Waukon boys basketball team returns five letterwinners for 2015-2016


2015-2016 Waukon boys basketball juniors and seniors ... Left to right - Front row: Kyle Jones, Logan Sullivan, Peyton Hesse, Aaron Sherman. Back row: Brandon Regan, Tanner Mathis, Wyatt Wille, Brock Berns, Haden Hammel, Kayden Cahalan. Not pictured: Michael Schulte.

The Waukon boys basketball team returns enough varsity letterwinners to fill the court come game time this 2015-2016 season, as five veterans come back from a squad that compiled a 12-10 record last season and finished in a tie for fourth place in the final Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) standings with a 5-7 league mark. Seniors Brock Berns, Haden Hammel, Peyton Hesse and Wyatt Wille headline that returning veteran group, with junior Tanner Mathis also returning to round out that list of varsity veterans.
“These guys have put in a lot of time in the gym and they have some high expectations this season,” Waukon boys basketball coach Jed Hemann said. “They have had success in other sports and they know what it takes to win. I have a lot of confidence in these guys, and I know they will set the standard for our expectations this season.”
Each member of that veteran core played a role in the success of their respective fall athletic teams achieving State-level qualification. Berns helped the Waukon boys cross country team qualify for the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet in each of the past two seasons, and the remaining four of that basketball letterwinning core helped the Waukon football team play to the State Quarterfinals during the recently completed football season.
Beyond those veteran five, Coach Hemann was a bit unsure coming into this season where consistent additional support would come from for this year’s squad. The emergence of a handful of younger players throughout the off-season and early practices for this current season have somewhat eased those concerns, and will hopefully continue to do so as this season progresses.
“After our returning letterwinners, we have some question marks on who will provide our depth this season,” Coach Hemann explained. “We have a lot of younger guys who have done a great job during the off-season preparing themselves. We have some good options to choose from and, as the season plays out, we will see who separates themselves.”
Within that veteran handful returns the statistical leadership in nearly every category from last season, with Hammel returning a team-high trifecta of 239 points, 131 rebounds and 31 blocked shots from last year. Hesse dished out a team-high 87 assists and also paced the Indian defense with 41 steals in a mostly non-starting role last season.
Hammel’s numbers will lead an Indian front line that includes a trio of players, along with Berns and Mathis, who each stand 6’4”. With Hesse’s team-high totals now also joining Wille in the guard court in a starting capacity, Coach Hemann sees the potential that lies within this season.
“We should have a strong rebounding team this season and we should have a team that is capable of playing some good defense,” he said. “We have some decent height with three of our returning letterwinners that are 6’4”, and Wille, at 6’2”, has good size for a guard. Peyton is also one of the better point guards in the area and he will do a great job of controlling the pace of the game. We will need to have some underclassmen step up to provide some depth for our team. If we can get some inexperienced guys to step up and if we take care of the basketball, we will have an exciting season.”
Those underclassmen will have to try and fill some of the vacancy left by the graduation of three senior starters who each ranked right behind some of the returning top statistical numbers in their respective specialties. “We had some strong guards that graduated last season and we will need to find another point guard that we can count on when Peyton isn’t in the game,” Coach Hemann said. “We also need to find another big guy that can provide some muscle inside when we need it.”
It will be finding that right combination of returning veteran experience and contributing newcomers that will hold the key to the fate of this season’s outcome. “We have had some great competition from our younger guys competing for playing time,” Coach Hemann shared. “Hopefully, we can keep up the energy and enthusiasm and continue to push each other through the season. To have the success that we expect, we need to continue to improve as the season moves along and make sure we are playing our best basketball when we start our postseason tournament.”
It is that postseason peak that continues to be the ultimate goal of Coach Hemann and his charges. That season climax will have a little bit of a different look to it this season, as high school enrollment has moved the Indians into the ranks of Class 2A when it comes to postseason competition, joining fellow Northeast Iowa Conference teams New Hampton and Oelwein within that Class 2A mix and being one of the largest school districts within that classification.
“We expect to be competitive with the best teams in our conference,” Coach Hemann said. “We also have made the move from 3A to 2A this season. If we continue to improve and we are playing our best basketball when the postseason gets here, we expect to make some noise and have a strong postseason run.”
Among those strongest teams in the conference will be Waverly-Shell Rock, a State Tournament qualifier in each of the last five seasons. “Waverly-Shell Rock will again be one of the best teams in 3A this season,” Coach Hemann reasoned. “They return four of their five starters from a very strong team last season, including a 6’10” big guy that has already committed to play at UNI. Crestwood will also be very strong; they return three All-Conference players from last season as well as some other good players to go with them.”
The basketball Tribe’s opportunity to be competitive with this season’s best teams will get underway Monday, November 30, when the Indians travel to Postville for a non-conference season opener. Another non-conference road date at Kee December 3 will then give way to the Tribe’s first home game and first Northeast Iowa Conference battle Friday, December 11 against Oelwein.