They came bearing pens and pencils.
Most members of the Cheesemakers' roster strolled down to their familiar hardwood from viewing film early Monday evening, fully prepared for "Media Day", the first day of the week leading up to the WIAA State Tournament at the Kohl Center at UW-Madison.
They remembered that last year they had questionnaires to fill out and interviews with newspaper and radio types alike to entertain in the lead-up to last year's capturing of Division 2's golden ball.
Nobody looked happier to be walking around, perusing his teammates' answers without a limp than senior Brett Stangel. After setting the tournament's single-game scoring record last season, he's finally nearing full speed and leads a cast of characters who have, simply put, been here before.
But then there are those who haven't. Despite their first-year nature, those who missed last year's varsity go-round are as calm as Hindu cows in scenarios that would make the most accomplished prep athlete think twice.
While players like freshman Bryan Tordoff and juniors Cullen Sampson and Mitch McArdle insist they've felt at home with their teammates since square one, they're still reminded frequently about how to handle business on the big stage.
"The other night before the game (against East Troy) in Sun Prairie, I was really tense and nervous," Tordoff confessed. "Brett (Stangel) just sent me a text message telling me to be calm and know that I'm a great player. That gives you a lot of confidence."
Juniors Zach Rast and Jake Grinnell, along with sophomore Mike Geiger, also are enjoying their first run on the varsity level.
McArdle, a walking momentum swing that never moves slower than full throttle, admits to feelings of jealousy when he thinks back to watching last year's team pull off the ultimate prep goal.
Maybe that's why, whether it's lobbying for an offensive board with the opposition's center or diving headlong out of bounds trying to save a possession, the 5-foot, 9-inch firecracker never disappoints.
Sampson, who wasted no time making a name for himself as a Cheesemaker during his cross country campaign, didn't hesitate to contribute when Stangel suffered his broken right fibula late in the regular season.
"He told me, 'When you're open, take your shot,'" Sampson said of Stangel's advice.
Said notes were taken down to the letter.
Against Verona weeks ago, with an outright Badger South title on the line, Sampson saw the defense sag during a crucial third-quarter run, took one quick dribble and stepped into a textbook, swished 3-pointer that sent the student section into a frenzy over their newly-arrived leader off the bench.
The same way Dave Hirsbrunner taught Sampson to run without fear on the varied cross country terrain, his new coach and running mates have instilled their utmost confidence.
"I knew it was going in," Sampson said of the triple. "Murf just tells me to take every shot with confidence and believe it's going in."
Sampson was a Cheesemaker fan before he was a player, as his family decided to move to Monroe just over a year ago and the then-sophomore was just another nearly-bipartisan party watching the Cheesemakers defeat River Valley in the sectionals.
"Right then, I just thought it would be awesome to be part of something like that," Sampson said.
Tordoff is yucking it up with big brother, junior Mitch, as the pair pore across their questionnaire. The freshman, like Sampson, appears to be thinking his answers through far too thoroughly, while the veterans simply are trying to conjure up funnier responses than they offered a year ago.
Tordoff still is wrestling with the decision over whether he'll run track, for which practices began indoors Monday while the Cheesemakers did their press thing.
"I'm actually not decided on what I'm going to do in the spring, I may just do AAU basketball," Tordoff said. "I guess I own a couple of track records from my seventh-grade season, but that's kind of in the past now. This is all we're focused on."
Once this weekend is over and the Cheesemakers walk away with heads held high, just don't expect the frosh to call the Monroe Country Club and ask Mike Muranyi for a spot on his roster.
"I'm horrible at golf, the best I can do is mini-golf," Tordoff said.
- Christopher Heimerman is the sports editor at The Monroe Times. He can be reached at sportseditor@themonroetimes.com
Most members of the Cheesemakers' roster strolled down to their familiar hardwood from viewing film early Monday evening, fully prepared for "Media Day", the first day of the week leading up to the WIAA State Tournament at the Kohl Center at UW-Madison.
They remembered that last year they had questionnaires to fill out and interviews with newspaper and radio types alike to entertain in the lead-up to last year's capturing of Division 2's golden ball.
Nobody looked happier to be walking around, perusing his teammates' answers without a limp than senior Brett Stangel. After setting the tournament's single-game scoring record last season, he's finally nearing full speed and leads a cast of characters who have, simply put, been here before.
But then there are those who haven't. Despite their first-year nature, those who missed last year's varsity go-round are as calm as Hindu cows in scenarios that would make the most accomplished prep athlete think twice.
While players like freshman Bryan Tordoff and juniors Cullen Sampson and Mitch McArdle insist they've felt at home with their teammates since square one, they're still reminded frequently about how to handle business on the big stage.
"The other night before the game (against East Troy) in Sun Prairie, I was really tense and nervous," Tordoff confessed. "Brett (Stangel) just sent me a text message telling me to be calm and know that I'm a great player. That gives you a lot of confidence."
Juniors Zach Rast and Jake Grinnell, along with sophomore Mike Geiger, also are enjoying their first run on the varsity level.
McArdle, a walking momentum swing that never moves slower than full throttle, admits to feelings of jealousy when he thinks back to watching last year's team pull off the ultimate prep goal.
Maybe that's why, whether it's lobbying for an offensive board with the opposition's center or diving headlong out of bounds trying to save a possession, the 5-foot, 9-inch firecracker never disappoints.
Sampson, who wasted no time making a name for himself as a Cheesemaker during his cross country campaign, didn't hesitate to contribute when Stangel suffered his broken right fibula late in the regular season.
"He told me, 'When you're open, take your shot,'" Sampson said of Stangel's advice.
Said notes were taken down to the letter.
Against Verona weeks ago, with an outright Badger South title on the line, Sampson saw the defense sag during a crucial third-quarter run, took one quick dribble and stepped into a textbook, swished 3-pointer that sent the student section into a frenzy over their newly-arrived leader off the bench.
The same way Dave Hirsbrunner taught Sampson to run without fear on the varied cross country terrain, his new coach and running mates have instilled their utmost confidence.
"I knew it was going in," Sampson said of the triple. "Murf just tells me to take every shot with confidence and believe it's going in."
Sampson was a Cheesemaker fan before he was a player, as his family decided to move to Monroe just over a year ago and the then-sophomore was just another nearly-bipartisan party watching the Cheesemakers defeat River Valley in the sectionals.
"Right then, I just thought it would be awesome to be part of something like that," Sampson said.
Tordoff is yucking it up with big brother, junior Mitch, as the pair pore across their questionnaire. The freshman, like Sampson, appears to be thinking his answers through far too thoroughly, while the veterans simply are trying to conjure up funnier responses than they offered a year ago.
Tordoff still is wrestling with the decision over whether he'll run track, for which practices began indoors Monday while the Cheesemakers did their press thing.
"I'm actually not decided on what I'm going to do in the spring, I may just do AAU basketball," Tordoff said. "I guess I own a couple of track records from my seventh-grade season, but that's kind of in the past now. This is all we're focused on."
Once this weekend is over and the Cheesemakers walk away with heads held high, just don't expect the frosh to call the Monroe Country Club and ask Mike Muranyi for a spot on his roster.
"I'm horrible at golf, the best I can do is mini-golf," Tordoff said.
- Christopher Heimerman is the sports editor at The Monroe Times. He can be reached at sportseditor@themonroetimes.com
