Bomholt’s youngsters open Tuesday

The Patriots took their lumps a year ago.

With only one player who had varsity experience, they finished with a losing record for the first time in almost two decades.

After some of the youngsters from that squad gained a year of basketball experience, it’ll be up to a new, old coach to bring them back to their winning ways.

Jerry Bomholt, who returns to lead the Patriots 40 years after his coaching career began in the same place, and the Jay County High School boys basketball team will finally get their season underway Tuesday as they hit the road to take on Allen County Athletic Conference rival Southern Wells.

For a team that features two 6-foot, 5-inch forwards and five interchangeable guards, but returns just two of its top five scorers from last season, a key will be improving on something the Patriots have struggled with in recent seasons — free-throw shooting.

“We’re going to be a team that tries to get to the free-throw line,” said Bomholt, who had the first four games of his second stint with the Patriots postponed because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “If you look at the history of the teams I coach, a year ago we shot more than 500 free throws.

“We’re going to take advantage. That’s not been a necessary emphasis here but we’re going to make it an emphasis.”

Jay County, which finished 7-16 in Chris Krieg’s final season, attempted just 247 free throws and shot 69% from the stripe. Ethan Dirksen, a 6-1 junior who scored a team-high 8.8 points per game as a sophomore, was the best from the stripe. He shot 79% from the line, including a 13-for-13 effort — second in school history only to Jack Houck going 14-for-14 in 1982 — against Heritage as part of a stretch of 21 consecutive made free throws.

With sophomore forwards Bennet Weitzel (4.5 points per game) and Dusty Pearson on the block, Bomholt said another key will be to get them the ball.

“(Assistant coach Doug Arbuckle) has worked extremely hard with them inside on post moves,” said Bomholt, noting their ability to also step outside and shoot the three. “We expect them to score. If they don’t score they better get to the free-throw line on the offensive end.”

Getting them the ball will come down to those five guards, including Dirksen. The backcourt rotation also includes 6-1 junior Gavin Muhlenkamp (4.6 points per game), 5-10 junior Quinn Faulkner (1.9 PPG), 5-9 junior Crosby Heniser and 5-8 sophomore Josh Dowlen.

But those guards will also have to score as well.

“Dirksen is our best player,” Bomholt said. “He has to get a lot of shots. We’ve worked hard with him changing his shot a little bit. He had a nice preseason before we got interrupted.

“He’s going to have to take a majority of our shots. Then we’ve got to get some scoring inside. We’ve got to get to the free-throw line. Then we’ve got to get some complementary (scoring). Hopefully like Crosby and Josh, both of them can step up and knock down a three, same with Gavin.”

The projected starting lineup is Heniser at point guard, Muhlenkamp and Dirksen on the wings and Weitzel and Pearson as forwards. Dowlen will spell Heniser, with Faulkner ready as a sub on the wings. Adam Muhlenkamp, a 5-11 junior who saw action in nine games last year, is a backup forward along with 6-3 junior Gavin Myers.

Jay County, which is without a senior on the roster, has plenty of depth, and Bomholt sees that as a big advantage.

“The big thing that you’ll notice, and I’ve noticed over the years of coaching, is if you have some depth you don’t get the wear and tear on the kids,” Bomholt said, noting weeks that sometimes have three or four games on the schedule. “If you have a little bit of depth, as you wear through the season we can save a little bit of wear and tear on them and hopefully still be fresh when the sectional comes around.”

Defensively, Bomholt brings back his Zorro defense, a 1-2-2 zone with three guards up top. He said he’s been emphasizing with this group, which has been used to playing man-to-man defense, the importance of defending the low post and the perimeter.

Jay County, which went 3-3 in ACAC play last season after winning the regular-season championship with a 6-0 record the year before, hosts defending conference champion Bluffton on Jan. 29. The Patriots have road ACAC tilts against South Adams (Jan. 22), defending tournament champion Woodlan (Feb. 6) and Heritage (Feb. 12). Their only home conference game is a Jan. 9 battle against Adams Central.

The Patriots will once again play in the Holiday Hoops Tournament Dec. 29 and 30 at Huntington North, and the ACAC tournament is set for Jan. 12 through 16.

Jay County hosts Class 3A sectional rivals New Castle (Dec. 12) and Yorktown (Dec. 15) before traveling to take on Delta (Dec. 18).

Bomholt, who is one win away from 550 for his career, is ready for the opportunity to get back on the court with the program he got his start back in 1980.

“Without question in all my years of coaching, and I’ve had some great groups — some kids I love and some kids I’ll have a strong bond with that I’ve coached — but this group, from day one … has been the most coachable group of kids I’ve ever been around in my life,” he said. “They listen. They try to do the right things. They try to do what we’re asking them to do.

“Can they do some of them? Not yet. But they’re at least making an attempt.”