Basketball season has been underway for the boys´ team for three and half months. The team has had its highs and lows. The highlight would be the Kings winning their first conference game. The low would be losing to a not-so-good Northfield team. The boys show a lot of grit and determination this season. In an interview with head coach, Eric Branz, and junior guard, Bryce Rudd, they were asked their thoughts on how the season has gone so far.
This season marks Coach Branz´s first year as head coach of the Cass Kings. When asked how he felt about his first season, he responded, ¨This has been an interesting season. Going in we knew we were going to be young and have to gain experience. I mentioned before (in a prior interview) we would be a different team once mid-January came around. Well, here we are. Injuries hurt the growth of our team, but players got minutes that maybe they wouldn’t have. I am happy with where we are right now but we still have a long way to go.¨
The lowerclassmen for this year’s squad have had much playing time and Coach Branz said, “¨We have had three sophomores start at some point this season and four get good minutes, but I do not think that is the important part. I feel they have gotten much better as the season has gone on, the same can be said for the juniors. It takes time to replace all the seniors that we lost from last season’s team. Playing games in the summer helps, but until you get into the season with real officiating, larger crowds, and real game pressure you don’t know how players are going to handle it. Overall, they are playing well and have improved quite a bit from last season.¨
The Term Blue collar has been used a lot this season, so we asked Coach Branz to define what that means to his squad, ¨To us Blue Collar basketball is about the little details that need to be done in order to win. Yes, diving on the floor and playing hard is part of it, but being in a defensive stance so you are ready to move, not getting screened, and blocking out every possession are all things that need to be done that many people are not willing to do.¨
To get a player’s view of this season so far I interviewed Bryce Rudd about his thoughts on this season. Rudd said, ¨ I think many people would say our season is going badly right now. I would describe our season as something to learn from. We started out hot, getting a big win against Carroll and then beating Caston. We struggled a lot after that. We lost five in a row down the stretch, and we were in a really bad spot. After we beat New Prairie we would go on to lose three games in a row. When we were losing it was really important for the team to stay focused and together. We put together about a week of really good practices and were locked in going into the Southwood game. We would beat Southwood and then go on to beat Taylor. These were two of our best games this season. The team was playing a lot harder and together. Next weekend is going to be tough going against Maconaquah and then Kokomo. We have a lot of young guys on the team and I believe we have a bright future.”
Lastly, when asked about his bunnies (vertical jump) and how Rudd jumps so high Bryce said, ¨ Plyometrics is the best exercise to increase your jump power and ability. Plyometrics are exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing power.” Rudd also stated, “I have to keep my exercises secret because they work! But, I am willing to give lessons for a price if you (Harrison) want to jump higher. I am waiting to get that opportunity in a game, but I enjoy dunking in pregame and practice. ¨
If you want to see Bryce Rudd’s bunnies as he jumps out of the gym, come watch the boys twice this weekend on Friday and Saturday nights! Friday’s game is at Maconaquah and Saturday’s game is at home vs The Kokomo Wildkats! Let’s go Kings!
