Vermilion angling for return to contention

VERMILION — Vermilion pushed all of its chips to the center of the table three years ago, going with a senior-laden roster that had just one underclassman. The Sailors paid a price for that, winning just 11 times in the last two years, but they appear to be ready to return to a more familiar role this season as Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division contenders. "We decided when we had 10 seniors that we were going to go for it," said Vermilion coach Kurt Habermehl. "We thought we had the opportunity to get to the regionals and, if we were lucky, even down to Columbus. But when you do something like that, you're not getting your underclassmen a whole lot of experience. It becomes a game of catch-up and trying to regroup while trying to get kids experience on the fly. "It didn't work out that well for us, but now our kids have been playing the last couple of years and are the old guys. I think this group is ready to make the next step." The Sailors won nine games last season, but advanced to the sectional championship game and just missed setting a school record for defensive scoring average. "I'm always a defensive guy first and like to have my guys create opportunities for offense," Habermehl said. "That's one thing we haven't been able to do a ton of the last couple of years, but we're not these little guys flying around as much. Now, we're big and bruising. We just need to find ways to get out in transition more." The big and bruising part comes from having three 6-foot-4 players in the lineup. Seniors Ben Rini, Donevan Lewis and junior Andrew Hendershot all check in at 6-4. Rini, a two-year starter who is also a returning letterman for the Vermilion swim team, scored 6.5 points and led the team on the boards with 168 last season, while Lewis chipped in 5.9 points and 129 boards. Hendershot is moving up from the JV squad but played in six varsity contests a year ago. "Normally, I'm used to playing four guard and one big, but we do have size this year," Habermehl said. "We'll probably not play as fast as we're used to playing, but we're still going to try to play fast because these guys are all really good athletes and are able to get up and down the floor." Playing fast for 32 minutes is a hallmark of a Habermehl team. "All of our practices deal with a ton of full-court drills that enable our guys to get in better shape," Habermehl said. "I look at a kid like Gus Matheson, who was a soccer player and already in tremendous shape. We've got kids who can play that way, it's just a matter of keeping them on the floor, keeping them healthy and trying to get to that break-neck speed we like to play at." The Sailors staying healthy is already a bit of an issue. Jack Wells, slated to start at the point for his third season, will miss some time as he battles back from a summer baseball knee injury. Senior Cole Groene and sophomore Wyatt German will step in at the point until Wells returns. Matheson and Ethan Hendrickson, both seniors, are also back after appearing in 18 and 14 games, respectively, last season. "Jack really started to come on strong at the end of last year, but we're going to miss him for a while," Habermehl said. "Ben and Donevan certainly have the capability to score inside and we're high on Andrew Hendershot. We think he has the ability to score the basketball. "It's going to be scoring by committee for us because I don't see the guys we're used to relying on, but I do think we have kids who can score the basketball." The varsity roster also includes juniors Cam Logue and Jaden Borlaug, Tyler Roberts and Cory Larkins, and sophomore Thomas Ngure. Habermehl is also hoping COVID doesn't rear its ugly head again, like it did last year. "We only had five games where we has our entire squad last year," he said. "We went through injuries and a little bit of sickness, but when we had our full complement of people, we were a pretty solid team and always right there. "Even in our sectional final game after beating Lexington in the semifinals, we had a kid who had to be quarantined with COVID. That makes it tough. Hopefully this year, we can keep everybody on the floor and we'll be ready to win some basketball games." Habermehl is cautiously optimistic about the 2021-22 season because of the players he has back. However, he is also very aware the SBC Lake is full of rugged competition. "There are no breaks anywhere," he said. "It's a situation where there are no nights off and games will be won by whoever is playing best at that time." Roster No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. 0 Cam Logue F 6-0 11 2 Ethan Hendrickson F 6-0 12 3 Thomas Ngure G 5-10 10 4 Andrew Hendershot F 6-4 11 5 Gus Matheson G 6-0 12 11 Cole Groene G 5-11 12 12 Jaden Borlaug F 6-1 11 13 Jack Wells G 6-0 12 21 Ben Rini C 6-4 12 22 Tyler Roberts F 6-1 11 23 Cory Larkins G 5-11 11 30 Wyatt German G 5-11 10 32 Donevan Lewis F 6-4 12