A young man named Scotty Ruth taught Willie Schlarman that what you see now is not necessarily what you get in the future and there is a senior at Brossart now named Kyle Lubbers who is teaching the refresher course.

 

An earlier poster mentioned the physical advancment of the 8th Graders as a possible future pitfall for the group.

 

Personally, I think this is where the majority of big public schools (and privates too for that matter) make a mistake. The players who are the best as 8th Graders and Freshmen are often also the most further along physically yet they are the ones who comprise those teams. The trick is being able to spot those who are yet to grow into their potential who might make major contributions as varsity players long after the early bloomer have been caught and passed by others.

:thumb:

Both middle school teams seem to be heavily laden with football players. Granted they are the biggest and strongest of the lot, but there are some players that are not playing football that have yet to develop physically. Hopefully these kids do not give up on basketball. I think if you subscribe to 3 per grade theory then those three should be bball players 1st! And believe me there is not one two sport athlete (football,basketball) at Highlands that give more time to basketball than football. I don't blame the athletes as all the state championships and most of the college scholarships come via football. Willie did not have this dilema at Brossart. He had basketball players there. I think he will come to realize the need to develop the basketball players, and if you get a couple of those special athletes that can successfully play both, then thats gravy.

 

You are correct, if you can get some star athletes who can possess both strong Football/basketball skilss like Lorenzen, derek Smith then its gravy. However, I think Willie has enough kids to choose from that he can spot the kids that focus primarily on Basketball. My son plays Basketball 3 seasons a year, Winter, Spring and Summer ball and takes the fall off for mental health so I would hope his skill development will be a lot further along than a physically mature kid who plays 3 sports and can knock you around down low. It is my opinion that if you can develop great guard play then you can find BANGERS to strictly do their role. It always helps to have a Tanner Johnson with some great passing/offensive skills.

 

I know most of the 5th & 6th graders in the HHS feeder program and I can probably point out only 2-3 kids that are focusing on Basketball soley. The rest play 3 sports but there comes a time when you have to make up your mind what you want to focus on and most of the time Mueller gets to the kids early enough that Football is the choice.

A young man named Scotty Ruth taught Willie Schlarman that what you see now is not necessarily what you get in the future and there is a senior at Brossart now named Kyle Lubbers who is teaching the refresher course.

 

An earlier poster mentioned the physical advancment of the 8th Graders as a possible future pitfall for the group.

 

Personally, I think this is where the majority of big public schools (and privates too for that matter) make a mistake. The players who are the best as 8th Graders and Freshmen are often also the most further along physically yet they are the ones who comprise those teams. The trick is being able to spot those who are yet to grow into their potential who might make major contributions as varsity players long after the early bloomer have been caught and passed by others.

 

:thumb: Scott Ruth is a prime example!

I am with you Mustang 100%. Last year all of these so called fans were ripping on Willie when he won only 9 games and lost 20+. Now his team is 15-1 and everyone and there brother wants to coach the team. I played basketball with Willie from little league through high school and I can tell you that he is the best man for the job. If this was Dale Mueller that we were talking about everything would be just peachy. It seems like some people that live in this school district think that the basketball program should play by different rules than the football program. I would like to know exactly how Willie screwed up with Drew Simons. Last I knew he attended one practice and decided that he did not want to play. As for the comment regarding keeping kids and not playing them, this has been going on for years. Take it from someone who went through it personally.

I am with you Mustang 100%. Last year all of these so called fans were ripping on Willie when he won only 9 games and lost 20+. Now his team is 15-1 and everyone and there brother wants to coach the team. I played basketball with Willie from little league through high school and I can tell you that he is the best man for the job. If this was Dale Mueller that we were talking about everything would be just peachy. It seems like some people that live in this school district think that the basketball program should play by different rules than the football program. I would like to know exactly how Willie screwed up with Drew Simons. Last I knew he attended one practice and decided that he did not want to play. As for the comment regarding keeping kids and not playing them, this has been going on for years. Take it from someone who went through it personally.

 

I heard the same thing on Simons...wants to focus on football which is fine. Willie stresses good defense and allows his guards to create shots. There was another kid that I think was a Frosh playing JV last year that I don't see on the roster...I think name is Fath or something. Could be a victim of the Ax I am assuming.

Actually Fath is a senior as well. The other freshman that played JV last year was Clay Cecil and I do not believe that he even tried out for the team this year.

Actually Fath is a senior as well. The other freshman that played JV last year was Clay Cecil and I do not believe that he even tried out for the team this year.

Cecil did not try out. That adds up to about 5 or 6 that played Frosh not trying out for JV. Most probably figured they would get cut, some are football casualities.

What about the JR class???? They seem very weak...I know Wise bulked up but the other kids in that class seem very weak...throw in the football guys in the Soph class who could bolt on you and Willie may be in trouble. Simpson and McGraw will have to tow the line next year.....If Hurtt and Stein stick with Bball, they can help down low bangin but when they lose Vories.....Simpson will have to pitch in atleast 20ppg....Mcgraw a solid defender needs to also start becoming a better offensive player off the dribble. He has a nice spot up shot. I have only seen the JV play once so its hard to judge off of one game but they just seemed like a bunch of Footballers rumbling and stumbling up and down the court, played very aggressive but lacked finesse on offense.

Cecil and Simon were asked to try out for the team and decided to concentrate on football. After working out all year and playing football into the playoffs, I think the kids just need a break. Drew and Clay decided to work on football, Good for them. This is not Willie's fault that they decided to concentrate on football, it's something Drew and Clay thought would be best for them!

Some coaches make that decision for you as a young player, as we may see on other teams at HHS, but this is not the case for Drew and Clay, in my opinion.

I stand corrected on Drew but, I know this is true for Clay!!!

Kids are not asked to try out for teams in high school. They either tryout or they don't. I can tell you that Willie is not going to walk through the halls begging kids to tryout for basketball.

Maybe not asked to try out, just wondering if they are going to try out or not???

Kids are not asked to try out for teams in high school. They either tryout or they don't. I can tell you that Willie is not going to walk through the halls begging kids to tryout for basketball.

This is not completly true. If a varisty basketball coach know there is a good player walking the halls. Don't think for a second they won't atleast try and find out why they are not playing. If you have a 6'6 kid walking the halls not playing, i'm sure most coaches as the question why not.

Difference between asking why you are not playing basketball as opposed to asking you to try out for the team.

Kids are not asked to try out for teams in high school. They either tryout or they don't. I can tell you that Willie is not going to walk through the halls begging kids to tryout for basketball.

 

 

I do think this is a difference between Willie and Dale. Willie is not going to try and convince someone to play basketball. Period. Dale on the other hand will definitely do so. And each has good justification for doing so. Dale is definitely not going to try and convince a football player to play basketball, because I don't think Willie wants to risk making a time and space investment in a kid for a couple of years just to have the kid later quit basketball to concentrate on football. And that makes sense for Willie. Dale on the other hand, knowing that football is and will be king at Highlands, figures once the kid comes out, if the kid is good, he will likely continue playing football. Also, because you can carry a bunch of players on the football team, Dale oesn't have the same problems as Willie does, in other words, Dale doesn't have to cut a kid in order to keep the kid who was walking the halls, gives it a shot for a year or two and then quits. And because of Dale's emphasis on playing a bunch of players, he's generally able to keep a lot of kids happy. Basketball doesn't have the same luxury. There are only so many chairs on the side and if Willie cuts a dedicated, but not quite as talented basketball player to provide a spot for someone he had to beg to come out and that kid later quits, Willie might not be able to get the dedicated basketball player to again come out and even if he can, the player will have lost some valuable playing experience. My guess is that Willie is going to try and build the basketball program around kids that he feels are dedicated to basketball; that doesn't mean he won't let kids who also play football be on the team, but if he has any concerns about whether the kid may decide later to concentrate on football, that kid better be head and shoulders better than the basketball only player or he won't make the team.