Great Northern Conference. The Hodags did not have a unanimous first-team all-conference selection, but a number of key contributors who helped the team win its second straight GNC title. That showed Sunday when the All-Great Northern Conference team was released.

Rhinelander ended up with five all-conference selections, tied for the most of any team with Medford and Mosinee. The Hodags finished a game ahead of both of those squads to win the conference title this year.

Senior Truman Lamers was Rhinelander’s only first-team selection. Juniors Devon Feck and Evan Shoeder both received second-team honors while junior Jatyn Barkus and sophomore Abe Gretzinger received honorable mention. 

Hodag coach Derek Lemmens, who shared conference coach of the year honors with Mosinee’s Matt Lindsey, said while the Rhinelander starting five perhaps didn’t have the eye-popping numbers of some other players within the conference, the collective effort of the squad was part of the secret to its success.

“I think this entire team really had a team-first mentality, and they sacrificed the individual accolades for the success of the team,” he said. “There were games where players didn’t score a lot, but there were also some games where they didn’t shoot a lot. They just recognized that, whether someone else had the hot hand or it wasn’t a matchup for them, that they sacrificed those individual pieces so that they could celebrate a conference championship. You got to love the fact that you had a group of guys that were talented and skilled and we’re willing to do that.”

According to unofficial data from WisSports.net — official conference statistics are not made available to the public during the WIAA postseason — Lamers finished fourth in the conference in scoring at 14.7 points per game during league play. He was also second in the conference at 2.9 steals per game, many of which led to transition dunks on the other end. He had two of those as part of an 18-point effort in the Hodags’ 51-43 championship-clinching win at Medford Feb. 27.

“Truman had, especially against Medford, some really big games,” Lemmens said. “This year it just felt like we had a whole squad a second teamers with Truman, and I think there’s an argument for Devon being a first team as well.”

Lamers and Feck were the lone returning members of the all-conference team for Rhinelander. Feck was a second teamer last year while Lamers received honorable mention.

According to Lemmens, Feck received the sixth-highest vote total in the conference, which put him as the top player on the second team for the second year in a row. Though Feck’s shooting numbers took a dip this season in a starting role, he still made the fourth-most 3-pointers in the conference (23) and shot 33.8% from beyond the arc in league play. Furthermore, Feck was second in the conference, averaging 5.1 assists per game, while his 12.8 points per game were 10th in the league. Feck was also the top free throw shooter in the conference, converting on 29 of his 30 attempts.

“I just think he got banged up toward the end of the year and then that didn’t help him. But also be just the inconsistency that all of us kind of showed,” Lemmens noted.

    Rhinelander’s Evan Shoeder puts up a shot against Rice Lake’s Will Johnson during a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal boys’ basketball playoff game at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Friday, March 7. Shoeder received second-team honors from the GNC on Sunday, one of five Hodags named to the all-conference squad. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Shoeder earned his first appearance on the all-conference list as a reliable post player for the Hodags. He was 14th in the conference in scoring (10.2 ppg), sixth in rebounds (6.3 rpg) and led the conference with 15 blocked shots. 

“He just was very disruptive and I thought his defense inside and out just got better every single game and the way he can run the floor, he can play inside and out on offense, as well and his versatility,” Lemmens said. “Once he kind of got a little more confidence, he really did some great things offensively and hopefully we’ll see this kind of launch into the next phase of what Evan can be.”

Gretzinger played a key role as the Hodags’ sixth man this season and had back-to-back 15-points games in must-win contests against Mosinee and Medford to close out the regular season. Gretzinger averaged 8.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in league play. 

“If he had played all season the way he played the last three games … we could be talking about a first teamer or definitely second teamer. Those games against Mosinee and Medford in that last week were outstanding. His aggressiveness, his finishing … he’s just really found himself and that’s a huge bar for us. I think that’s a big reason we had success in the last couple games was because he really elevated his game.”

Barkus rounded out the list of Rhinelander all-conference recipients. He averaged 7.8 points and typically drew one of the team’s top defensive assignments. 

“He really thrived and made a difference with defense. We put him on every team’s best offensive player and night in and night out he disrupted and shut guys down and what he became as a defensive player was really impressive,” Lemmens said. “He just totally bought into the fact that we need guys like this and he said I can be that guy and he brought that.”

Lemmens noted that senior Seth Nofftz, a member of the Hodags’ starting five, was nominated but did not receive enough votes from the coaches to earn all-conference recognition.

Mosinee’s Brayden Reinke and Medford’s Charlie Gierl shared GNC player of the year honors. Reinke, a sophomore, was top in the league in scoring (19.5 ppg) and rebounds (10.5 ppg) while Gierl, a senior, was third in scoring (15.4 ppg) and fourth in rebounds (6.4 ppg). Northland Pines junior Mylo Albrecht joined Reinke and Gierl as unanimous first-team selections. Mosinee’s Treve Stoffel and Lamers rounded out the second team. 

Feck and Shoeder were joined on the second team by Medford’s Hayden Koester and Nick Krause, and Lakeland’s Evan Zoch. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].