Young blood

The Indians struggled out of the gate last season, going 1-9 in their first 10 games including dropping the first seven contests.

They return just enough players for the starting lineup. After that, they will have to look to a new coach and a large freshman class to turn things around.

Tyler Deitsch will take over at the helm for the Fort Recovery High School girls basketball team for the 2023-24 season as it looks to improve upon its 7-14 record and ninth-place finish in the Midwest Athletic Conference.

“We’re going to play a totally different way than what we played last year,” Deitsch said. “So this is my first year here as well, so totally different offense and a different defense. And just being smart with the number of girls we have and being able to use tempo when we need to but also conserving energy.”

While he plans to change up the system and the Indians’ identity, he will be relying on the five returners to make up his starting lineup. Seniors Cali Wendel and Kenzie Gaerke will be joined by junior Kennedy Muhlenkamp in the backcourt while senior Saige Leuthold and junior Karlie Niekamp will make up the frontcourt. (Gaerke missed the 2022-23 season with a knee injury.) Deitsch likes the group’s versatility and wants them to play position-less and interchangeably out on the floor.

The most credentialed of the group is Wendel who was named to the second team All-MAC last year and had the fourth-most 3-point field goals in the MAC with 38.

“She’s hungry,” Deitsch said. “She’s looking forward to take advantage of that last year. Defensively, she is so quick and able to create steals and easy buckets for herself but then also been one of our best shooters from the outside. … So definitely relying on her to be able to score but then also play off of her to be able to get some of our other girls some open shots.”

Kennedy Muhlenkamp will often work as a point forward, allowing the Indians to run a larger lineup to create mismatches with opponents. The junior led Fort Recovery in assists during 2023 with 45.

Also receiving recognition was Neikamp, who was named as an honorable mention MAC player last year. So far, her drive and effort have stood out to Deitsch.

“She’s relentless, doesn’t stop high motor all the time,” Deitsch said. “She’s on the floor constantly. Not afraid of contact, which is kind of where we’re looking to go. She’ll get down low and, and bang around.

“(All five) are pretty well rounded.”

Outside of the returners, the Indians will have to look to freshmen to fill in the rotation off the bench. Early on, guard Makenna Huelskamp and forwards Sophia Guggenbiller, Cameron Muhlenkamp and Bridget Homan have stood out.

Huelskamp got the team late in the fall after a state run on the cross country team, but Deitsch liked what he saw from her during summer workouts. For the other three freshmen, he likes the added height they bring to the team as Guggenbiller and Cameron Muhlenkamp are listed at 5 feet, 9 inches, while Homan is 5 feet, 11 inches.

The Indians will open their season Friday when they travel to Crestview. They will conclude their season on Feb. 15 against New Knoxville, the team they earned their sole MAC win against last season. A goal for Fort Recovery will be to win around 12 games between those dates to have an above .500 record. The team has also set the goal of progressing throughout the season so come postseason time they will have the opportunity to break through the sectional and cut down a net.

“As for success, the girls just need to be able to take steps every day and continue to grow each and every day and not settle,” said Deitsch. “Kind of living up to our standards, that we have inside the building more so than what other people might expect of us.”