Burmeister looking for improved play Friday

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- New Ulm High School boys basketball coach Pat Burmeister said his Eagles' must improve Friday night when they host United South Central in their South Central Conference opener.

"We did not execute very well against Hutchinson," he said about the 61-50 opening game loss to the Tigers. "We did not set picks, which makes it difficult to get people open for good shots and to pass the basketball. We rushed our shots in the game; we had 16 offensive rebounds but we never shot the ball, we just threw it back up at the basket so that kept our shooting percentage down below 30 percent."

One of the bright spots in the game was junior Matt Schmidt, who scored 18 points.

"We expect Matt to contribute points each game," Burmeister said. "He should score right around 12 points each night. He just needs to get comfortable with his shot and shoot the ball when he is open."

Also playing well was Brent Farasyn who had a good inside game with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

"He played the best of anyone on our team in the game. He played 31 minutes and did not a foul.He worked hard," Burmeister said.

"We need very much to execute on offense and learn to play as a team and get a little fire in our eye on defense, pick up the intensity and not give the other team so many good looks at the basket."

DEPTH STILL CONCERN: It is only one game into the season, but Burmeister is still very concerned about his bench strength.

In the game against Hutchinson, both Craig Spelbrink and Isaas Larson came off the bench and "did a good job," according to Burmeister.

"They did not show up in the scorebook, but we want people to come off the bench and contribute to the team in a defensive manner or in a team manner; they do not have to score a lot of points or get a lot of assists. They just need to play good team basketball and last night they both did a nice job."

NEED TO IMPROVE: Burmeister said that his team "has to play better and set screens and get people open. We need to reverse the basketball much better. In the second half, we reversed the basketball one time and we got a layup out of that. Hutchinson played some solid pressure defense, but you still need to reverse the ball whether it be with two dribbles and a pass or two passes. We need to that, and if we do that, we will get better shots and if we get better shots, we will make them."

REBELS ARE A CHALLENGE: USC will bring a solid team to New Ulm Friday night to face the Eagles.

"They have good perimeter players who can knock down three-point shots. Their inside game is decent and we will need to play good defense in order to win," Burmeister said.

WOLFE, WILFAHRT TIED: Former New Ulm Cathedral boys basketball coach Stan Wilfahrt and current Hounds' coach Dan Wolfe are tied for most career wins.

Wilfahrt, who coached from 1957-1968, has a mark of 143-102 for a .584 winning percentage, while Wolfe is at 143-144 for a .498 mark.

Wolfe can become the career leader in wins Friday night when the Hounds host Springfield.

In Wilfahrt's 12-year career, 10 of those years the Hounds were .500 or above, including DeSmet Conference titles in 1957 and 1961, and regional titles in 1959 and 1964.

Wolfe has recorded Tomahawk Conference crowns in 1989 and 1999, has won subsection titles in 1996 and 1999 and a sectional crown last year.

UNKE TO BECOME SIXTH 1,000-POINTER: With 959 career points, it is just a matter of time before Charger junior Dan Unke becomes the sixth Charger to record 1,000 career points, and will certainly become the school's all-time leading scorer at some point.

Leading the Chargers is Tim Merseth with 1,640 points, followed by Dave Begalka (1,588), Naci Melzer (1,440), Aaron Bauer (1,300), Lisa Gronholz (1,184) and Brandon Meyer (1,051).

POTENTIAL GUSTIES: Three Sleepy Eye athletes are looking at Gustavus Adpolphus as a potential college choice next year. Loren Havemeier, Cole Deibele and Jim Eckstein are considering Gustavus.

Not only are they great athletes but not one of the GPAs of the three is lower than 3.7.

I have said it before and I will say it again. In my mind, Havemeier is the best athlete to ever play in Sleepy Eye.

STATE BOARD STUFF: Some news coming from the Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Board is that the Class C champion and runner-up in Class B will not automatically be done now. It used to be that the champion and runner-up of the Class C tournament was placed in Class B for next year. Now, whether or not those two teams move up will be decided by the MSBA.

Also, despite defeating a motion that would make the MSBA enforce the new aluminum bat regulation next year, it was still decided that in 2001, the MSBA will begin enforcing bat regulations.

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