Does it seem like it has been eight months since we turned the Kohl Center into “New Glarus North”, leaving a ghost town behind? I am still left to wonder if the ball that Jaden Kreklow sent victoriously into the rafters has ever been found. No matter your perspective on such probing questions, here we go again as the 2019-20 WIAA basketball season is nigh upon us. The Glarner Knights will open the year playing host to the Blue Devils of Evansville on November 26th. (Probing further, what exactly is a Blue Devil and has anyone ever seen one, whether in Evansville or anywhere else for that matter?)

This year’s NG team will wear a target on their back and they will get the very best effort from every team they play, every night. It’s the price you pay for success and fame. My guess is that these boys will wear that badge proudly and embrace the challenge. It’s in their DNA, and Coach Sysko is not about to let them rest on any past laurels. It is Coach Sysko’s motto that, “We have built a program with the idea that we re-load, not re-build...with the intent of remaining competitive year after year.”

This will be a different team than last year, with only two starters returning, namely senior Connor Siegenthaler and junior Mason Martinson. But there is a lot of firepower that played meaningful minutes last year and they are all ready to step up and compete. Garrett James, Nathan Streiff, Darris Schuett and Deven Vasquez are all primed and ready. Look for others to step up from last year’s JV squad, too. I am particularly interested in watching the play and development of 6’5”, 279 pound junior Deven Vasquez in the role of “big man underneath”. He could possibly be the perfect complement to Mason Martinson in the paint.

Fans can rightly expect a fun-filled and exciting season. The unscripted nature of athletics mandates it. Where will this team be in March? As the wise man from China once said, “We’ll see.”

Stay tuned and fasten your seatbelt...there’s a lot of basketball to be played between now and then.