EFFINGHAM — The St. Anthony Bulldogs were 24-9 last season, losing in the Class 1A Moweaqua (Central A&M) Sectional Semifinals.
Head coach Aaron Rios is entering his sixth season and has a career record of 96-48.
Rios talked about the forthcoming season below.
Outlook on the season
“We’ve been getting after it for the last two weeks. With the new crew that we have coming back, minus Stacie Vonderheide, I think we have an excellent plan. I’m just excited to get started. That’s the most important thing. We’re looking to get the team on the floor.”
Feelings before the new season begins
“This team. Our ‘Sisterhood’ of the last three years has won more games than any kid in school history. At this point, as a coach, I’m not really anxious, I’m not really nervous, I’m not really overly excited, I’m just feeling good about where we’re at. We’re not focused this year on winning a conference tournament, winning the conference, winning a sectional, winning a regional. We’re focused on three things: being the best communicators in the state against our opponents, being the best-prepared team in the state against our opponents, and being the best defensive team in the state. Over the last three years, we’ve found ways to score over 60 points a game. We were extremely successful when we kept teams at 40 (points) or less. It can get uncomfortable talking about winning this many games, or we have to get to state, we have to get this, we have to get that. We’re not even focusing on that; we’re focusing on those three things.”
Returners
“I’m always going to start with Nancy Ruholl. I don’t think she gets recognized enough by the state. I believe Nancy can come out and have a great chance of being the top performer, an individual contributor, and a basketball player in Class 1A. She has an opportunity to be the best. Last year, as a sophomore, she averaged 20 points per game, five or six rebounds and two or three steals. She was a good contributor for us, and I think over the summer, when we challenged her about being a better defensive stopper and focusing on the defensive side and not forcing things, she’s been really good at that the last two weeks we’ve been at practice. I think Nancy’s poised to have an awesome year and lead our ballclub from a performance standpoint. Nancy’s not a verbal leader; her credibility on the floor stands for itself. I think Nancy’s raised her game and continued to get better. We have five seniors. We’ve coached them for almost a decade. Katie Kollmann joined that group a few years back. Addi Nuxoll, Kallie Kabbes, Ava Faber and Adysen Rios, we’ve coached those guys for an extended period of time and it helps to have kids that have been in your program for that long. They understand your standards and expectations and that we want to coach them. It’s not coaching them because you have an issue with them; it’s coaching them because you want them to be the best players they can be. That group is going to be critical to our success. I’ve already seen the level of leadership, vocal and on the floor, with our younger group that those guys have taken on; they’ve done it without us asking them, which is sensational. We’ve never seen this type of leadership in the locker room. Addi Nuxoll can choose whatever she chooses to do. We really just challenge her to be a defensive stopper and be good on the offensive side. Adysen Rios hasn’t touched a basketball probably since June and she, in my mind, could be a top-five player in our conference. She could be the best on-ball defender in our league and could give us 14-to-16 (points) a night. Our other seniors are going to be really good role players. They’re great vocal leaders and will contribute at a high level. Lilly Gannaway has had an exceptional two weeks. As of right now, she will start at point guard. I expect her to be a great defensive stopper. She’s quick, handles the ball, makes smart decisions, is a good passer, can knock it down from three, can finish, and is a good free-throw shooter. Addie Lauritzen is right at 6-foot. She’s strong, a quick defender. She started probably the last 10 games of the season, which is hard to do. Defensive rebounding is what we’re challenging her to do. Play solid defense. She’ll get her points from that perspective. Ali Kollmann is 6-foot-1 and she’s probably the most athletic kid in our league. It’s kind of a feel thing for me. When we put five kids on the floor early in the season, we want to feel it out. She’ll be in the starting lineup at some point. She earns it in practice. Aubrey Denning is another sophomore. She’ll play a lot of minutes on the varsity level. She’s quick and energetic. She had amazing moments last year. She’s going to play a lot of point guard for us, too.”
Newcomers
“Jackie Vonderheide, Stacie’s sister, shoots the ball really well. I anticipate Jackie playing some minutes on the varsity level — depending on how the season goes — early on. Leah Delrossi is a freshman who is learning about our program. She’s newer to what we’re doing. She’s done a really good job. She has a great attitude. Elisabeth Grunloh is a sophomore. She had back surgery as a freshman. She had a great summer as a freshman with us, but she’s back, which is awesome. Julia Schultz didn’t play basketball during her freshman year. She was a stud on the softball field, but now she’s out for basketball, and I don’t know what she will do. She’ll play a lot of junior varsity, but she’s quick. She’s got a good handle. Then, we have Avery Henning coming back. She’s a sophomore and her confidence has grown; it’s the best I’ve seen. Her attitude in practice has been great.”
EXTRA NOTE
“Our seventh-and-eighth-grade teams start their journey in the postseason (soon). Our seventh-grade team got the No. 1 seed and has lost one game all season. I think there are 10 of those kids, which shows you where the future is. The eighth grade got the No. 3 seed and had a really good season. We haven’t won like this in the middle school for both grades and I’ve been there for 10 years.”