By TYLER HENRY
Little Apple Post contributor
After falling in four straight games to open their season at 2-4, the Wabaunsee boys’ basketball team caught fire to close out the month of January, winning six straight before falling to state-ranked Lyndon, to enter the home stretch of the campaign at 8-5.
Despite boasting one of the older rosters in Class 2A, this is still a Charger team that needed some time to sort themselves out on the floor after graduating several key pieces from last year’s unit.
“We have seven seniors but I think finding our identity early in the season was important,” Wabaunsee head coach Christian Ulsaker said. “A lot of these dudes hadn’t been put in a prominent role and they’ve been learning what it takes to win games consistently. They haven’t had to do it all themselves in the past but now that they know they can do that they’re consistently going out there and getting it done.”
While the Charger offense looked good right out of the gates, the team’s growth defensively has allowed them to shift from being a good team to a great one and will serve them well into late February at this year’s sub-state tournament.
“These guys have grown so much on the defensive end,” Ulsaker said. “We weren’t playing terrible defense in the games that we lost but we’re limiting teams to one shot, we’re getting out in transition and we’re playing a lot tougher than what we were early.”
Offensively, Wabaunsee has been led by their dynamic duo of Eli Oliver and Ryan Schutter, who combine to score 30 points and grab 13.5 boards on any given night.
While those two have carried a majority of the load offensively this season, the Chargers have become a deep team full of players capable of knocking down a big shot, but equally capable of applying the clamps to opponents on defense.
“We have a lot of guys who are finding their role on the defensive end who know they don’t have to put the ball in the hoop to have an impact on the game,” he said.
One such role player is a former football standout Maverick Havenstein, who has become one of the more reliable Chargers in the rotation, providing Wabaunsee with big energy and steady play.
“Maverick doesn’t get a ton of attention but he’s been a surprise and he’s been a great piece off the bench for me,” Ulsaker said. “He’s our seventh man but he’s been a huge spark off the bench with his energy and he’s incredibly reliable.”
It’s no secret that Wabaunsee has been dominant inside this season, shooting an unreal 52% from inside the arc this year. Beyond that range however, the Chargers will continue to look for more consistency, as the team knocks down just 27% of their trays.
“We need to be able to put the ball in the hoop better from beyond the arc,” he said. “Our three-point percentage has gotten better but it’s not where we need to be as a team. 26-27% isn’t going to cut it down the stretch but I have been happy with our patience and willingness not to settle for bad threes.”
Wabaunsee came into this campaign with high hopes and expectations, and that six-game win streak has only stoked those as the Chargers head into the home stretch of their season.
“These guys believe that there’s no reason they couldn’t win a state championship this year,” Ulsaker said. “I firmly believe that we have one of the best players in the state in 2A in Eli Oliver. We have a really good post player in Ryan Schutter who’s figuring out how much of a terror he can be and we have a lot of guys who are settling into their roles around those two.”
Wabaunsee will be back on the floor on Friday, February 2nd when the Chargers travel to Rossville to battle the Bulldogs.
For continuing coverage of Charger hoops all season long, stay tuned to the Little Apple Post.