2022-2023 Waterloo boys basketball preview
Here's a look at the 2022-2023 Waterloo boys basketball team (with all quotes from coach Jason Wise):
Head Coach: Jason Wise (10th season)
Assistant Coaches: John Herchek, Gavin English
2021-2022 Record: 6-16 (6-8 MVAC Scarlet Tier)
Returning Letterwinners (7): Navarre Alhassan, Ryan Wise, Anthony Podojil, Aiden Hall, Drew Flarida, Jackson Eichler, Kyle Werbeck
Letterwinners Lost (2): Luke Simons, Drake Miller
Outlook: Replacing that magical core that led to a district title in 2019-2020, with Kyle Shockley starring for another year after, has not been easy for the Vikings. Indeed, Waterloo posted a losing record last season for the first time since 2017-18, despite some remarkable performances by Navarre Alhassan and Luke Simons. The bad news is Simons, the Vikings’ leading scorer, graduated. The good news is Alhassan, who finished close behind Simons, is back, along with six other returning letterwinners. While Waterloo doesn’t have a ton of size (its tallest player is 6-3), it has the athleticism to “play a much faster paced game” and to “create offense in transition.”
Backcourt: The Vikings return one of the area’s better floor generals in Navarre Alhassan, who earned first team all-league recognition last season. A 5-10 senior, Alhassan is a “great ball-handler and smart player who can create his own shot.” Fellow senior Anthony Podojil, who earned honorable mention all-MVAC in 2021-2022, adds another sharpshooter to the backcourt with the additional “potential to be a defensive stopper.” Junior Jackson Eichler has a nice shooting touch, like Alhassan and Podojil, and is “not afraid to stick his nose in on defense.”
Frontcourt: The Vikings don’t have a ton of height, but 6-2 senior Ryan Wise earned second team all-league honors last season and is a “great rebounder” who “needs to score more for us this season, which he is plenty capable of.” At 6-3, junior Drew Flarida is Waterloo’s tallest player. The “much improved” post “needs to be aggressive on offense and on the boards.” Senior Aiden Hall is the Vikings’ “best defensive player.”
The Road Ahead: The Vikings play a Portage-packed schedule early with five Portage County foes in their first 10 games, including a trip to rival Rootstown (Dec. 9) and home tilts against Garfield (Dec. 30) and Crestwood (Jan. 5) bridging the new year. While Waterloo doesn’t host MVAC Scarlet Tier favorite Lowellville until mid-January, it should get a glimpse at where it fits in the league Dec. 13 when it opens MVAC play against Western Reserve, which returns three starters who all averaged at least seven points last season. Tack on an always tough road trip to McDonald (Dec. 16), which returns point guard Wyatt Wolford and a sharpshooter who averaged more than 15 points in Greg Constantino and the Vikings will be tested early.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: 2022-2023 Waterloo boys basketball preview
