By Denise Tucker
The Pleasant Hope High School boys’ basketball team lost 40.1 points per game of offense from last year’s squad and will be relying on 6-1 senior guard Jordan Hillenburg to lead the way once again this season.
The Pirates went 10-16 overall and 1-5 in the Mid-Lakes Conference last season, led by Hillenburg, who averaged 18.3 points per game, shot 51.5 percent from the field, pulled down 6.6 rebounds, dished out 6.5 assists and picked up 3 steals. Hillenburg has a shot at eclipsing the 1,500-point mark this season.
The other returning starter for the Pirates is 6-1 senior forward Michael Werland.
“Both of these student-athletes are extremely hard workers, and outstanding young men,” coach Eric Sechler said of Hillenburg and Werland. “I expect for their effort and attitude to be contagious and propel our program forward.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE WINTER SPORTS PREVIEWS
A bulk of the offense the Pirates lost from last year came from Camron Hanson, a 6-0 forward, who averaged 14.6 points per game, Anthony Brown, 6-0 guard/forward, 13.5 points and Jonah Falk, 5-10 guard, 2.9 points.
But Sechler chooses to see the glass as half-full with the loss of those 40.1 points and three starters.
“It means that there will be lots of minutes available to those that earn it,” said Sechler, a Pleasant Hope alum. “I look at this as a great opportunity for individual and team growth, due to the competition it creates.”
Sechler, who was a two-sport standout at PHHS from 2008-2011, will be counting on nine newcomers to step up and learn the Pirates’ motion-type offense and man-to-man defense, while helping the team get over the hump.
The newcomers include Hayden Aleshire, 6-0 senior guard/forward; Calvin Mitchell, 6-0 senior guard/forward, Evan Hillenburg, 6-0 senior forward, Chris Nibbellink, 6-0 senior forward, Mason Curnutt, 5-11 junior guard, Teagan Keck, 5-8 sophomore guard, Peyton Johnson, 6-1 junior guard/forward, Cooper Hickey, 5-8 freshman guard and Austin Stidham, 5-11 junior guard/forward.
“My outlook for this team is very positive,” said Sechler, whose Pirates picked up a couple of third-place finishes in the Dennis Cornish Classic and the Stockton Invitational last season. “We have a lot of newcomers to the varsity level, and that means every day will be a competition. We have a large senior class ready to make a lasting impact. With the program moving to Class 2 this year, we hope, and expect, to compete with every team in our district.”
