T-town Heads To Class 2A State Boys Basketball Tourney

Teutopolis is headed to the Class 2A State Tournament Thursday. Jody Siemer photo.

One step at a time . . . that's been Coach Chet Reeder's motto this season and his Teutopolis High School boys basketball team has certainly followed that motto.

The Wooden Shoes have taken one step at a time and the big step came Monday evening when the Wooden Shoes edged Pinckneyville 42-40 in overtime to win the Carbondale Super-Sectional and earn a berth in the Class 2A State Tournament Thursday at the State Farm Center in Champaign.

"This has kind of been our motto," said Reeder. "We try not to look ahead too far. It's one step at a time."

Teutopolis sports a 28-7 record and will square off against Chicago DePaul College Prep at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in opening round play. In the second contest, Taylor Ridge Rockridge will meet Bloomimgton Central Catholic at 4:15. The winners advance to the title contest Saturday at 12:45 p.m. while the losers will play for third place Thursday at 8:45 p.m.

Coach Reeder talked about his starters, 6-foot-1 senior Brendan Niebrugge, 6-foot-3 senior James Niebrugge, 6-foot-6 senior Caleb Siemer, 5-foot-11 senior Caleb Bloemer and 6-foot-5 junior Joey Niebrugge, 

"Brendan is our point guard. He’s our best shooter. He gets us calm when we need to be. He has really developed as a young man and teammate this year and come out of his shell. I’m really proud of what he’s done this year. He is second on assists with 68 and does a good job getting us into our offense and where we need to be. He averages 12.4 points a game.

"James Niebrugge kind of does everything. He's drawn the assignment on the other team’s best player and has risen to the challenge. Also brings scoring onto the table with 11.6 points and six rebounds a game. Sometimes he runs point for us. James is our X factor. When he’s going, we’re a good team.

"Joey Niebrugge is like James. When Joey is having a good game, we are really, really hard to beat. When he is aggressive and looking to score, he brings our team to another level. He always brings his defensive effort and rebounding. He has been tremendous all year in that respect.

"Caleb Siemer is really important to us. What makes him so special is he’s a really good passer. He leads in assists, almost four a game. From our center, he has nine rebounds and 13 points a game. He was one of the most important on the floor against Pinckneyville. He had only three points, but he pulled down 14 rebounds and was big in assists. He is a tremendous leader on and off the floor.

"Caleb Bloemer does so many things defensively for us. We rely on him to pressure the basketball. He does all the little things, diving on the floor, taking charges. You can’t have a bad day with him. He has a smile on his face all the time.

"Garrett Gaddis comes off the bench. Such a weapon for us, He is averaging 8.5 points a game and always draws the other team’s best player. Sunday at practice, was a typical day.I told him he will have to guard about four different guys and score for us and he just said, 'I got it coach.' He's a big weapon off the bench.

"Logan Roepke, a senior, like Caleb Bloemer, you just can’t ever have a bad day around him. He always smiling and makes us laugh. Very intense defender. He and Caleb rotate with each other, guarding the other team’s point guard and making them miserable. He's done a tremendous job and is the ultimate teammate. He cares about our team winning and our success.

"Mitch Koester, a junior, rounds out our rotation. He helps Brendan with the point guard job. Again, like Logan and Caleb, he makes things difficult for the other team’s point guard. Good at getting us into our offense. He’s a tremendous communicator which is great to have even off the floor or on the bench. He knows the scouting reports.

"Logan Lawson, Zac Niebrugge, Alex Kremer, Tyler Pruemer, Austin Bloemer, Jake Bushur and Henry Thompson can come in off the bench. You’ll see some entertaining things going on with our bench mob. They are doing some dance or celebration when we do something. That helps our guys stay loose and they see our kids having fun. In this post-season run, they’ve been simulating other guys on other teams. They have been tremendous to our success and they challenge us."

Coach Reeder talked about his team overall.

"Rebounding is our No. 1 strength. That’s one of our keys to the game. And really, ever since the end of January, our defense has gone to another level, making things hard for other teams to score. Our ball pressure and making teams turn over the ball more.They’ve really rose to the challenge. That was one of my concerns coming into the year. They have really gotten better on that end.

"I do want to mention Craig Toler, Dave Pruemer, Luke Ungrund and Chris Ungrund. These coaches deserve a lot of credit as well. They have been so supportive and they spend a lot of hours in the gym to make sure they’re in the right spot. I am truly blessed to have a staff that not only cares about success, but about the kids and how they do. We have great coaches and they’re a big reason why we’re where we are at this point in the season."

Chicago DePaul College Prep comes into the meeting with a 21-12 record.

The Rams are led by Payton Kamin, a 6-foot-8 junior, with 13.0 points a game followed by Maurice Thomas, a 6-foot senior, with 11.4 and PJ Chambers, a 6-foot-2 junior, with 11.4. Makai Kvamme, a 6-foot sophomore, leads in assists with 113. Jonas Johnson, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, leads in rebounds with 162.

"We're taking this one step at a time," said Reeder. "At this stage we want to enjoy it. This is going to be a life-long memory for them to run out on the floor and get to compete for two more games.

"But of course, my biggest thing is to not be satisfied. We’re going up there to win but we also have to enjoy it. It's been since 2007 that a Teutopolis boys team has gotten to this stage. We’re also going to do everything we can be successful up there."

The Teutopolis High School boys basketball team is surrounded by fans after winning the Carbondale Super-Sectional. Jeannie Gaddis photo