Martin Luther College Men's Basketball

The 2004-2005 men’s basketball team faces its most difficult challenge in recent years.  Two years removed from winning the UMAC conference title, the Knights will be forced to revamp its starting line-up, having lost four-fifths of its line-up from a year ago.  The biggest question that needs to be answered is whether the players are ready and able to step up.

            With senior starters Joel Schwartz, Jay Wendland, Micah Walz and Tom Engelbrecht all moving on, head coach Jim Unke faces the tall task of trying to keep his team looking ahead, instead of looking back.  Despite what critics may think, Unke does not believe this is a rebuilding year.

            “I don’t think it will be a rebuilding year, but we will have to adjust to the style of the players we have now,” Unke said. “The last four years we’ve played an offense that revolved around a dominant center.  We have to adjust to the talent we have this year.  And that changing of style is capable of being done because of the athleticism we have.”

            The Knights will be relying on the next wave of talent, players such as sophomore guard Caleb Kurbis, who started a few games last year as a freshman.  Junior guards Justin Ohm and Jeff Dolan saw extensive playing time last year and appear ready to step into the starting role.  Sophomore forward Keith Schleis, who saw his playing time increase as the year went along, will be starting at center for the Knights.  Can they fulfill the roles that are being asked of them?

            “We are extremely athletic as a team and the quickness on the team is outstanding,” Unke said.  “The returning veterans are all better than last year, especially with another year of experience under their belts. They all realize this is their time and their team.”

            The lone constant for the Knights is senior guard Dan Unke, who was second on the team in scoring last year, averaging just over 10 points a game.  Both Unke and Ohm will be relied upon for their leadership.

            “They’ve been thrown into the fire before and they know what’s expected of them,” Unke said.  “Their experience will help to keep the team focused on maintaining the right perspective, whether during a game or during the course of the season.”

            Since these Knights bring different qualities to the court, the directive becomes how to best utilize the talent.  Changing defensive schemes and pushing the fast-break opportunities are some of the potential changes.

            “Defensively we will be changing all the time so that teams cannot get into their comfort zone,” Unke said.  “Offensively, we’re going to play up tempo and push it when we can to create easy buckets.”

            Without Engelbrecht as a cog in the middle, the Knights will have to make a concerted effort as team to watch the middle, if it does not want to be consistently out rebounded.

            “We need to focus on rebounding and defending the lane,” Unke said.  “We have to work extremely hard every night to stay aggressive on the boards.  And in the college game you must own the paint.”

            In addition to an improved and tougher conference, the Knights schedule will be challenge game in and game out.

            “The schedule will be a challenge,” Unke said.  “Before Christmas we have one big game after another, but I like it that way.  I want our guys to jump in the deep water so that it will get them battle tested early on and ready for conference play.”

            With the season ready to begin, the Knights believe it can surprise the teams in UMAC that have lowered expectations for the Knights.  Coaches in the UMAC have picked the Knights to finish seventh out of 8 teams in this year’s pre-season coach’s poll.

            “We can definitely use it to our advantage,” Unke said.  “For the past few years, we’ve had the bulls-eye on us, but now we can surprise a few people.”

            If the Knights can mold together quickly and learn to play with each other, it’s hard to say where they will end up in the conference.  But then again, that’s why they play the game.