Panthers finish Wisconsin Dells Tournament 1-1

After graduating four starters from last season’s roster, the Ellsworth Panthers boys’ basketball team is poised for a year of growth and development under first-year head coach Derek Staley.

Notable losses from the class of 2022 include starters Jack Janke, Spencer Schultz, Alex Coulthard and Tanner Pechacek. The lone returning starter, senior forward Sam Kollbaum, is likely done for the year with an injury, making way for five fresh faces in this year’s starting lineup.

Working through a developing roster won’t be anything new for Staley. He spent the previous seven years in various roles at the collegiate level – both as a head coach and assistant coach – before taking the Ellsworth job. Now, he’s tasked with turning the program around, even after a complete overhaul of the roster. He spoke about some of that lost talent.

“As far as missing minutes go, you really have Lance (Gipford), Jurell (Gooden), and Kaden (Schommer) coming back and they were coming off of the bench,” Staley said. “It’s a lot of guys put in new situations that they’ve never really been in at the varsity level. They’re asked to play a different role, so it’s a lot of learning and growing for them.”

Through the first couple of weeks of practice, Staley has installed his offensive and defensive systems and has begun crafting the roster and playstyle as he sees fit. Ellsworth’s first live-game experience was on Friday, Nov. 25, a 61-46 victory against Wisconsin Heights at a tournament in Wisconsin Dells.

Ellsworth’s three-point lead at halftime eventually ballooned into a 15-point victory as the Panthers outscored Wisconsin Heights 35-23 in the second half of action. Senior guard Lance Gipford led all scorers with 26 points while also grabbing two rebounds, dishing for two assists and snagging five steals. The aforementioned Gooden and freshman center George Rohl were the second and third leading scorers that afternoon with eight and nine points respectively.

“Lance (Gipford) had 26 in that first game, which was a really nice start for him,” Staley said. “His athleticism is definitely going to help us this year and his shot-making ability, he can make all kinds of shots at multiple levels. He’s doing a nice job offensively for us.”

Gipford followed up his 26-point performance in the season-opening win with a team-high 19 points in the second game of the tournament, a 63-54 loss against Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday, Nov. 26. Freshman center Rohl posted 12 points, the second most on the team, while also grabbing six rebounds and snagging three steals in the defeat.

Ellsworth finished the Wisconsin Dells tournament 1-1 while also gaining valuable non-conference experience before the real competition begins in just under two weeks with Middle Border Conference play. Coach Staley spoke about what he saw from his team in those first two games of the year.

“The effort was fantastic, which is great to see and I didn’t expect anything different out of our guys. That’s what we’ve seen in practice,” Staley said. “I didn’t know what we’d get for sure. We’re old, but we’re very inexperienced. We definitely have some growing pains and a lot to learn from, but the effort was great and that’s a good starting point.”

Despite having five fresh starters on the 2022-23 roster, there have already been some standouts through the first two weeks of practice and two non-conference games. Staley spoke about who has impressed early.

“Kaden Schommer and Jurell Gooden are doing a really nice job defensively,” Staley said. “They’ve really stepped up in that part of their game and we knew that coming in they were going to be strong there. George Rohl is doing a nice job and we’re asking him to do a lot for a freshman. He’s led us in rebounds in both games. They’ve all had a nice start to the year.”

Ellsworth is 1-1 to begin the season with another non-conference game still on the horizon. While Staley is still familiarizing himself with the roster, he’d like his program’s identity to be pushing the pace and running in transition while also remaining stout defensively.

“First of all I want to win, but I also want to be a fun team to watch,” Staley said. “I want to push the tempo when able and I want to be a really solid, disciplined defensive team and I’ll do whatever it takes to win. If it’s to grind it out against certain teams, that’s what we’ll do. If it’s run and gun, that’s what we’ll do. I want to win.”

Ellsworth is slated to play its final non-conference game at home on Thursday, Dec. 1, against Cochrane-Fountain City, a program that is currently 1-0. That game is slated to begin at 7:15 p.m.

Ellsworth senior Jurell Gooden attacks the paint during the game against Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday, Nov. 26. First-year Ellsworth head coach Derek Staley spoke highly of Gooden’s defensive effort through the first two games. Photo courtesy of GX3 Media