|
Opposing coaches talk about Hastings St. Cecilia's defense.
One coach said they play that, "Mike Trader style of defense."
That's not surprising because Trader, the former Hastings College coach, is a co-coach along with Rob Kober. Trader runs practices and scouts, but hasn't been on hand for games.
"He keeps in touch every day," Kober said. "When we have games, we talk all the time. He's been great to work with."
The co-coach situation has worked pretty well for the Blue Hawks who are 20-2 heading into a Class C-1 first-round state tournament game against Minden (17-4) at 10:45 a.m. Thursday at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln.
Kober said there is one big factor in the success of the co-coaches.
"The main reason is our communication has been very good," Kober said. "All the coaches talk to the kids about always communicating. So it's been good for us, too, and it helps the kids recognize the importance and keep their communication lines open."
The St. Cecilia players have also been able to block out the off-court problems they have faced this season. Trent Blackwell opened the season as co-coach along with Trader, but Blackwell was suspended and later released from all duties with the school.
Meanwhile, the Blue Hawks just kept winning games. Their only losses have come to unbeaten teams Class C-1 No. 1 Pierce and Class D-1 No. 1 Fremont Bergan.
"The nice thing is the kids have taken care of the things they can control," Kober said. "Some things they can't control. They do well with the things they know they can take care of."
The game against Minden will be a rematch of a subdistrict final game that St. Cecilia won 62-50. Kober said that win doesn't mean much now.
"It doesn't matter who we're playing," Kober said. "We played them in the subdistrict, but they will change to adjust to what we did to them. It will be a very tough ball game."
The Whippets feature a balanced scoring attack with four players averaging in double figures. Senior Spencer Choquette leads the way at 13 points per game. Gavin Blum a 6-foot-6 junior, averages 10.8 points and 12.7 rebounds per game.
Seniors Dallas Christensen (10.2) and Josh Werner (10.0) also score in double figures for the Whippets
"They like to dribble penetrate," Kober said. "They will use the post and they rebound very well. We have to make sure we check out. If we leave the perimeter open, they're very good shooters."
St. Cecilia has relied on double-figure scorers Blake Wright and Jake Hamburger this season. Hamburger, a 6-3 junior, averages 14.6 a game while Wright, also a 6-3 junior, averages 10.1.
In the district final against Boone Central, there were other players who picked up the slack when Hamburger fouled out in the fourth quarter after scoring just five points in the game.
"Matt Sterup and Riley Nikkila stepped up and shot very well," Kober said. "Other guys stepped up to get rebounds and play some very good defense."
Kober said the coaches and players know how important playing good defense is to the success of the team.
"Our kids know that our defense will create a lot of things for them," Kober said. "They take pride in that and try to play as aggressively as they can for four quarters."
Hastings SC (20-2)
Player H Y PPG RPG
Beau Schwenka 6-0 So. 0.7 .1
Dalton Sealey 5-11 So. 7.3 1.8
Aaron Esch 5-10 Sr. 4.4 1.0
Drake Schmidt 5-10 Jr. 0.9 0.1
Jesse Souchek 6-2 Sr. 1.2 0.8
Craig Farmer 6-3 Jr. 4.6 2.3
Riley Nikkila 6-0 Sr. 5.5 2.6
Jake Hamburger 6-3 Jr. 14.6 3.3
NickHinrichs 5-9 Jr. 1.0 0.6
Blake Wright 6-3 Jr. 10.1 3.9
Zane Anstine 6-1 Jr. 3.6 2.6
Paul Goedert 6-2 So. 2.1 1.1
Zachery Sterup 6-7 Fr. 2.3 0.8
Matt Sterup 6-6 Jr. 5.1 2.9
Head coaches: Rob Kober, Mike Trader
Assistant coaches: Mike Allsman, Brandon Vacek, Turner Scholl
NSAA enrollment: 157
Conference: Centennial
State appearances: 16
Most recent: 2007
State championship years: C/1958, C/1969
State runner-up years: C/1959
Want to comment on this article?
Register on our forums and post your thoughts.
It's free and easy to do!
independentforums.com
|
