WOODWARD — The past two years of boys basketball at Woodward-Granger have been, in a word, difficult.
Accustomed to success in most sports, the Hawk boys struggled through a one-win season in 2013-14 and finished just 3-18 in 2014-2015.
Enter Brent Achenbach, who takes over as head coach for a program desperately in need of a transfusion of positive energy. Achenbach is the W-G boys track head coach and is around the other Hawk teams, so he is already familiar with those suiting up for this season on the hardwood.
“I know the guys and what kind of athletes they are,” he said. “What I don’t yet know is what kind of basketball players they are going to be when the heat gets turned up. I am not set on any particular lineup at the moment and am willing to start whatever group of five guys I think have the best chance of making us more competitive.”
Nick Squires returns for another season after leading the team with just under 10 points per game last year. He will be joined by juniors Jake Greenwood, Bodie Harrison and Drew Jacobson, all of whom saw lengthy stretches of varsity play last year. Marcus McConahay is another player who should figure into the mix, Achenbach said.
“I really don’t want to single out any particular player, because if we are going to be successful it is going to take all the guys playing well together and as a team,” Achenbach said. “At this point I am not sure how deep down the bench we will go, but I would think anywhere from 6-8 guys are going to see the majority of the playing time. I know who some of them are, but am still figuring out who the others will be.”
Achenbach said the presence of Jacobson and, potentially, of sophomore Brody Easter will help give W-G some size on the inside.
“We are not 6-4, 6-5 up front, but those two will give us some bulk inside and should help us rebound the ball better than we have in the past,” Achenbach said. “I have been stressing the need to be tougher on defense. Part of that is mental, but a lot of it is just hustling and playing hard, contesting every shot and fighting hard for rebounds.”
As far as the offensive strategy is concerned, Achenbach wasted little time in stating his preference: Fast.
“I like to play up-tempo and quick, to push the ball up the court and attack,” he explained. “I think think kind of style is fun to play and keeps the kids involved.
“That doesn’t mean I want to see us be out of control or reckless — we want to play smart,” Achenbach added. “Yes, play fast, but also smart, valuing our possessions. We want the tempo to give us more possessions and better possessions than the opposition.”
How well the team shoots will go a long way toward dictating how much success they have, Achenbach said.
“You never know until you are in a game situation, but I think we will shoot better than we have in the past,” he stated. “We have some guys who have put in some serious time improving their shooting. We are not going to light it up from downtown every night, and that is fine. What I want is for us to stick the open 12 to 15-footer and to not miss shots under the basket, which goes back to valuing each possession.”
W-G will play host Saydel at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Saydel Jamboree. Perry faces Newton in the first contest, at 6 p.m., with North Polk playing ADM in the second game at 6:45 p.m.
The Hawks visit West Central Valley for a season and WCC conference opener Dec. 1 before traveling to Des Moines Christian Dec. 4. They will play in the middle school gym against Woodward Academy Dec. 8 before playing consecutive home contests against Van Meter (Dec. 11) and Ogden (Dec. 15), their two lone home dates before the Christmas break.
“It feels like we have been practicing forever, but the season will be here soon enough,” Achenbach said. “After four wins in two years we know we won’t set the world on fire, but I would like to see us get to .500 and I believe we can.”
