By Bud Milroy
Sports Correspondent
The Toppers will finally get a chance to see if experience matters.
The 2013-2014 Catholic Central squad returns all five starters this season along with several part-time starters.
The question now is can all that experience translate into victories in the super tough Metro Classic Conference?
“I’m really excited about this team,” said Topper head coach Eric Henderson. “We have a lot of varsity-level experience, our team chemistry is the best it’s ever been and all the guys can score, which hasn’t been the case here lately.”
The key for the Toppers will be their “man in the middle,” 6-foot-7 senior Tegan Miles.
“Tegan in the middle will anchor our defense and protect the basket. Offensively, he gives us an inside scoring threat and is great on the boards.”
Bailey Wright, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, will be counted on to get the Toppers in their flow.
“Bailey has matured as a basketball player and is a leader on the floor,” Henderson said. “He can go to the basket and connect from outside.”
Juniors Spencer Wilker and Gavin Foote also return for the Toppers. “Spencer is a shooter and can spread the floor for us while Gavin is our best defender and plays with great energy.”
Rounding out the probable starting unit is sophomore Ben Heiligenthal.
“Ben started last year as a freshman and did a real nice job. He has a high basketball IQ and just seems to know how to get the job done,” Henderson said.
Additional scoring punch will come off the bench from junior Jake La Forrest, who started on several occasions last year, and senior Dylan Piccolo.
“Jake can score for us and he is much improved from last year,” Henderson said. “Dylan is a very confident shooter who can fill it up when he’s on.”
Adding depth inside will be 6-foot-3 junior Shan Gill and in the backcourt 6’ junior Karan Singh, both of whom performed well for the JV squad last year.
The Metro Classic Conference will again be one of the best conferences in the state with the likes of Whitefish Bay Dominican and Racine St. Catherine’s leading the way. While picking up a large number of wins may prove difficult, Henderson sees a silver lining playing against the ultra-competitive MCC.
“I believe that the day-in-day-out battles we’ll face in conference will ultimately make us better prepared for tournament time,” he said. “I also think that it is a lot of fun playing against stiff competition. It may be a struggle now to pick up wins, but down the road I think the guys will look back proudly at the opportunity to have played against some of the best players (especially when
you see them playing on TV for various college teams) and teams in the state.”
Waterford 35, Catholic Central 32
The host Wolverines used a dominant fourth quarter to edge visiting Catholic Central Dec 3.
Led by Trace Hunsucker’s seven fourth-quarter points, Waterford outscored the Toppers, 11-3, in the fourth to erase a five-point deficit after three quarters.
Hunsucker hit two triples and scored points in every quarter, leading all scorers with 16 points.
Waterford improved to 2-2, while Catholic Central dropped to 0-1.
Spencer Wilker scored 11 points to lead the Toppers.
Ben Heiligenthal added eight points for Catholic Central.
Waterford hosts Wilmot Thursday, while Catholic Central travels to Thomas More Tuesday, Dec. 10.
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