Germantown boys taking different path this season
The Germantown boys basketball team is at it again.
With their two-point win over North Shore contender Whitefish Bay on Dec. 16, the two-time defending league champion Warhawks improved to 5-0 overall and proved that once again, they will be the team to beat in the North Shore Conference.
So, what else is new?
Dating back to Jan. 26, 2007, the Warhawks have been one of the most dominant teams in the CNI coverage area. Germantown is riding a 22-game conference winning streak since then and has won 34 of 37 games overall. Included in that run was last season’s 22-2 mark that included the school’s first trip to the WIAA state tournament.
With returning CNI All-Suburban Player of the Year Ben Averkamp manning the middle in his fourth season on the varsity, expectations are high once again in Germantown. Another conference title and a second straight trip to Madison are tops on the fans’ wish list.
But hold on a second. This team is a little different.
Through five games this season, the big man leads the way offensively with 22.2 points per game. And while he has been getting help by the likes of Jalen McCloud, Mike Laubenheimer and Mike Minsky, among others, no other Warhawk is averaging double digits. Minsky is close at 9.2 per game, but the offensive drop off after Averkamp is clear.
Last season, the Warhawks had three players – Averkamp, Rick Bowers and Nick Doedens, both of whom have graduated – finish at 13.0 or better. Zach Neumann, another 2008 graduate, was close behind with 8.8.
What this season’s team has already proven is that it can win the close games. As of Dec. 19, the Warhawks had won a pair of games by two points or less.
Last year’s team had a knack at winning close games as well, but did so with less frequency. Germantown went 4-1 in games decided by five points or less, the only loss coming in the season finale. Many of the other contests were no contest at all – GHS won 18 games by 10 points or more.
There is still plenty of time for Germantown’s offense to get clicking and for McLeod, Laubenheimer and Minsky to become this year’s version of Bowers, Doedens and Neumann. Or maybe this will be a team that relies on Averkamp’s 20 and needs six to eight guys to score five points or more to get it done.
Either way, the Warhawks continue to win and with every passing victory, the expectations continue to mount.
David Cotey can be reached at (262) 446-6604.
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