Friday, February 16, 2001
Roger Bacon has seen streak of success
After 0-3 start, Spartans have had solid season
By Carey Hoffman
Enquirer contributor
Roger Bacon guard Josh Hausfeld
(Steven M. Herppich photo)
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In evaluating candidates for the title of team that has made the most progress this boys basketball season, Roger Bacon is hard to overlook.
From an 0-3 start in December when they were the team no one could figure out, the Spartans, ranked No.1 in The Enquirer's Divisions II-IV poll, have grown to a 12-7 record and a status as the team no one wants to play. Despite Tuesday's loss to Moeller, the team remains confident.
“We knew we were a good team,” guard Josh Hausfeld said of the difference between then and now. “We just needed to find a way to win.”
A number of developments helped Roger Bacon pick itself up. Young players grew up, allowing the Spartans to go 10-deep every night. Nagging injuries from football season, including an ankle injury to Hausfeld, have healed.
Team confidence and intensity grew, fueled by victories in January at McNicholas and at defending Division I state champion St. Xavier.
Growth has been so convincing Roger Bacon coach Bill Brewer says comparisons to his 1997 and '98 teams are not out of line.
Those teams, which featured Division I recruits Eugene Land (UC) and Brandon McIntosh (Xavier), made it to the Division II regional title game both seasons. The 1998 team also was ranked No.1 in the Ohio Division II poll.
“This team can be as good as that team in '98,” Brewer said.
While those teams relied on power in the post with the 6-foot-7 Land and the powerfully built 6-5 McIntosh, this season's Spartans offer a mix of styles.
“I think we're more athletic, top to bottom, where they had two really good players,” said Hausfeld, who was a regular in the stands to watch those teams. “We can all score on a given night. We like to get out and run more than they did.”
For offensive production, the two mainstays have been junior guards Frank Phillips (14.3 ppg) and Hausfeld (14.1 ppg).
Phillips is a 6-4 slasher who gets to the rim quicker than any player Brewer says he has ever coached.
He's complimented by Hausfeld, a 6-2 guard who shoots 43 percent from 3-point range. Hausfeld led the Greater Catholic League North in scoring last season at 18.8 points a game. After sitting out two weeks in December to let his ankle heal, he's averaged more than 19 points a game in the past month.
Young players, such as slender 6-8 sophomore center Monty St. Clair and 6-5 junior forward Beckham Wyrick, have gained confidence.
“Playing 10 guys, what we can do is demand a certain effort and a certain attention span out there,” Brewer says. “We're able to sub freely. And it helps with defense — we're really making an effort to guard people and lately, we've held most of the teams we've played under their average.”
Roger Bacon's season began to turn around when it traveled to a Christmas tournament in Savannah, Ga. The Spartans won two of three games there, and gained everyone else's attention when they shaved their heads during the course of the tournament.
Since returning to the area, the Spartans have lost only three times. They fell twice by four points to GCL North rival Kettering Alter, the No. 3 ranked team in Ohio Division II, and to Moeller, the third-ranked team in Division I.
“We really don't know how good this team is yet,” Brewer says.
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Roger Bacon has seen streak of success