Kettle Moraine boys and girls basketball teams thriving under new leaders

The Kettle Moraine varsity basketball programs saw two historically successful seasons culminate last March at WIAA state tournaments.

The Lasers girls concluded the winningest two-year stretch in program history with a second consecutive WIAA Division 1 title in Ashwaubenon on March 11. Less than a week later in Madison, the boys made a their first appearance in the state tournament, falling 55-44 to eventual D1 state champion De Pere in the state semifinals.

For the remainder of the month, both programs basked in their achievements and the promise they showed of things to come. In April, however, both were rocked by shocking leadership changes. The first came April 6, when Kettle Moraine announced boys head coach Trevon Hughes and the program were parting ways after two seasons. In a Facebook post at the time, Hughes said the move came with “great sadness” and was “not something I had anticipated.”

Eight days later in an unrelated development, news broke that girls head coach Todd Hansen had resigned after a March 28 citation from the Brookfield Police Department for solicitation of prostitution.

In the first week of May, both programs had new leadership after two internal promotions of top assistants. The new coaches have each had to strike a delicate balance of continuity between what led to recent historic successes, and the realities of teams that look much different from just a year ago.

Lasers boys build on culture of defense with new leaders

For Brian Richert, Hughes' former coach at St. John's Northwestern Military Academy, building the 2023-24 Lasers' identity started with the framework instilled by his predecessor.

"We built a culture here. All I did was try and take that same culture, but build upon it and just build confidence," Richert said after Friday's 70-53 win over Waukesha South.

That effort was dealt a sudden setback when senior Drew Wagner, a two-time all-Classic 8 Conference first-team guard, was ruled out for the season due to an injury sustained playing football in the fall. Losing the player who was the team's leading scorer the past two seasons could have been catastrophic, but key contributions have helped salvage the season.

"He did a lot for us last year, so we all had to step it up. We all knew we had to take a bigger role, and we’ve all done that so far this year," senior guard Will Stuckey said.

Stuckey, who often played a complementary role to Wagner, has become the primary scoring threat. While he possesses the ability for an outlier game like a 33-point outing at Waunakee earlier this year, Stuckey's consistent production of 18 to 24 points a night has proven a reliable focal point of the offense.

Junior wing Roman Thompson, who contributed 5.2 points per game a season ago, has emerged as a more than capable second option while doubling his scoring average. Stuckey is described by Richert as a quiet leader by example, while Thompson is the more animated catalyst.

"(Thompson) plays so hard that sometimes you just have to slow him down," Richert said. "Those two right now mean everything to us. They’re our leaders, they’re our scorers, they’re our main guys. I couldn’t be happier with the way they’re playing."

Replacing the scoring lost by Wagner's injury has been a priority, but Richert said an emphasis on defense has been just as critical a component to maintaining continuity.

"Our identity has got to be defense," Richert said. "Our goal is to keep every team under 55 points no matter who we're playing."

Kettle Moraine has done just that in its 13 wins this season, including a 55-54 victory over Mukwonago on Jan. 19. The Lasers also have received some unexpected reinforcement from French foreign exchange student Nathan Vuillaume, who was unknown to his coach until just before the season. Football players suggested the newcomer to the district was more of a basketball threat, and an invitation to an open gym set things in motion for the senior wing.

"He brings so much IQ, you can tell he’s been well-coached overseas," Richert said. "He’s just a level-headed kid that’s just going to go out there and do his job. He loves to play defense, and he just knows where to be at the right moments."

Added Stuckey: "For the most part he’s guarding the other team’s best player, he’s a great defender, which is also good for us because we needed that. Losing Drew, he used to guard the best player last year, so having Nate who can do that is also great for us."

Despite a 53-50 loss to Muskego on Tuesday, Kettle Moraine (7-2 Classic 8) remains firmly in the conference race behind Arrowhead (10-0) and Muskego (9-2). Richert recalls a pessimistic outlook from some publications that had not expected as much, and said the team will continue to use that as motivation.

"Our team is full of confident kids, I’m a confident coach and our coaching staff is a great staff," Richert said. "Those doubters out there, we just feed off of that. I love it."

Lasers girls moving forward after loss of standouts to college ball

The hiring of Adam Stranc, who was a Kettle Moraine assistant for six seasons, offered familiarity and consistency for the two-time defending Lasers girls.

“It meant a lot because I knew that our AD Ryan Tomczyk had a lot of faith in me, and I spoke with the girls quite a bit. It was something that they really lobbied for," Stranc said after last Thursday’s 70-41 win over Stoughton. "It meant a lot to me that I had those relationships and to be there for those guys.

“We’ve been through those battles together and I’ve had a chance to see them ever since they were freshmen and in our youth program. It meant a lot that I could stick around and continue to work with these guys and build the momentum that we had.”

But it did come with one major challenge: Overcoming the graduation of standouts Grace Grocholski (Minnesota) and Braelyn Torres (Northern Michigan), a duo that helped lead the Lasers to 55 wins in their last 59 games.

Stranc expressed his excitement about taking over the job, along with the team’s excitement, while also acknowledging the test ahead.

“There were smiles across everybody’s faces. That meant the world to me knowing what we were going to have to face without Grace and Braelyn,” Stranc said. “They’ve given me so much in my six years here before taking over, so I knew I wanted to give back to them and help them reach the success level that I know they want to be at moving forward.”

The Lasers are still searching for a signature victory in the rugged Classic 8 Conference, but upcoming matchups with conference leaders Arrowhead (8-0) and Catholic Memorial (9-1) present a chance for that notable win. A 46-43 loss to Muskego on Tuesday dropped Kettle Moraine to 12-6 overall and 3-5 in the Classic 8.

“I love our fearlessness. We’ll play and take on any and all comers. We’ll put our best foot forward in any and every opportunity we have,” Stranc said. “We’ve had a lot of growing pains in some of our games and I think that’s something we’ll continue to learn from.”

Stranc noted that he knew it would take more than one person to fill the gaps left by Grocholski and Torres. Junior guard Emily Gomez has broken out this season, leading the Lasers in scoring at 14.2 points per contest. Five players average at least five points a game. Six are averaging at least three rebounds. Gomez and sharpshooter Lola Bond (45.8% from 3-point range), who made five 3s in the win over Stoughton, are averaging at least three steals.

“I love the unselfishness. There’s no one player that we put on the floor that’s not willing to do anything else for her teammates. That’s really why we’ve had the success that we’ve had,” Stranc said. “That’s something that makes this group special. We definitely do miss Grace and Braelyn (laughs), but we’ve done a nice job trying to use more than one person to try and fill those holes.”

In the midst of a solid season with Stranc, the girls had a chance to relax Jan. 23 when they traveled to Madison to see Grocholski in action with the Golden Gophers against Wisconsin.

“That was an amazing experience. She amazed me when she started here as a freshman for us," Stranc said. "To see her start now, you really can’t put into words what that means for you as a coach. We’re so proud of her for everything that she’s accomplished.

“We got a chance to see her after the game and that was the first thing I said to her. I said, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing. We’re absolutely so proud of everything that you’ve accomplished and are going to continue to accomplish.’ It’s awesome to see. We’re so proud of her.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kettle Moraine boys, girls basketball teams thrive under new coaches