Day: November 24, 2020

Being the fourth coach in four years has new McAuley Catholic Warriors head coach Tony Witt looking to provide the boys basketball program with one important trait they’ve lacked in recent years—stability.

“It is very important,” Witt said. “One of the things during the interview process that I really wanted to establish was being present in the middle school and in the youth programs. That is where it all starts. To get down there and get our kids fundamentally sound before they get to high school is crucial for our success in the future.”

Establishing a foundation for the McAuley program is especially important to Witt because he was a former Warrior, graduating from the school in 2000. 

“I am at a loss for words for how excited I am,” Witt said of returning to his alma mater. “To be back, and to be in the same hallways where I was in as a player and student is like no other. … We want to win, but one of the big things for me is getting deeper into the postseason. We want people in our community to be happy about and proud of our program. … That is a huge goal for this program moving forward.”

Senior Daniel Wagner, senior Matthew Dohmen, senior Thomas Black, sophomore Joe Staton and junior Kevin Tran figure to be the starting five for the Warriors. Wagner was a first-team all-conference selection last season and averaged 16.6 points per game. Black was an honorable mention all-conference player a year ago, averaging 11.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest.

“Having Daniel, Matthew and Thomas is huge for us,” Witt said. “They’ve got to step up and show these younger guys how to play because we have a lot of youth beneath them. They are really the only three who have varsity experience. For them to lead by example is going to be huge not only for this year, but for the future.”

Sophomore Kable Reichardt, freshman Bradley Wagner, junior Jeffery Horinek, junior Jacob Bracich, freshman Rocco Bazzano-Joseph as well as seniors Joe Lupicki and Cade Englert expect to provide depth off the bench.

Witt’s philosophy for the offense is simple. He wants to let his kids play. He isn’t focusing on running set plays in the halfcourt, but more so on letting the game come to his kids. 

“I am a motion guy,” Witt said. “I don’t like to run sets. I like to teach offense and let the players play. That is crucial for me and really big for our development. We want to be as unselfish as possible. We want to be able to pass on good shots and take great shots. Our motion is pass-and-pick-away base.”

Defensively, the Warriors on focusing on keeping opponents to under 50 points per game using a press defense, particularly in the halfcourt, while using a strong rebounding game to compliment the defensive effort.

“We want to emphasize finishing off defensive possessions with rebounding, and not giving up the offensive rebound,” Witt said. “That is something that our guys have mentioned to me. They want to be a better rebounding team, and they want to be a better defensive team. That was one of their goals that they’ve set this year. That is something we have been working on every day.”

With Witt in charge of turning the program around, he is aware the process will take time. The immediate goal is to turn in a winning season in 2020. McAuley starts that quest with a season-opening matchup against Liberal on Tuesday.

“It is going to be a great one,” Witt said. “It’s the first game of the year, and McAuley-Liberal has been the first game of the year since I was in school. It’s going to be exciting and packed. The team is excited and ready to play.”