Pirate ship sailing under full steam

•Big center reaches rebounding mark, heads for scoring milestone.

Four years ago a group of young men began their basketball travels aimed at succeeding together on the hardcourt.

This year they arrived, together . . . five seniors and two juniors poised to take on the world. But then, the Pandemic arrived as well.

So the masked men of Grantsburg took the hardcourt. “These guys have been a part of the program for a long time and they play well together,” said Coach Nick Hallberg.

Now, armed with an 8-0 West Lakeland Conference record and 12-2 overall mark, the Pirates are poised for their final two conference games against Unity and Luck and a non-conference game with Clear Lake.

Despite the fact this is a team of experienced veterans in their final season, Coach Hallberg said, “I don’t know if there’s any sense of urgency with this group of kids.” He added, “They are pretty level-headed kids and to be honest we are all happy to be playing.”

Therein lies the rub. “Happy to be playing.” That’s what the Pandemic has done. Before Covid-19 reared its ugly head, the only threat was the opponent. Now, just getting each game played, has become the No. 1 battle.

The starting team includes seniors Jared Van Watermeulen, Sterling McKinley, and Gus Bergman and juniors Carson Knutson and Zach Miller. They’ve created a core of sturdy Pirates bent on making their opponents walk the plank. Seniors Derek Lee and Bruce Lindau have provided most of the punch off the bench.

“I think it’s great having a team full of very experienced guys that I’ve been playing with for years,” said Van Watermeulen. “It really helps knowing what moves your teammates will make before they even make them. It’s also special since it’s our final year for us seniors, and all of us have the same goals set for where we want to get,” he added.

Along the way, there has been adversity. When Bergman was out for a couple of games, Lee stepped into his spot and Lindau stepped up as the No. 6 man.

“Derek (Lee) sees some good minutes from time-to-time and did a great job filling in for Bergman, when he was out for a couple of weeks.

That put Bruce in a sixth-man role and he saw an increase in playing time as well,” said the coach.

“We are comfortable with who we are. I’ve been doing this long enough to see how much quality teams rely on their starters to step up each and every night while putting in big minutes,” he added.

Any good team will likely have a man-in-the-middle who anchors the squad. Grantsburg has lanky 6-6 stalwart Van Watermeulen in the middle and opponents have no choice but to deal with him.

“Zach’s physical strength is something that really adds some toughness to our team. He’s not afraid to get bumped around down there,” said Coach Hallberg.

Recently Van Watermeulen hauled in his 500th rebound, which the coach called, “A huge accomplishment for Jared.”

And, he’s poised on the edge of scoring 1,000 points. “We hope to have him achieve that soon,” said the coach.

Van Watermeulen came on the scene as a freshman. “He played so well in what we were doing, I don’t think he ever played a second of JV basketball as far as I can remember,” said his coach.

There is no doubt, “His size is an asset to our team.”

While Van Watermeulen is also an excellent kicker on the football team and certainly has stirred interest from football scouts, he’s also drawn interest from college basketball coaches.

“I’ve fielded numerous inquiries about Jared playing at the next level. I told him last year that I would continue to say good things about him until he tells me that he’s not interested in playing at the next level. I’m sure we’ll revisit this when the season is over,” said Coach Hallberg.

Van Watermeulen has his own thoughts on the matter. “An opportunity to play sports in college would be awesome. For a preference, it would have to be a toss-up between basketball and football since I love playing both. Either sport would be an amazing opportunity,” he said.

While Van Watermeulen’s size and agility put him at the center of attention, opponents can’t relax when it comes to the rest of the squad.

“Our defense just keeps getting better and our offense continues to be really balanced,” said the coach.

Van Watermeulen and Miller are leading the pack in scoring lately, but Knutson and McKinley continue to play their game and let their opportunities come to them. “We expect the unexpected and also that we will get every team’s very best effort. The boys are responding well to that each night,’ said the coach.

Their most recent challenge came a week ago when the Pirates went to Ashland seeking competition in a higher division. What they found was they could more than play with the Oredeckers. A 10-point halftime lead and 21-point second-half margin quickly dissipated under heavy pressure, cold shooting, and the hot hand of Ashland’s 5-10 senior Kevon Powell. He poured in 24 points, including a long three-pointer that put them within the final under-the-basket game-winner by Jared Tollas and Grantsburg lost, 73-72.

“We played really well and were able to go on a run to briefly go up 21, but it was down to an 11-point lead a minute later. That’s the way the game went,” said Coach Hallberg.

“We just didn’t respond to that run with one of our own to finish out the game. We uncharacteristically missed free throws and we were careless with the ball,” the coach said.

Yet, “We were happy to get to play a true Division 2 school, especially at this point in the season. I know these kids well enough to know that the Ashland game isn’t going to affect their mindset going forward. It definitely made us better.”

Also getting better that night was Van Watermeulen. He was a man on a mission with 24 points, some off his hook shot. And, he grabbed nine rebounds as he led the Pirates effort to upend the Division 2 school. Miller tossed in 16 points, Knutson 15, and McKinley 14.

“Playing good competition is always great, it helps bring out the best in both teams and it’s exciting,” Van Watermeulen said.

“That’s definitely what happened for us. We were ready to play, and everyone was on a roll as we built our lead, but sadly we just didn’t close the game out with a win,” he added.

Tuesday night the Pirates bounced back with a 54-43 win over non-conference Turtle Lake.

Some might say the Pirates lack of depth might may hurt them in the long run. But Coach Hallberg has a handle on that.

“As far as depth goes, we are who we are,” he said.

While there will be playoffs and the Pirates hope to play a key part, there is still the West Lakeland to conquer.

“Winning the conference is always goal No. 1,” said Coach Hallberg.

One win in the final two games will give them the crown.

“We have lots to play for, but in the end, I always tell the guys to just go play our game and be ready to go each night. The result will take care of itself if they execute and play with maximum effort.

“Not having a lot of players doesn’t really affect much for me it seems. I know we have a solid group of guys and I’d trust any of them out there, so even if I get into foul trouble I know we’ll be fine,” Van Watermeulen said.

 Yet, staying in the game is always on his mind. “I still try to keep my fouls under check so I don’t end up fouling out since I never want to have to leave a game prematurely,” the Pirates big man added.

As for the masks, well, “The guys aren’t making excuses. It’s not ideal for them to have to wear something like that while being asked to run up and down the floor 50-60 times a night. But, they are handling the situation very well,” said Coach Hallberg.

And handling their opponents, too, for that matter.