Team: Forest Park Ranger Boys Basketball
Year: 2009-2010
Team Members: #24 Ben Braunecker, #34 Miles Leonard, #44 Caleb Williams, #20 Zach Hulsman, #10 Matt Messmer, #22 Jake Meyer, #12 Grant Welp, #14 Noah Klem, #24 Trent Theising, #42 Colin Welp, #30 Nathan Bromm, #40 Jessie Begle, #52 Lynk Kordes, #32 Kyle Wilgus
Coaches: Head Coach- Nate Hawkins, Varsity Assistant- Phil Winkler, JV Coach- Jeff Litherland
Record: 19-8
Accomplishments: Regional Champions
Stats: .690 win percentage, ranked 80th in the state, 1581 points scored - 1437 points allowed
Although the Forest Park boys basketball team in the 2009-2010 season did not have an astounding record, they were quite an accomplished team. One of the most important aspects a team can have is good chemistry, and as Center #52 Lynk Kordes says, “The team chemistry was great. Everyone loved competing in practice which translated perfectly to the games. We had a ton of guys that did not care about statistics and were focused on winning.” Focused on winning is right. In fact, the Rangers made it all the way to semi-state in this season. However, before making it to semi-state, there were many other close games and intense moments along the way.
One such moment was in the first game of sectional when the Rangers played Perry Central. Here is a quick recap of the game from assistant coach Phil Winkler, “We were playing Perry Central, who we had beaten early in the year. I remember that we were not playing a great game. It was back and forth the whole game. The part that is most memorable is the last 10 seconds. We were down by 1 with the ball. Coming out of a timeout, we inbounded the ball and it came to Trent Theising. He took one dribble and shot from about the free throw line. It wasn’t who we wanted taking the shot, but nonetheless he banked it in the win the game. Had we not hit that shot, we would not been able to go as far in the tournament as we did.”
Although the team had lost several regular season games, they seemed to be unstoppable in the postseason. For example, the Rangers upset Brownstown in the Regional Championship. Lynk Kordes says, “A lot of people do not remember that Brownstown was undefeated and beat us by thirty points in the Graber Post Tournament.” Many aspects of the team’s game were improving as the year progressed. The most significant feature of their playing style was that they were just a team the clicked. “I don’t think we had a best player. We had several key players. Colin Welp, Grant Welp, Nate Bromm, and Kyle Wilgus were all key players, but there were other players that hit important shots or made great defensive stops. They would be, Jake Meyer, Caleb Williams, and Trent Theising,” says coach Winkler. Ending the season with a game that went into 4 overtimes had to be a heart-breaking experience for the players, but it just goes to show that this group of close-knit guys were willing to play and fight as hard as they could for one another.
Games
Crawford County: 55-53 Win
Tell City: 57-41 Win
Loogootee: 70-64 Win
Washington: 67-46 Loss
Northeast Dubois: 63-55 Win
Barr-Reeve: 58-56 Win
Brownstown Central: 61-39 Loss
Washington Catholic: 68-34 Win
South Spencer: 59-36 Win
North Posey: 58-49 Loss
Jasper: 56-52 Win
Southridge: 51-46 Loss
Tecumseh: 55-40 Win
Evansville Mater Dei: 55-53 Loss
Wood Memorial: 65-55 Win
Heritage Hills: 49-40 Win
Barr-Reeve: 53-41 Loss
Perry Central: 67-53 Win
Pike Central: 57-48 Win
Gibson Southern: 67-50 Win
Boonville: 64-55 Loss
IHSAA Tournament Games
Sectional
Perry Central: 40-39 Win
Tell City: 65-48 Win
Evansville Mater Dei: 66-44 Win
Regional
South Knox: 61-36 Win
Brownstown Central: 44-42 Win
Semi-State
Park Tudor: 47-45 Loss