Story by MAYAN PAZ Video by PARKER NISBETH
Tiger Media Network
Almost eight months have passed since Gross Memorial Coliseum hosted Tiger basketball. After the long wait, the Tiger men are excited to open their season at home. FHSU will host two Minnesota teams over the upcoming weekend, No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia St. Paul, in the MIAA/NSIC Challenge. Nebraska-Kearney will also play in Hays this weekend.
The FHSU team will look a bit different this year compared to previous seasons. The Tigers lost four impactful players to graduation, including Kaleb Hammeke and Shaun Riley, pillars of Tiger basketball over the last few years.
They will now have four new freshman players in addition to two transfers. Those additions will be joined by eight returners. The returners will also need to adapt to new roles, as Kyle Grill is the only starter from last year who is still on the team.
Head Coach Mark Johnson said the team will rely on returners like Grill and Dan Mukuna, and that this year they enjoyed an extra week of preparation to help the new players connect.
“They’re (Grill and Mukuna) going to have to be kind of the focal point of our team, especially offensively. So they’re getting new roles and all that. I think the big thing is, it’s been a long preseason,” Johnson said. “We can do a lot more with your teams now than we could years ago. So we started practice pretty early in the season, but play a little late because of the calendar, the way the season start date fell. So I know our guys are ready to get going and playing actual games that matter and are meaningful.”
Another player who will have to adapt to a leadership role is Lucas Hammeke. After previously playing from the bench, he is a candidate to become a starting point guard for the Tigers this year. Hammeke said that the team is slowly learning how to play together.
“I think everyone is figuring things out slowly,” Hammeke said. “We’re still learning, you know, but we break it up in practice, so everyone’s playing with different teams, so you’re playing with different guys all the time and stuff. So I think it’s not bad.”
The two transfers who joined the team this year are both seniors. Blake Danitschek comes to Hays from fellow MIAA school Northwest Missouri State, and Juju Ramirez is from Saint Anslem College. Ramirez will most likely start the season injured, and it’s still unclear when he will be back. According to Johnson, Ramirez will be a big addition in the paint for the Tigers.
“When Juju is healthy, we can put a lot of size out there. We can go all the way from the two through the five, and have a very good size,” he said. “So maybe we’re not quite as athletic, but we can still guard with size.”
The first matchup for the Tigers will be against No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State, followed by a game against Concordia St. Paul. FHSU played both those teams in their season openers last year on the road and lost; they will look for a more positive result at home this season.
Johnson addressed the challenge of playing two talented teams, but is looking forward to the opportunity it presents his team.
“Unbelievable challenge this opening weekend, playing Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia St Paul. They were co-champions of the Northern Sun Conference, which I would say the MIAA and the Northern Sun are quite obviously the two best leagues in the country,” Johnson said. “Southwest Minnesota State virtually has everybody back. I know they’re ranked ninth. I think they’re better than that. If you asked me who were named three or four teams that have the best chance to win a national championship this year. I think I’d say Southwest Minnesota State would have to be on that list.”
The Tigers will play at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday from inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.