St. Paul looks to thread the needle

NORWALK — Things will look different. But the ability to contend is still there for the St. Paul boys basketball team. A year ago, the Flyers had six seniors en route to a 20-6 record and a 13-1 mark in the Firelands Conference. St. Paul repeated as FC champions and won 20 games and a district championship for the first time in 27 years. However, the top three scorers from that team are gone, including 6-foot-7 Nolan McCall and his double-double of 12.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. Along with Korey Frazee (9.7 points), fifth-year head coach Steve Minor lost a pair of three-year starters from his lineup. With just two returning letterwinners back, Minor will be relying heavily on senior guard Landon Fries (5-foot-11) and senior post Brady Fritz (6-3). Fries averaged 9.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and one steal per game last season. Fritz added 4.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per contest. Fries earned All-FC second team honors last season as well. Minor noted both players had key roles in St. Paul's 14-game win streak; the team went on to win the FC outright and reach the regional semifinals. "They both were playing up on JV as freshmen and have been with the varsity program all four years," Minor said. "We're going to lean on them a lot more, obviously. We're just a little thinner than we were, but we still expect to play hard every night and compete." Three more key players are up from the junior varsity team from a year ago: junior guard Nate Griffin (6-0), junior post Isaac Kalizewski (6-0), and senior post Connor Lindenberger (6-5). Last season, Griffin appeared in 13 varsity games, while Kalizewski and Lindenberger played in nine varsity games each. Junior post Kade Houck (6-1) is another who Minor said has been on the fast track to gain experience this winter. "These are all multi-sport athletes who have more defined roles this year as opposed to the past," he said. "We can go five out a lot more often. We'll have different packages and play the cards a certain way with a certain lineup. "It's almost like we can reshuffle the deck and deal again four or five times throughout a game. It's going to be a little bit of whatever personnel we have on the floor at a given time." Freshman guard Casey Fries (5-6) and junior guard Zach Roth (5-9) are also expected to play key roles. "Casey had a great summer, and I wasn't sure what to expect from him," Minor said. "You hate to compare him to an older sibling, because obviously he and Landon are not the same. "He's done a nice job of adjusting to the physicality, and I think a full season of varsity football helped with that." Minor said Roth has two jobs. "He's going to lead our JVs, and he's also important to our varsity rotation, because we're not as deep as in the past," he said. "We go from six seniors to four, and only two with a lot of experience. It's just a bit different." Rounding out the varsity roster are senior post Aidan Graves (5-11) and junior guards Hunter Springer (5-6) and Connor Polachek (5-11). St. Paul opens the season Wednesday (Nov. 26) at Fremont St. Joseph. New to the schedule this season as non-league games are Elyria Open Door Christian and Crestline. Edison, Vermilion, Margaretta, St. Mary Central Catholic, and Tiffin Calvert from the Sandusky Bay Conference remain on the slate. As for the FC race, Minor said to look no further than Western Reserve. "I think it's pretty clear it's Western Reserve's to lose with basically everyone back, and Chris Sheldon teams don't get worse or stay the same," he said. "But I think Monroeville, Plymouth, and Crestview will give them a fight, and New London has some nice young talent coming through that is getting better under Coach (Tom) Howell." After one scrimmage, Minor said the strength of the team was at the defensive end of the floor. "Again, obviously not the same with the rim protector (McCall) we had last year, but we're not asking Connor or Brady to be Nolan back here," he said. "I want these guys to just go out there and be themselves. "And if they are, that's going to be great for us."