Central Boys Basketball Preview: Warriors enter season with more experience, depth

By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register

A young and inexperienced team made for a difficult 2023-2024 season for the Central boys basketball team, but that difficulty also came with some shining moments, like come-from-behind victories over Clayton Ridge and Edgewood-Colesburg. Returning players enter this season another year older, with more knowledge and experience, ready to “hit the ground running,” said coach Brady Stramer. 

With experience comes renewed expectations for a team no longer needing to “learn on the fly.” This year, Stramer has a better understanding of his players, a clearer picture of their strengths and weaknesses and how to utilize both in a way that positions each player for success.

“This season, I have a better feel for what returning players are comfortable with and what areas they are less accustomed to. Being mindful of this will help decide on how we structure our player rotations and which spots on the court each player excels in,” Stramer said. 

This starts with developing leadership on the court. Though the team consists of “great people,” Stramer admitted they are a quiet and reserved bunch, which means there will be emphasis on communication on the court, as well as lifting up teammates after mistakes, whether it was a collective one or individual. 

In addition, Stramer looks to instill ownership from the players, specifically when it comes to having player-led discussion in practices, film sessions and games, to address “what they feel needs adjusted or what things need to be continued as is.”

The other key to expectations is team culture, which hasn’t changed much since Stramer took over the program. It’s still focused on valuing each player and making sure they feel integral to team success. Coupled with this is team growth, another ideal that consistently makes a cameo in Stramer’s interview replies, and it always entails being better in February than in November. 

Achieving that goal is no easy task, but Stramer is taking steps. One is making practices challenging for players both physically and mentally and facilitating practices that are more difficult than games. There will also be a healthy amount of film study of Central opponents to see what defense and offense they typically run, as well as identifying the top two or three scoring options. 

“This year, we expect to have more players on the team, which will help make this easier since we will have more bodies to rotate and keep fresh. Game planning is always a unique aspect of coaching and our overall preparation,” Stramer said. 

Along with players taking more ownership, Stramer is making it a goal to provide more ownership to the assistant coaches, like Blake Rodenberg, in practice. 

“Too often, I find myself creating practice plans and leading most of our practices, so this year I am going to make an effort to instill more of a shared leadership model with both assistant coaches and players,” he said. 

Stramer listed a few team goals, including limiting turnovers to 15 or fewer per game, shooting 40 percent or above from the field and less than seven offensive rebounds allowed to opponents per game, which would all be improvements from last season. Meeting these goals will require taking care of the basketball, which was previously a “big issue” for the Warriors. 

“We will be searching for a couple of players to separate themselves at the guard positions in that area so that, when we face full court pressure, we have some ‘go to’ guys to help us break that pressure,” Stramer said. 

Rebounding was also a problem last year, and the Warriors are still a small team in height, size and strength, which means rebounding will be a full team effort. Because of their small stature, Stramer will rely on the team’s quickness, shot selection and depth. 

In terms of depth, the Warriors found themselves with a six-man rotation last year, but this year, the bench should allow for more rotations and playing in transition more often. 

“We don’t have much size or strength, so we will need to try and use our speed and quickness to gain advantages against the bigger teams that we will inevitably face,” Stramer said. 

While the team will have added depth and more experience, it returns only one senior, Vaughn Zittergruen, who will assume a leadership role and become more diverse in his roles on the court. Zittergruen played guard a lot last season, but with his noted strength and physicality, Stramer anticipates Zittergruen will now play more forward or center positions. 

Another notable returner is sophomore Owen Hammersland, last season’s points leader, who will be joined by “a deep and very solid incoming freshman class.”

Despite the youth and lack of upperclassmen, the Warriors didn’t lose any players to graduation. That’s a positive for Stramer, who said, “I think that will be very beneficial, not only from the sense of a lot of players having experience at the varsity level, but also in the sense of cohesiveness and team chemistry.”

Team chemistry aligns well with a list of important things to take away from a varsity basketball season, like accountability, improvement and putting “we” before “me.” It’s about owning your mistakes, being better tomorrow than you were yesterday and doing what is needed for the collective.

“We always want to look back and see we beat the teams that we felt we were better than, and made the teams who may have more talent beat us in areas that are not their strong suit,” Stramer said. “Success for us comes in a lot of forms. Consistent and tangible improvement will be paramount, not only in terms of basketball ability, but in leadership skills and life lessons, such as taking accountability and being a great teammate/person.”

The Warriors’ search for success begins Tuesday, Dec. 3, at North Fayette Valley. Another away game will follow on Friday, Dec. 6, at West Central.