A season to remember

In a boys high school basketball season bookended with games against Merrill — a season-opening 54-34 win on the road and a season-ending 43-41 sectional defeat — the high points for Shawano in between those games far outweighed the lows.

After a loss to Seymour on Dec. 12, Shawano established itself as not only one of the area’s premier teams but also one of the toughest places to win. The Hawks won their remaining 12 games at home.

Suffocating defense was Shawano’s calling card, as three times the Hawks held an opponent to less than 30 points — a 62-24 win over Marinette, a 43-21 clipping of Clintonville and the postseason zenith, a 55-28 regional-title win over Hortonville.

The Hortonville win was notable in that it figured to be a close game — which it was until the opening tipoff. A more thorough drubbing could not have been imagined, or expected. Shawano’s 9-0 early lead only kept ballooning.

The whole of the team was greater than the sum of the parts, as you might expect, but there were some impressive parts.

Six-foot-six junior Zeke Gueths was the center of the Hawks’ solar system; his combination of strength and finesse made him the go-to guy in the halfcourt offense, the one who defenses had to make certain to mark. Even with the constant attention, he averaged 12 points and five rebounds a game and was a first-team All-Bay Conference selection.

Gueths, who next season will undoubtedly see even more defenses tailored to stop him, had a double-double in one of Shawano’s other quality wins. He knocked down 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 69-62 win over West De Pere, the conference’s second-place team and a sectional finalist.

Senior point guard Zach Sousek, a second-team all-conference pick, was the Hawks’ quarterback and arguably the heart of the team. Sousek, whose explosive first step and exceptional leaping ability made him a difficult defensive assignment, could have easily scored more than the nine points a game he averaged.

As Shawano coach Chris Kellett noted, though, Sousek is the quintessential competitor, repulsed by losing of any sort. Those kinds of players are the ones you want on your side, and Sousek’s successor at the point next year will have big shoes to fill.

Forward Jack Lacy, another leaper who jumped center for the Hawks, was an honorable mention all-conference choice, averaging about seven points and four boards a game. He is a considerable talent whose best playing days are ahead of him.

If not for an injured quadriceps muscle that kept him out of commission for eight games, senior forward Sajen Knueppel likely would have garnered some type of all-conference mention. His inspired play down the stretch gave Shawano’s opponents one more headache to worry about, and his enthusiasm on both offense and defense was contagious.

Freshman Eric Carl was Kellett’s ace-in-the-hole, and along with Gueths and Adam Bartz, he is a big reason to feel good about the Hawks’ prospects next season. Carl, a 3-point specialist with uncanny range, sank a number of his team-leading 61 3-pointers from far beyond the arc. He hit seven of 14 treys in Shawano’s 61-53 overtime win over Luxemburg-Casco.

Braden Mueller was a steady-rolling backcourt asset, as his 43 assists put him second on the team behind Sousek. His five 3-point field goals helped lift the Hawks to their season-opening win over Merrill.

Bartz, a junior forward, and Dylan Hintz, a senior center, were unsung role players who were effective contributors off the bench. Bartz was the team’s third-leading rebounder behind Gueths and Lacy. Hintz, a court-savvy center who was valuable giving Gueths the occasional breather, hit a remarkable 68 percent of his field goals.

The storybook end to the Hawks’ season, naturally, would have been a trip to Madison, plus two more wins after they got there. Nothing will erase that which they accomplished. It is worth remembering that some schools go four or five seasons without winning a total of 19 games.

Basketball nights at the Shawano gym — from the tight school band, to the clever cheering section, to the dominant home team — were a high-energy soiree, the stuff of great memories. The farther away it appears in the rear-view mirror, the better 2014-15 will look.