BY GERY WOELFEL
Journal Times | Posted: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:00 am
UW-Parkside coach Luke Reigel has a dilemma, the kind of dilemma every coach wishes he had.
In his fifth season as Rangers coach, Riegel not only has a talented starting five but also a talented and deep bench. Unlike his previous seasons at the helm, Reigel will have a host of options at his disposal. And that's the rub.
"What we're toying with in practice is how to use our guys," Reigel said. "We have 11 guys who have made enough progress to the point where they're viable options.
"The biggest thing for me is figuring out how to use them and when to use them. This is the first time I've ever had that problem. It's going to take a little adjustment on my part."
And when Reigel finally does tweak his roster, the Rangers could be a handful for an opponent. Not that they shouldn't be already. The Rangers have four returning starters from last year's team, including former St. Catherine's High School standout LaVontay Fenderson and former Burlington standout Brad Ferstenou.
Fenderson and Ferstenou helped the Rangers post a 19-13 overall and 10-9 Great Lakes Valley Conference record last season. What's more, the Rangers advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament, where they lost to Findlay of Ohio 74-66 in the first round.
As such, it's hardly surprising GLVC coaches, in a preseason poll, have chosen the Rangers as the team to beat in the GLVC East Division. That distinction has never occurred in Reigel's tenure, either.
Suffice to say, Reigel has lofty expectations for his team.
"I think it is time we do compete for a league title," said Reigel, whose team opens its regular season Friday against Michigan Tech at the DeSimone Gymnasium on the UW-Parkside campus in Somers. "In our league, we always want to make the postseason tournament. But our goals have to be higher now.
"We have to expect to win every night, at home or on the road. Hopefully, we can expect to play deep into March."
HEAD COACH: Luke Reigel, 52-63 record in four seasons as Parkside head coach.
ASSISTANT COACHES: Josh Wolfe, Tom Reigel, Damon James.
ROSTER (x-denotes letterwinner): Seniors: DaMarcus Bell, 6-7, forward (red-shirt); x-Kyle Clark, 6-4, guard; x-Tyrone Deacon, 6-2, guard; Matt Matsen, 6-4, forward; x-Brad Ferstenou, 6-6, forward. Juniors: x-Andrew Stevens, 6-6, forward; Kyle Jeffery, 6-6, forward; x-David Keane, 6-4, guard; x-LaVontay Fenderson, 6-4, guard; Mike Bendall, 6-7, forward-center; Charles Reynolds, 5-7, guard; Joe Mitchell, 6-2, guard; x-Matt Hein, 6-2, guard. Freshmen: D.J. Danzler, 6-0, guard; Craig Cunningham, 6-7, forward; Sam Katula, 6-3, guard (red-shirt); Tom Wright, 6-8, forward (red-shirt).
OUTLOOK: The question isn't whether the Rangers will be one of the most explosive - if not the most explosive - teams in the GLVC this season, but whether they can become, at least, a decent defensive team.
Offensively, the Ranges have a stockpile of arsenal. All four returning starters scored in double figures last season, including Fenderson who earned All-GLVC second-team honors.
The Rangers' top offensive weapon is Fenderson, a multi-skilled junior swingman. The 6-foot-4 Fenderson averaged a team-leading 16.3 points last season.
"If he can give us a consistent effort and play at a high level all the time, he could have a special year," Reigel said of Fenderson.
Fenderson's other backcourt mates - seniors Tyrone Deacon of Burlington and Kyle Clark of Kenosha - also are dangerous offensive threats. Clark and Deacon averaged 13.3 and 11.4 points a game last season, respectively.
Throw top reserve Dave Keane into the mix and it's easy to understand why Reigel has such a high opinion of his backcourt.
"There are a lot of good backcourts out there, but with their versatility and their ability to do different things, we should have the best backcourt," Reigel said.
The Rangers' fourth returning starter and double-digit returning scorer is Ferstenou, who averaged 11.9 points. The 6-6, 200-pound Ferstenou also is an excellent defender and led the Rangers in rebounding last season at 6.2 boards a game.
"He's just been a consistent player for us and, because he's so consistent, you tend to forget about him sometimes," Reigel said. "But he's an outstanding offensive rebounder. He comes out every game and plays his tail off.
"The energy he brings every night is so important to what we do.''
Joining Ferstenou in the frontcourt will be Kyle Jeffery, who sat out last season after transferring from Carthage College. The 6-6 Jeffery averaged 18.5 points and 5.7 rebounds last season.
Reigel also expects good things from freshman Craig Cunningham, the former Case High School standout. The 6-7 Cunningham, who red-shirted last year, played well in Parkside's exhibition game against UW-Milwaukee last week. "He can definitely give us some quality minutes," Reigel said of Cunningham.
Parkside women
When Jenny Kenesie is asked whether her Rangers can compete for a Great Lakes Valley Conference championship this season, she doesn't hesitate in responding.
"I definitely think we can," Kenesie said emphatically.
Kenesie then added, "We played with the best teams last year."
The Rangers certainly did. While they went 15-12 overall and were just 8-11 in the GLVC, the Rangers definitely held their own against some of the conference's elite teams.
To wit: The Rangers beat Northern Kentucky 66-57 and Bellarmine 86-69 in home games at the DeSimone Gymnasium.
That's of significance because Northern Kentucky and Bellarmine are, in the opinion of Kenesie, the teams to beat this season for the GLVC title.
If that isn't enough to boost the Rangers' confidence, their leading scorers in four of their final five games last season are back this season: senior guards Mackenzie Heise and Kayla Ming.
Heise figures to be one of the best guards in the GLVC and, with Ming and sophomore Amanda Gibson, the Rangers should have one of the best backcourts in the league.
While Kenesie is convinced the Rangers are talented enough to be a legitimate title contender, she is equally adamant her team needs to do one other thing to succeed.
"Our biggest goal this season is to be competitive every night we play," Kenesie said. "We play in an extremely tough league and we play a tough nonconference schedule.
"So, we have to be more consistent than we've ever been. If we are consistent and play within our system, we should definitely be able to compete with anybody."
HEAD COACH: Jenny Kenesie, 68-73 in five years at Rangers coach.
ASSISTANT COACH: Brad Fischer.
ROSTER (x-denotes letterwinner): Seniors: x-Mackenzie Heise, 5-9, guard; x-Chelsey Schadler, 5-9, forward; x-Courtney Schadler, 5-9, guard; x-Kayla Ming, 5-7, guard; x-Nicole Watzlawick, 6-1, center. Juniors: x-Katie Weiglein, 5-1, forward; x-Denise Mannella, 5-11, junior. Sophomores: x-Allison Smaglik, 5-8, guard; x-Amanda Gibson, 5-8 guard; x-Jen Moran, 5-10, guard; x-Erin Pfieffer, 6-2, forward-center; x-Kim Murphy, 5-8, guard. Freshmen: Amanda Schick, 6-1, forward Brittany Hogen, 6-0, center.
OUTLOOK: Heise seems poised to finish her collegiate career in a blaze of glory.
A four-year starter, Heise had a quality junior season and was especially impressive down the stretch last season. Heise scored 19 points in the two of the Rangers' final five games and totaled 18 in another game.
Heise, who started all 27 games last season, wasn't afraid to hit the boards - as her 5.4 rebound average attests.
"Mackenzie really developed into a go-to player last year," Kenesie said. "She did a good job of taking on that responsibility; she hit some big shots throughout the year. She definitely could be one of the better guards in the league."
Heise could become even more dangerous to guard if Amanda Gibson continues to improve. Gibson was given the reins to the starting point guard position as a freshman last season and she responded well.
Gibson started every game, led the team in assists with 103 and chipped in six points.
"It's very rare that a freshman starts at any position, let alone point guard which is one of the toughest, if not the toughest positions on the floor," Kenesie said. "She really did a nice job.
"We definitely are looking for her to be the coach on the floor and be one of our better defensive players."
Ming didn't start a single game last season, but played in every one of them. Kenesie is counting on Ming to give the Rangers a 3-point threat. She attempted 105 3-pointers last season, connecting on 41 - an impressive 39 percent.
The Rangers' top guard reserve will be Allison Smaglik, who came off the bench and averaged 12 minutes in 22 games last season.
"She really does a nice job of taking care of the ball," Kenesie said. "She doesn't make a lot of mistakes."
One of the Rangers' primary frontcourt players will be Jen Moran, who, thanks to a productive off-season program, has earned a starting spot after playing in 12 games last season as a reserve.
Denise Mannella, who saw action in 25 games last season, is a scoring threat with her nice moves around the basket.
Three other players who will be in the mix for playing time are Nicole Watzlawick, Chelsey Schadler and Katie Weiglein. None of the aforementioned players started last season but played in at least 13 games.