Eagles hope to soar on the hardwood

After an inauspicious start a year ago, Sauk Prairie’s boys basketball team finished strong, winning four of its final six games and battling Monroe for 32 minutes in postseason regional play. So after having more than his share of ups and downs in his debut season, Sauk Prairie coach Sean McGann enters year two a bit wiser on what it takes to build a program on and off the court. Sauk Prairie makes its season debut on Saturday when it hosts Lodi in a non-conference game at 1:30 p.m. “At this point last year, quite frankly, I didn’t know what I was getting into,” said McGann, a Baraboo graduate who also was a member of an NCAA championship team at UW-Stevens Point. “All of the behind the scenes stuff, I feel way more prepared and a reason for that is my managers are awesome. It’s a nicer feeling to be more prepared going into year two.” Missing from last year’s lineup, though, are two starters who earned all-conference honors in graduates Jack Henderson and Spencer Breunig. Henderson, a two-year starter, was named to the league’s five-player second-team. Breunig, a first-year starter, received honorable mention all-league recognition. Henderson, now at Loras College, averaged 12 points per game and led Sauk Prairie in rebounding (6.2 per game), three-pointers made (34) and attempted (87), and three-point shooting percentage (39%). Breunig paced the Eagles in scoring (12.2 ppg) and finished third in rebounding (4.7 rpg). He also shot 34% from three-point range (16 of 47). “A lot of people are going to look at us and say we lost our two leading scorers and rebounders,” McGann said. “But we return seven of our top nine in our rotation. A lot of guys committed a lot of time in the weight room, especially those playing football.” The Eagles, who finished 8-15 overall after an 0-8 start, return three starters in senior guard Ben German, senior guard/forward Trevor Spray and junior guard/forward Brandt Wilson. Also back are several reserves who earned valuable experience, including junior guard/forward Isaac Breunig, senior guard/forward Parker Breunig, senior forward Garrett Hertzfeldt and junior guard Tyler Uselman. Spray is the team’s leading returning scorer at 11.9 points per game and leading returning rebounder at 4.8 boards a game. “He’s more mature, and being part of a successful soccer team and seeing how important those little details are in winning will help Trevor,” McGann said of Spray, who earned all-league honorable mention honors in soccer in his only season as a starter. “The power of being a senior is something people overlook. That’s their last go-around. A lot of these guys might not even play a spring sport, so it’s really their last hurrah. I think that motivates them to push a little harder, which will help, too.” German assumed the point guard role a year ago and averaged 3.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He will split those duties with Parker Breunig, who missed the first five weeks of the season a year ago with a broken hand, but returned to provide a spark off the bench. “Last year was a good experience running the point guard the whole season so I’m more comfortable with it,” German said. Wilson emerged as a starter at midseason as a sophomore and averaged 7.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. “At times, he was the best player on the team down the stretch,” McGann said of Wilson. “He’s the best shooter on our team. He isn’t done growing. He will be someone who can really score the ball for us this year and rebound with his length. “The biggest thing with him is getting comfortable handling the ball because he didn’t really need to do that last year. With his versatility, he’ll be a kid college coaches will reach out for.” Uselman, one of the school’s better all-around athletes, averaged 1.2 points and 1.0 rebound per game in a reserve role with one start a year ago. “During football season, at times he was their best athlete,” McGann said of Uselman. “He’s going to have to be a tough player to guard. He’s going to be a guy we’re going to lean on a little bit more heavily with more minutes. “He just plays within himself, and he plays tough. I’m excited to see how well he’ll be as an on-ball defender, a guy who can distribute and can score a little bit. He’ll be someone who will help us this year.” McGann said the emergence of Isaac Breunig will be a key to the Eagles’ season. “He’s gotten way bigger and started on the offensive line for the football team the last few games at right guard,” McGann said. “He is a big kid, and he can shoot it. He’s a guy we didn’t need necessarily last year to have a good game for us to do well. “But he’s a kid I think will surprise a lot of people in terms of he can score the ball. He’s tough. He screens well and rebounds. He plays hard. He going to be a kid to watch, a kind of X-factor. If he can score, we will be better than a lot of teams think we will.” Hertzfeldt, a two-time all-conference running back and the reigning conference champion in the shot put, is another athlete who will find meaningful minutes this season. “He seems to be in the right place at the right time,” McGann said. “He plays really hard. He’s a big body, who screens. We’ll see his role improve.” McGann said sophomore guard Sam Drescher and sophomore guard/forward Damien Wright-Rodriguez could earn valuable varsity minutes, while junior guard Kyle Breunig is a tough defender. Senior guard Aaron Frey and a trio of juniors in guard Kyle Been, forward Frank Ahmetaj and forward Elliot Drew round out the varsity roster. German, who earned second-team all-conference honors in football and recently signed to play baseball at Rock Valley College, said the impact of having successful seasons in other sports will impact the Eagles on the court this winter. “I think it’s huge,” German said. “I was talking to (football) coach (Clay) Iverson and he said every school that he has been at, it carries over. “We all think we’re going to win. We have a lot of confidence right now going into basketball. I think it’s huge that we had a really good season in football. I think it’s going to carry over to the basketball season.” McGann said while he favors a motion offense, he expects the Eagles to be a bit more structured this year. “Looking at our personnel we have, we still have some length,” he said. “We lose Jack (Henderson) and Spencer (Breunig), who are big kids. But we have Trevor Spray and Brandt Wilson back. “They both have the ability to get outside and can shoot a little bit. They’ll have bigger kids guarding them that hopefully they will be quicker than.” McGann said he also wants the Eagles to play at a faster pace this season, hoping to generate more possessions which he hopes translates into more points. “Last year, with our defensive points per game we were second in the conference in terms of how many points per game we allowed. But we were also second to last in how many we scored.” Sauk Prairie allowed an average of 53 points a game last year, but only scored 50 per game. “Looking at the top teams last year, they were all around 60ish,” he said. “So we have to play a lot faster with more possessions. “A low possession game favored us last year. We played a little bit slower. Our defense wasn’t that great. It was our pace of play that helped us. So this year, I want to play faster, which is more exciting to play.” Parker Breunig said the Eagles can’t wait to tip off the season. “We have a lot of good energy,” he said. “Guys are happy to be back. It should be a fun season. We’ve got a good vibe going right now. It’s exciting.” The Badger North Conference returns just two of its first and second team players from a year ago in Reedsburg senior Will Fuhrmann, a first-team selection, and DeForest senior Trey Schroeder, a second-team pick. “Last year, Mount Horeb was the clear-cut favorite, but this year several teams will battle for the title,” said McGann, whose Eagles tied for fifth a year ago with a 6-8 mark. “Reedsburg returns a lot. Waunakee has some good young players. DeForest lost a lot but had a good JV team. But it will be a fun year because every night matters.”