Norwalk returns all 5 starters for new coach

NORWALK — Kyle Brubaker has known it from the start. The first-year head coach of the Norwalk girls basketball team is entering a unique situation. It's not often a team coming off a 17-win season with all five starters back has a new coach. But that's the situation the former boys assistant under Steve Gray and Adam Kreischer finds himself in after longtime coach Brock Manlet stepped down. And Brubaker is keenly aware. "A lot of credit goes to the girls," he said. "It's a great group, not just athletically, but the type of individuals they are have made the transition easier for me going from boys to girls. Even if it were a team with lower expectations, I'd want to hit the ground running. "But obviously I know the situation I'm coming into and the girls know we have five seniors. It's their last year and they want to make the most of it, and my job is to help them do that." It starts with the backcourt for the Truckers, who played for a share of the SBC Lake Division title in the regular season finale last season. All-Ohio guard Abby Koenig is back after averaging 12.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 4.0 steals in 24 games last season. With Koenig in the starting lineup, Norwalk is 40-11 over the past two seasons with a sectional and district championship. She also excelled in the fall on the SBC champion soccer team for Norwalk, where she was a first team all-league and district player. "Abby is an absolute blessing with her effort and energy, because she never takes a day off," Brubaker said. "That's the most impressive thing about her among a list of many. She is just an ultimate competitor and fearless. "That stands out the most to me — her effort does not take an off day and it helps set a tone for the rest of our team." Senior Kenzie Smith also returns as a three-year starter and backcourt mate with Koenig. She averaged 8.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season. Sophomore Trinity Lazzara added 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds last season, while classmate Emmie Leber added 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds. Senior Lucy Schlotterer averaged 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds. Returning players off the bench from last season's rotation also include senior Shyla Gruhlke, junior Delaney Illuzzi and sophomore Alyssa Gruhlke. "We have a lot of guards, and Kenzie and Abby have been playing together for a long time," Brubaker said. "They have a ton of experience, and Kenzie is a great shooter who you can't give space. Trinity is an X-factor for us and one of the best female athletes I've been around. She can do a lot of things that surprise people, we just have to get her comfortable to use her athleticism as freely as she can." Brubaker said he is also relying on Shyla Gruhlke and Illuzzi to be defensive stoppers, along with Leber and Alyssa Gruhlke to make further progress. "What Shyla can do defensively is just special with her short area quickness, intensity, positivity and leadership," he said. "Alyssa and Emmie are both talented sophomores who got a lot of experience last year, and we're expecting big sophomore jumps out of both of them. "Delaney is a spark plug, playing with great energy and not afraid to get physical or guard the other team's best player. Lucy will be an important part of what we do as a strong rebounder. She is strong with the ball in her hands." With multi-sport athletes who are successful in other sports, Brubaker knows he has an athletic team. But one of his goals from the beginning is crafting an environment where the players are not overthinking. "Basketball is a fast game, so just go play and react to what you're seeing," he said. "We're trying to free them up as much as possible mentally so they can just go be athletes." And if the Truckers are going to take another run at Bellevue and a district title for a third straight season, Brubaker believes they need to reach that next level of athletes being basketball players. "The ability to read and react in real time is difficult," he said. "Mistakes are going to happen, but as long as they stay positive and we put them in position to make good decisions — and that next level of basketball is there for them. "We want them to be where they are making the next read ahead of time, and seeing the game from a bird's eye view instead of tunnel vision. That's the next step for this group. We want them to see and use their athleticism in a way they haven't done before." RosterNo. Name Yr. 2 Maddie Gamble 9 3 Alyssa Gruhlke 10 4 Audryn Ott 11 5 Delaney Illuzzi 11 10 Bella Hernandez 10 11 Reagan Mooney 11 12 Abby Koenig 12 13 Shyla Gruhlke 12 14 Kenzie Smith 12 15 Lucy Schlotterer 12 20 Emma Gebhardt 10 21 Emmie Leber 10 23 Trinity Lazzara 11 32 Ainslee King 9 45 Mellisa Isais 12