Published: Dec. 14, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
It’s just different: the attitude, the culture, everything.
It’s different with West Bend East’s boys basketball team.
That’s why the Suns are off to their best start in more than a decade, after
Thursday night’s 61-43 victory over Beaver Dam.
“We put in a lot of hours in the summer,” East senior Ben
Vande Zande said.
One of the biggest changes for the Suns is their attitude.
“We’re a team,” Vande Zande said. “We feed off each other;
there’s a d i f f e rent attitude.
“We’re not content to just compete anymore.”
After the Suns’ 61-51 victory over Hartford Union on Dec. 6,
Orioles coach Ben Hoffmann said the Suns don’t play a typical style. East likes
to play a 2-3 zone, but it’s not a laid-back zone.
“They’re physical inside; they’re aggressive on the
outside,” he said. “They’re not a 2-3 zone team where they come in and just sit
back. They get after you.”
That style starts with coach Ryan Tomczyk.
Tomczyk is in his fourth season as the Suns’ head coach.
Vande Zande said the team loves playing for him.
“I’ve been lucky to know him,” he said. “He’s a players
coach. He’s someone you want to win for. He’s going to give 100 percent into
every game. The amount of film he watches is ridiculous.”
“It just makes us want to work harder because of the effort
he puts in,” he added. “He’s not a coach that will sit and yell at you. He’ll
come down to our level.”
The players have responded.
The Suns have a mix of size with three players taller than
6-foot-5, which provide a physical presence in the post. At the same time, each
of those three players (Vande Zande, Collin Liebherr and Alex Manhardt) have
range with their jump shots.
Liebherr, Manhardt and Vande Zande are the team’s top-three
scorers, averaging 17.0, 12.8 and 12.0 points per game, respectively.
Junior Seth Schrank is also a key component on offense for
the Suns at point guard, averaging 8.5 points per game.
The Suns are averaging close to 60 points per game and have
won their games by an average of 12.4 points.
East’s lone loss was a twopoint setback Nov. 30 at
Greenfield.
“The kids are playing well together,” Tomczyk said. “They’re
making the extra pass, working harder on defense. The sense of urgency is
starting to get to the point where we expect it.
“We still have a lot of growth ahead of us.”
Vande Zande’s father, Jack, has been involved with the Suns
program in some capacity for about seven years. Ben Vande Zande went to a lot
of games as a young boy and saw the Suns limp through some tough seasons.
However, when former coach Phil Ourada began the Junior Suns
program, the culture began to change. After Ourada stepped down after the
2009-10 season, Tomczyk took over the youth program.
“We’re comfortable with each other,” Vande Zande said. “We
just know each other better.”
The program took a big step last season. Since Tomczyk took
over, the program has been on a steady incline, going 3-19 in his first season,
then 5-18 and 13-11.
“It’s exciting for us because the sky’s the limit,” he said.
The next five games will be a test for the Suns as their
upcoming opponents are a combined 17-9, starting with Slinger on Tuesday in
West Bend. Also in that stretch are games against Milwaukee Rufus King and
Wisconsin Lutheran.
After that stretch, the Suns play West Bend West on Jan. 9.
“The kids buy into the program year-round,” Tomczyk said.
“They listen extremely well in practice and it carries over into the games.”
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