Boys varsity showed fire and future looks bright

Most people would agree that if a team graduates four excellent starters from a basketball team and only returns three players that it could be in for a long season.

Replacing Matt BeltCappellino, Nate Mundy, Riley Willumsen and Matthew Dunning, who all graduated last June, would be a tall order for the newly appointed Coach Jay Card Jr.

But the good news was that Coach Card still had junior Tristan Wissemann, last year’s All-Conference recipient and the team’s Most Valuable Player, returning to lead this year’s squad.

Wissemann, who plays AAU basketball throughout the spring and fall seasons, continues to elevate his game through hard work and a strong desire to play basketball at the collegiate level.

This year’s team was led by co-captains Sawyer Clark and Wissemann. Although the team only had seven players on its roster, it was highly competitive throughout the winter season. The Indians finished the year with a 7-9 overall record and never lost more than two games in a row. Shelter Island actually outscored its opponents 925 to 918, averaging 57.8 points per game, slightly better than last year’s team that went to the South East Regional tournament.

This season’s team shot a very respectable 45 percent from 2-point range, 31 percent from 3-point range and made almost seven out of ten free throws attempted, all higher percentages than any other Island team in more than five years.

However, the big difference that cost at least four very close losses was an increase in turnovers, as well as a slight breakdown on defense —opponents scored 3.4 points more per game. These will become high priority areas for the 2015-16 team.

Once again, the Indians were led by Wissemann who averaged 24 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 assists per game. His shooting percentages were very impressive, 54 percent from 2-point range and 53 percent from 3-point range, as well as 82 percent from the free throw line. Those stats rank near the top of any high school player on Long Island. Wissemann finished second in the voting for MVP for Conference VIII this season.

Junior Billy Boeklen received All-League honors, averaging 15 points and four assists per game. Boeklen had a much-improved second half of the season and hopes to play AAU basketball in the spring and fall to help improve his skills. There is no doubt that Coach Card is depending on Boeklen to become a leader for his team next season.

Replacing senior Sawyer Clark will be a challenge. Clark was a defensive specialist who always gave a 100 percent effort. He, too, had a much better second half of the season, scoring in double figures on five different occasions. Clark scored over 100 points and improved his shooting percentages dramatically in the latter half of the season. He also received All-Academic honors by the coaches of Conference VIII.
Sophomore Semaj Lawrence was a great addition to this year’s squad.

He averaged almost 9 points and nine rebounds per game. Lawrence had not played organized basketball at Shelter Island for several years but made strides both on and off the court. Coach Card is hoping to get Lawrence involved in AAU basketball and fine-tune some of his skills.

Senior Johnny Sturges will also graduate in June. Sturges was a tough player who enjoyed setting screens and taking charges while playing defense. Often times, Sturges would come off the bench to give Wissemann or Lawrence some needed rest. Sturges was very much a team player who enjoyed playing basketball for the Indians. Coach Card wishes both Clark and Sturges the very best for their futures.

There is no doubt that both Jack Kimmelmann and Peter Kropf played vital roles on this year’s team. Although both players were not big scorers, they played outstanding defense, hustled and improved as offensive players as well. Both of these young men were truly unsung heroes this season. Coach Card wants both of them to work hard in the off-season to assume the guard responsibilities for the 2015-16 season.

With only five returning lettermen, Coach Card needs several JV players to step up and work hard to improve so next year’s team will have a stronger bench. This provides the team with depth and makes practice sessions more beneficial for the team as a whole. Coach Card is excited about the future of his program and has been investing lots of additional time working with the younger players.

A special thank you to Tommy Card for helping at practices this year.

Coach Card would also like to recognize the tremendous support that he received this year from Coach Jimbo Theinert. Not only did he attend numerous practices and participate on the court, he did an outstanding job filming games and keeping stats. The same could be said for JV Coach Ian Kararvogel who went above and beyond helping at the varsity level throughout the year.

Hats off to our fantastic cheerleading team as well. To our official scorers, Kelly Colligan and Julia Martin a very big thank you from the coaches and players alike.

Finally, the coaches would like to thank to all our loyal fans. We hope you enjoyed the basketball season and take much of that enthusiasm into next year. Our home crowd was often our 6th man on the court.