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QUESTION: Let’s talk about the recruiting process. Was (UW-Eau Claire) one of the schools that reached out to you initially, or did you take a more proactive approach to your recruiting?
ANSWER: “In basketball, you really have to be proactive unless you’re a very coveted prospect or a freak athlete. I went to one of (UWEC’s) camps and they welcomed me. It’s the little things like they called me by my name when I got there. I guess they knew who I was and watched me during AAU. And then after that camp we stayed in touch. I went to a lot of their games. The college (recruiting) process is always super stressful, just finding a school, applying, figuring out what you might want to study, all that type of stuff. But it was a pretty easy process when it came to choosing Eau Claire.”
Was UW-Eau Claire the frontrunner from the beginning? What other schools did you consider?
“Definitely, they were there from the start. I also liked St. John’s and Gustavus just because of how close they are to Owatonna. I also have a lot of friends that really like those places. But ultimately I chose a UW school like Eau Claire because those schools have always been strong. It’s a state school and the price, it was affordable. Eau Claire is a great place.”
You’re a multi-sport athlete, so I have to ask: Has basketball always been your main sport?
“I would say around seventh grade I started going to the open gyms at the old high school and really started working on stuff and not just showing up. I put in extra work and my love for the game has just developed from there. I would actually have to credit my parents for getting me a mini hoop in my basement. It was a really nice one I would just dribble down there, shoot and try new stuff. That’s where it all started. I really fell in love with the game and now I can’t get enough of it.”
When did you feel like college basketball could be a distinct possibility?
“I would say around sophomore year when I started playing AAU and played higher levels of basketball against some really good players. I started networking and playing with different guys during the offseason and going to higher levels of competition, and that’s when I really developed the thoughts that I could play beyond high school. It’s something I really want to pursue.”
Pivoting to your high school career and this year’s team. You guys have a unique style and are super fun to watch. You guys lost some really good players to graduation and aren’t very tall. Do you feel like you’ve snuck up on teams this season because of that?
“Oh for sure. And we feed off that. Before the season I know a lot of teams didn’t expect a lot from us and underestimated us, which I love. It’s motivation for the guys and we feed off that. And I love sneaking up on teams, going into their place and winning. I love going to places like Stillwater, which is historically a very good program, and coming into their building and playing our style and coming away with a win. Winning a game like that against a team that might have been a little overconfident, that feels really good. A lot of people didn’t think we’d be able to pull something like that off, but I was always confident in this group.”
What are some of the advantages of this team’s style, and then some of the challenges associated with essentially playing without a true center?
“Our major advantage is speed. It’s pretty easy to see when we are out there that we are flying around and are able to apply pressure on teams. We have 10 interchangeable guys in our rotation that can all play at a very high speed.”
“Disadvantages, well, there is rebounding. We have struggled with it sometimes. And then guarding some of those huge guys on the post. I know (Kyan) Rauk (of Northfield) gave us some trouble when we played Northfield. He’s a big dude. When we play against those type of guys, it’s a team effort whereas other teams might be able to play those guys straight up, one-one-one. For us, it’s different. We have to play gaps. Send double-teams and rotate really well. We have to be really precise with that kind of stuff.”
Coach Williams has always employed a distinct up-and-down style, but without trying to harp on it too much, your group doesn’t have a guy taller than 6-3. Did he have to make any adjustments before the season started to compensate for the lack of height?
“We definitely had to change a few habits and tweak some stuff. I mean, playing the way we do, it takes everybody communicating (and) being on the same page. That’s both offensively and defensively. We worked a lot on transition, just having reads out of transitions and filling lanes, which isn’t something we had really done before. We came into the season we had to watch some extra film and it was a learning process and we are still learning today and fine-tuning everything. When you don’t have size and graduate someone like Blake (Burmeister) and Collin (Vick), those are huge players within our offense. They were two of the best guards in the conference. You have to find ways to make up for their losses as well and find ways to plug in new pieces to a completely new system.”
Photos provided by AARON GUZMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
THE HUSKY BULLETIN 
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