Whitehall coach Christian Subdon joked early in now-graduated Camden Thompson and Kal Koehler's career that he and assistant Matt Shepherd would find out if they were any good at coaching after those two graduated.
That time has arrived for the Vikings, as they sadly sent Thompson, their all-time career leader in just about every relevant statistic, to Western Michigan and Koehler to Aquinas College last spring. However, Subdon isn't dialing back expectations - he still wants to win the West Michigan Conference Lakes.
"We say this not to be cocky, but this is a program expectation to win the league," Subdon said. "If we fall short of that, we didn't meet expectations.
"These guys are out to prove they're more than just being with Cam. Obviously Cam has a special place in what we do at Whitehall, and I'll never say he doesn't. But we want to prove the program is built to last, not just around one or two players. We still have some really good players and I fully expect to make some noise in the league and be fighting at the end."
That doesn't mean things aren't changing, though, as the Vikings enter the season with less cumulative experience than they've had in a while - for example, as Subdon put it, the team hasn't had to worry about practicing breaking the press in a few years because Thompson was a one-man deterrent from any opponent trying to do it. The two returning players with the most court time are third-year varsity player Hunter Osborne and Corde Anderson, who both bring impressive speed, agility and athleticism to the floor.
"(Hunter's) really developing into a leader, which is nice to see, and Corde is the same," Subdon said. "Both of them have been awesome at practice."
Most of the rest of the roster lacks in experience, but there's plenty of talent. A big leap is expected from 6-4 lefthander Evan Thomas, who earned mention for offseason weight room work. With more time on the court should come more confidence for the inside-outside threat.
Last year's JV squad posted a gaudy record, and some of them will be making the jump to varsity as well. Junior Pierce Westerlund is another player whose offseason work has been noticeable, and he'll be in line for a scoring role.
"He's put in more time than just about anybody in the gym, quietly by himself, with trainers or with me," Subdon said. "I'm really impressed with the amount of work he's put in. He's really transformed his body, too."
Alex Winczewski and Isaiah Lewis also project as key pieces to the roster, and both could be weapons, especially in transition. Rex Pumford is only a sophomore, but Subdon believes he's capable of entering the Vikings' recent lineage of excellent multi-year point guards that includes Luc Schumm, Red Watson and Kyle Stratton.
"We've got Rex with that same ability," Subdon said. "When you see a cross-country runner, sometimes you don't think about how fast they are, but he's really explosive and fast. I'm not sure he gets tired."
Whitehall also should get a boost from Ithaca transfer Elijah Smith, whose brother Vernonell was a WMC star at North Muskegon. In addition to his genes, Smith was a state qualifier in high jump last spring, so his athletic gifts are obvious.
Subdon is excited for the challenges the gaggle of relative newcomers presents, both to him and to opponents. He believes any of 7-8 players on the team are capable of looking like an all-conference performer on a given night.
The WMC Lakes is never easy, despite the Vikings' run of four straight championships, but with sky-high expectations in Ludington, it might be even more difficult this year. Manistee, Subdon said, also could present a threat, as they return most of the team that stunned the Vikings on their home court last season.
Whitehall's scheduling philosophy continues to be aggressive, though Subdon said some of the high-caliber foes the Vikes played last year didn't want to do so this year. Still, there are plenty of major challenges, including North Muskegon, Mona Shores, Allendale, Zeeland West and Fruitport, the latter in the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame game in Muskegon. Whitehall will also play its now-traditional season opener against nemesis Spring Lake, which Subdon joked he may try to lose intentionally; the last three times the teams have played in the district tournament, the regular-season winner (Whitehall the last two years) lost the rematch.
