GRITTY: Teutopolis' James Niebrugge earns 2023 EDN Large Schools Defensive Player of the Year after stout play helps Teutopolis reach state tourney

Apr. 18—TEUTOPOLIS — James Niebrugge finished his senior season with the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes leading the team with 1.2 steals per game.

Forty-five steals, to be exact, and none bigger than the game-changing steal and three-point play against Pinckneyville in a Class 2A super-sectional at the Banterra Center at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

A defensive stop that helped lead Teutopolis back to the promised land — the state tournament.

"It was very exciting and a huge moment, but I knew the job wasn't done yet and we still had a lot of game left to play."

Though the game wasn't quite over yet, Niebrugge's steal eased the tension on the Wooden Shoes' side for the most part.

Head coach Chet Reeder also noted that Niebrugge's steal came from knowing the scouting report and what the Pinckneyville sideline wanted to do at that stage of the game.

"What was cool about that was James just played on instincts," Reeder said. "We were down one and James listened to the scouting report, too. We talked to our guys about late in the game and how they would try to stall and if they do, you go to take chances."

With risk comes reward and for Niebrugge, that risk ended up being a play that he will remember forever.

Ironically, though, when Niebrugge was younger, his father, Kent, said he was never interested in doing much on that side of the floor, leaving Kent with some work to do to change that mindset.

"When he was younger, he didn't seem very interested in defense or rebounding and that always bothered me because those are the two things I hung my hat on when I played. I was concerned about that. As he got older, I challenged him quite a bit about stuff defensively and rebounding, but honestly, it's what the coaching staff got out of him in high school."

James seconded what his dad said.

"Every day in practice, we do 'Shoe Pride,' a defensive drill that helps us defend. They match me up with someone on the other team for every game to make me a better defender and to create problems for the other team."

Those drills worked wonders in the long run.

James, the 2023 Effingham Daily News Large Schools Defensive Player of the Year, was a menace on that end of the floor and it wasn't just by stealing the basketball.

James led the team in deflections with 1.4. He was also second in defensive rebounding at 4.4 — Caleb Siemer led the team with 5.6.

Reeder noted that James' improvement on defense allowed him to do so much more with the team, too.

"James got voted our most improved player from our team and a lot of that had to do with the defensive side of the floor. He progressed well on that end; we could sometimes put him on the other team's best players, so James excelled and proved a lot on that end," Reeder said. "He allowed our defense to be more versatile because James could guard multiple positions."

Additionally, that is one thing that Kent always told James when he was coming through the ranks — the better the defender, the more likely you are to play.

"I always talked to him about how guys that can defend can find a place on the floor. If you can defend and take care of a basketball, they can go to you and rely on you," Kent said.

Reeder, for one, more than relied on James throughout the year.

However, Reeder commends James' dedication toward that, whether it be on reading defenses or knowing where to be for a rebound.

"He was another one that studied. He knew where the ball would go at times and could get it," Reeder said. "We don't tell him to block out, you tell him to get the ball and he was incredible at doing that — he had great ability."

Reeder added that James' work ethic in the weight room aided that ability, nullifying an old saying that the weight room hurts basketball players.

"James committed himself to the weight room. He took pride in getting stronger," Reeder said. "He's the kid that gets pumped up regarding max week and wants to prove how much he can do.

"The old-school mindset is that the weight room hurts basketball and that's not the case."

Contact EDN Sports Editor Alex Wallner at {span}618-510-9231{/span} or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.