Some observers at the Class 1A state tournament have mentioned how “under-sized” the 24-2 Braves are.
I could throw in that old bromide that “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that counts, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
But, I will concede that with only one starter over six feet in height, the Braves aren’t tall by any stretch.
I’ve been around long enough to remember an Illinois high school state championship game in which Pekin (6-3 tallest guy), shut down Cobden, which went 6-9, 6-8 and 6-6.
Derrick Dengler, Montezuma’s head coach, pointed out that this particular group of Braves have been playing from behind in terms of size most if not all of their school careers.
But, it could be they take a back seat to no one in terms of basketball IQ.
I’m told that none of us comes close to using all of our brain capacity. Some come closer than others, and that helps them achieve and succeed.
Post player Eddie Burgess, the “big” guy at 6-4, hinted at this when he told a reporter, “give credit to coach (Dengler) he said. “It’s amazing how much he can do just watching film for a few days.”
It’s one thing to gather knowledge. It’s quite another to teach it in word pictures younger minds can comprehend and apply.
Dengler can summarize a basketball game in two declarative sentences in a way that, in my mind’s eye, I can see all of the game unfold.
“We look forward,” said guard Trey Shearer. “We have next game mentality. We’ll be prepared to play on Wednesday.”
Wednesday is March 11, when the #4 seeded Braves face #8 Wapsie Valley in a Class 1A semifinals game at Wells Fargo Arena. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.
The Wapsie Valley Warriors are another young team that has put its game together during the last third of the season.
They’re 19-7 and have won their last nine games.
The team has one playing senior, seven juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen.
The senior is their big guy and leading scorer. Kiks Rosengarten, 6-7, scores 19 points a game, shoots 52 percent from the field, averages 11 rebounds and has blocked 65 shots.
Blayde Bellis (5-9), and Kobe Risse (6-0) bring a lot of energy. Bellis scores 10.6 per game, has knocked down 143 three-balls, and has 112 assists.
Risse scores 9.8 per game, has hit 81 treys, has a team-high 152 assists, and runs down about five rebounds a game.
Gunner Meyer, a 6-4 sophomore, scores 9.4 a game, shoots .512 from the field and has 98 rebounds.
The other starter, Tyler Ott, scores 3.7 a game.
The team shoots .443 from the field, compared to Montezuma’s .543.
They will shoot from behind the arc. They’ve launched 515 of them, and have knocked down 32 percent. The Braves won’t hesitate from back there either, and they’re shooting .391 on 531 trey tries.
The Warriors have more assists than turnovers – but do have 281 total turnovers, just over 10 a game. The Braves haven’t reached 180 yet and have the fewest in the field.
A common opponent is Gladbrook-Reinbeck. The Braves beat G-R 71-65 on Feb. 14. Wapsie Valley beat G-R 75-67 six days later.
“Down the stretch of this season our guys have locked in on being solid on defense,” Dengler said.
“When you get this far, guys are too talented to expect to hold them to zero,” the coach said. “We know there are plays that get away, but we don’t compound them by going out a making a quick foul.”
UP NEXT – #2 Algona Bishop Garrigan (23-2) plays #6 West Fork (24-2) in Wednesday’s 3:45 p.m. semi-final. Wednesday’s winners play for the state championship at 2 p.m. on Friday. Wednesday’s losers play for third place Thursday at 10:20 a.m.