It wasn’t long after the Bonduel High School boys basketball team won its first two nonconference games that the players, led by the seniors, got together and wrote down their season goals.
No. 1 on everyone’s list? Finish No. 1 in the Central Wisconsin Conference-8.
The seven seniors on the squad want to finish their careers on top. Bonduel, which last won the conference title in 2011-12, was picked preseason to finish fifth this year in the conference race.
“That’s one of our motivations that we feel like we deserve better than that and we’re going to try to prove it on the floor,” Bonduel coach Duke Copp said.
Early in the season, Bonduel is surprising everybody with its success. The Bears opened with six straight wins and have climbed the state rankings, sitting at No. 7 in Division 4 in the WisSports.net Coaches Poll. Bonduel (6-1) is tied atop the conference standings with Iola-Scandinavia at 3-0, as of Dec. 31.
“People weren’t expecting us to come out and play this good,” guard Hunter Vanderlinden said. “I think we surprised ourselves a little bit. We’ve just got to keep it going.”
The majority of the seniors — Vanderlinden, Connor Rosin, Colton Dobratz, Austin Marcks, Hunter Barry, Jacob Springborn and Garret Riemer — have played together since they were in third or fourth grade. When they were freshman, they went 20-2 at the junior varsity level. The players had a good feel that by the time their senior year rolled around, they’d have a strong team.
“We knew we’d be small, but we knew our quickness was there and we’d have a good chance,” said Rosin, who is in his third year as a starting guard.
Six of the top eight scorers for Bonduel this season are seniors, led by Rosin (12.7 points per game) and Dobratz (12.4). Vanderlinden is fourth on the team (7.7).
Copp has been teaching at Bonduel for five years and has been the varsity coach for two years. He couldn’t wait to coach the players after really starting to notice how solid the senior class was early in their high school careers.
The seniors are trying to carry over the success they had on junior varsity.
“It’s just another level. We’ve just got to bring more intensity now than we did back then,” Vanderlinden said. “But we learned how to do that, and we’re doing good.”
Having played together for so many years, the guys have created a strong bond on and off the court. They’re friends who like to play pick-up basketball together during the offseason and Xbox during their downtime in one of their families’ basements.
Rosin loves playing with all his senior teammates and friends.
“It means a lot for me,” he said. “I’ve been playing ball since first grade, but third grade organized. It means a lot to me every time I step out onto the court with those guys. It’s really special.”
The solid relationships away from the court help build a tighter team on the floor.
“We have great chemistry,” Rosin said. “It’s awesome we can play together as well as we do.”
Chemistry is the key.
“We know what we’re going to do, know where we’re going to cut, know where we’re going to pass,” said Dobratz, a two-year starter along with Vanderlinden.
The seniors tend to lead by example and let their games speak for themselves.
“They’re just nice kids and they’re not in-your-face and loud type of people at all,” Copp said. “I would like them to be a little more vocal at times.”
The Bonduel seniors sure are outspoken about their goals in their final year.
“It’d be awesome to win a conference title,” Rosin said. “I’d love to go out on that note. State would be cool, too, but conference would be awesome.”
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