MONROE — The in-house expectations for the Monroe boys basketball team are as high as they have been in a decade. No bones about it, this Cheesemakers squad has lofty goals — including a trip to the state tournament.

Back for Monroe are a slew of upperclassmen with plenty of high-pressure minutes over the years — four starters in all, plus valuable bench pieces. Cade Meyer, a UW-Green Bay commit, was an all-state player last year and led the team in scoring and rebounding at 18.8 points per game and 8 rebounds per game. Junior guard Carson Leuzinger (14.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.5 assists) was a unanimous all-conference pick last season, and junior forward JT Seagreaves (13.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg) was a second-team all-conference selection. 

Also back are seniors Max Golembiewski (7.9 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.1 rpg), Tyler Matley (5.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 steals), Caleb Bunker (2.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg) and role players Ethan Mapel and Colin Foley. 

While Meyer is bound to play NCAA DI hoops, Seagreaves and Leuzinger are drawing interest from several D-II schools. Golembiewski has interest from D-III schools for both football and basketball, and Matley has been recruited to play football by both UW-Oshkosh and Loras College.

Newcomers to the team this year including guard Heath Huschitt and wings Lucas Sathoff and Aaron Roidt.

Brian Bassett, now in his fifth year at the helm, said offensive versatility will be a noticeably strength of the squad this year.

“We have many guys who can score in a variety of ways,” Bassett said. Overall athleticism and team chemistry on the court are two other strengths. 

While the start of the season was delayed by more than a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, players from the varsity roster still found ways to get together, practice and play in leagues during the offseason, including in a weekend fall league in the Milwaukee suburbs playing some of the state’s top teams week after week.

Bassett knows that a high-powered offense, team chemistry, athleticism and playing against premier programs are just parts of the puzzle the team has to put together. 

“We want to take the next step, which is to play much better defense than we have the past two seasons and to get to the sectionals, and give ourself a chance at more,” Bassett said. “Can we improve enough defensively to give ourselves a shot against anyone? Five out of the six games we lost (in 2019-20) we gave up 70-plus points — including 94 to Milton.”

There is no Badger Conference-sponsored season this year, but that doesn’t mean Monroe will not try to schedule from familiar opponents. Included on the team’s schedule for January alone include Madison Edgewood, Milton and Watertown. Other big games include back-to-back against D4 top-ranked Cuba City (Jan. 2), and No. 4 Darlington (Jan. 4). The yearly battle against New Glarus (Jan. 30) is also scheduled to take place once again.