Pioneers peaked at districts
Getting healthy was half the battle this season for the Duchesne boys basketball team.
But once the Pioneers got their key players back on the court in time for the Class 4 District 7 tournament late last month, they orchestrated one of their best tournament runs in years.
“I was real pleased with how we came together at the end of the year,” Duchesne coach Wade Bouslog said. “We’ve upgraded our schedule the last few years and that’s put us in better position to win districts, even though that sometimes leads to a bad regular season record-wise.”
The Pioneers finished the 2009-10 season just 12-13 and tied for third in the Gateway Athletic Conference North with a 4-3 league mark but began district play as if their slate had been wiped clean.
With their persistence the Pioneers netted a huge 63-61 double-overtime win against cross-town rival St. Charles West and pushed St. Dominic to the brink in the district title game, which the Crusaders won on a Blake Deters 3-pointer with less than a second left in regulation.
The sting from that loss is a scourge for the Pioneers to this very day, but they can rest assured knowing they’ve helped Duchesne take the next step toward its ultimate goal of becoming an elite basketball program. Beating West for the first time since 2006 was an especially big step in that direction.
“Obviously West has been the flagship basketball program of St. Charles County for years and it’s always a big game for us,” Bouslog said. “It’s good to get over that hump and finally beat them after not being able to the last few years. It’s good for our program but the biggest thing I’m hoping for is we can get to the point where it’s not that big of a deal to beat West.”
Duchesne, reeling from injuries, had lost four straight games entering its district tournament. But leading the team through adversity was Jordan Genenbacher, who headlines this year’s all-GAC North first team.
Jordan Genenbacher, senior, Duchesne
At 17 points per game, Genenbacher was the second-leading scorer in the GAC North and Duchesne’s top rebounder at 6.5 per game.
Bouslog entered the season concerned about his team’s post presence, which didn’t turn out to be much of a problem thanks to Genenbacher’s strong play. At 6-foot-3, 260 pounds, he kept opponents honest in the paint at both ends of the floor.
“The biggest thing he figured out was he’s a good 3-point shooter but a great post player,” Bouslog said. “He struggled understanding that we needed him to post up because he’s so hard to get around. Once he started doing that he started seeing the results.”
While Genenbacher refined his playing style he continued to be a sneaky scoring threat from long range. During the Pioneers’ semifinal win over West he hit a long 3-pointer that sent the game to its first overtime, and fellow senior Tyler Loewenstein, who battled injury over the final month, hit the eventual game-winning basket on a mid-range jumper that lifted Duchesne to the district championship game.
“Tyler and Jordan both have really worked hard in the gym and spent time over the years trying to improve,” Bouslog said. “So for them to be able to hit shots like that, it’s a good feeling. I’m so glad both those guys experienced those moments because of how much they’ve done for our program.”
Christian Kirk, junior, St. Charles West
A sure-shot Division I basketball player, Kirk completed his junior season as the GAC North’s leading scorer (17.9 points per game) while finishing second in rebounds (228), assists (114) and blocked shots (49).
He helped St. Charles West to a 15-11 overall record and a 7-0 conference mark, making St. Charles West a GAC North champion for an eighth straight season. At 6-foot-7, Kirk, who logged triple-doubles three times this year, caused opponents matchup problems on almost a nightly basis and could ignite the Warriors’ student section with his thunderous dunks.
“He certainly is a great centerpiece to build around,” Hollander said. “He’s looking forward to the challenge (of being a senior) and is also looking forward to the leadership part of it. Great players of the past all understood that when you’re a senior you take on some added responsibility and added challenges. I’m sure he’ll be up to that.”
Hollander said Kirk has received a great deal of attention from college recruiters and expects him to make a decision on where to continue is playing career before next season.
“His plans are to play this summer and do as much as he can to show what he’s got,” Hollander said. “He’ll take his visits and I’m certain he’ll sign early next year before the season starts. I think that’s the best way to do it. Good grades, fantastic person, not much else to ask for.”
Jeremy Percy, senior, St. Charles West
Percy emerged this year as a great complement to Kirk and helped stabilize the Warriors at the guard position. He was the conference’s top free-throw shooter by connecting on 83 percent of his foul shots and was second with 45 3-pointers. He connected on 44 percent of his shots from long range while hitting a number of clutch baskets throughout the course of the season.
“He was as good as just about anyone we’ve had recently when it comes to shooting the 3,” said Hollander, who will coach college basketball at Lindenwood next year. “The biggest thing was his ability to shoot the ball really forced a lot of people to not sink on Christian so much and that was a big part of our success this year.”
Michael Lockett, senior, Timberland
Things couldn’t have gone much worse for Timberland after its 0-8 start to the season.
But the Wolves managed an about-face thanks in large part to the play of Lockett, who helped lead the Timberland offense to a conference-best 56.5 points per game. They finished 9-15 overall and 4-3 in their final season as members of the GAC North.
“I was proud of the way we rebounded after starting 0-8,” Timberland coach Kyle Deweese said. “We went 9-7 after that point and with a tough schedule starting out I was proud of how they handled it. They kept working hard because they believed we could turn it around.”
Lockett finished the year as the GAC North’s top 3-point shooter with 57 treys and its third-leading scorer at 14.5 points per game.
“He did a great job for us this year and went from last year being a shooter to this year developing into a leader and overall scorer,” Deweese said. “He constantly had to guard bigger kids and went out and did his job never complaining. If you can have five kids like him you’re in great shape.”
Skyler Suggs, senior, Washington
About the opposite of how Timberland’s season went, Washington started strong but faded down the stretch to finish 17-9 overall and 6-1 in the GAC North.
Washington met St. Charles West on Feb. 15 in a rescheduled contest that would decide the conference champion, but the Blue Jays lost 43-40 and never fully recovered. They went 3-5 over their final eight games and went quietly in districts.
“It kind of seemed like from then on we didn’t play with the same emotion,” coach Greg Dunigan said. “They really wanted to win conference for the first time in school history. It deflated us. We played with so much emotion and then the last two weeks we leveled off a little bit.”
After missing the first three games of the season from a football injury, Suggs returned to lead the conference with 10.8 rebounds per game. Suggs, whose older brother Scott plays at the University of Washington, netted 13.2 points per game and 43 blocked shots as a senior.
