Look for the Menahga boys basketball team to use an up-tempo style to produce wins this season.
A year ago, the Braves went 2-10 in Park Region Conference play and 6-21 overall while averaging 55.8 points a game and allowing 73.0 points a night.
Dan Towers (219 points, 161 rebounds), Isaiah Davis (207 points, 80 rebounds, 76 assists, 64 steals), Alex Pederson (187 points) and Don Hanninen (68 points) graduated. Those four combined for more than half of Menahga's scoring output last season.
On the positive side, the Braves return 10 players from last year's squad. Leading that list are the six players who played in at least 21 games: senior guard Craig Thompson, senior center Gerald Klemz, senior forward Alex White, junior guard Derek Pihlaja, sophomore forward Tom Gruchow and sophomore guard Kasey Tyge. Thompson, Klemz, White and Pihlaja will serve as captains this season.
Pihlaja earned all-conference honors after leading the Braves with 251 points (9.3 per game) and 118 assists (4.4 per game). In 27 games, Pihlaja made 91 of 246 field goals (37 percent), 35 of 117 3-pointers (30 percent) and 37 of 59 free throws (63 percent) while tallying 63 rebounds and 44 steals.
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Klemz averaged 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds a game last season. In 27 games, Klemz made 92 of 231 field goals (39 percent) and 36 of 63 free throws (57 percent) while tallying 219 points, 139 rebounds, 25 assists, 38 steals and a team-high 17 blocked shots.
Tyge played in 26 games and scored 147 points (5.7 per game). Tyge made 58 of 174 field goals (33 percent), 23 of 88 3-pointers (26 percent) and 10 of 25 free throws (40 percent) with 74 rebounds, 33 assists and 23 steals.
Gruchow saw action in all 27 games and had 119 points, 109 rebounds, 16 assists and 34 steals. Gruchow made 40 of 103 field goals (38 percent) and 39 of 72 free throws (54 percent).
White contributed 52 points, 35 rebounds, 11 assists and 12 steals in 21 games. White made 15 of 70 field goals (21 percent) and 22 of 35 free throws (63 percent).
Thompson played in 26 games and had 19 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals.
The other returning varsity players are junior forward Antti Ylitalo (five games), junior guard Matt Skoog (nine games), sophomore guard Ben Skoog (12 games) and sophomore guard Sean Dormanen (seven games).
Rounding out the varsity roster are junior forward Luke Hendrickson, junior guard Marlin Aho and senior center Mitch Melander.
"These guys have been playing quite a bit together in the off-season. They are a great mix of veterans and young guys. The thing I really like about this group is that they are passionate about the game of basketball. They can't wait to get on the gym floor and play. They are very coachable and very energetic," said Menahga head coach Jeremy Nordick, who will be assisted by Charlie Dormanen. "I like out athletic ability and we have some decent size. We will be an up-tempo style team with pressure defense and we'll have a running mentality on the offensive end."
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Last season, the Braves finished sixth in the conference standings and were the No. 10 seed in the West half of Section 5A. Nordick is looking for Menahga to improve on those rankings this season.
"On paper I think we match up very well with a number of teams in our conference and section. The keys will be to continue to work to get better in practice and stay healthy," said Nordick. "I think if they continue with this enthusiasm throughout the season, we'll be tough to beat.
