By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The only thing fans may recognize at Stevens Point Area Senior High boys basketball games is that the uniforms are still the same color.
The Panthers, the two-time defending Wisconsin Valley Conference champions, lost 10 seniors and have a new coach, Dan Fink.
Only two players, junior guard Ryan Taggatz and senior forward Eric Hoffman, were on the varsity roster last year. Both played sparingly.
"Our season's success will depend on how quickly we pick up our new system," Fink said.
"We're going to really concentrate on the defensive end," he said after his July hiring. "We're going to be a motion orientated team. We're going to run in transition quite a bit but we're going to run smart and stay under control."
The Panthers have 11 newcomers to the varsity. Zach Newhouse (6-1, guard), Kyle Bohm (6-1, guard/forward), Ryan Bushman (6-4, forward), Duncan Kasukonis (5-11, guard), Andy Higgins (6-4, guard/forward), Wes Larson (6-2, guard/forward), Chase Kostichka (6-1, guard), Jon Currier (6-1, guard) and Nate Steuerwald (6-1, guard) are the teams seniors.
Junior Kyle Corrigan (6-6, forward) joins the Panthers after playing his first two years at Pacelli and sophomore Dan Osili (6-1, guard) will play at the varsity level.
Fink said the team's strengths are its size, attitude and coachability. He cites the team's inexperience and the new system as weaknesses.
The Panthers open their season at home Saturday, at 7:30 p.m., against Eau Claire Memorial, where Fink will reveal his starting lineup.
SPASH lost starters Nick Bennett, Casey Taggatz, Josh Hall, John Allee and Ross Adamczak to graduation. Reserves Derek Czaikowski, Jon Bergeron, Chase Moore, Marc Konopacki and Matt Pacyna also graduated. Coach Bob Schultz resigned following the season.
Fink said the conference favorites are Wausau East, Rhinelander and Marshfield.
Fink, who coached the Pecatonica High team for three years, played for five years at Edgewood College in Madison and was an assistant coach at the university for two years.
He has worked as a coach at prestigious basketball camps for several years. He has coached at Dick Bennett's Basketball Camp since 1995 and at Bo Ryan's Pioneer Basketball Camp for three years.
At Pecatonica, Fink's teams had a 46-24 record over three seasons. His 1998-99 team was 19-6 and won its WIAA regional title before falling in the sectional final. The 1997-98 team was a regional champion as well, finishing 17-7. Last year, Pecatonica finished 10-11.