APPLETON, Wis. — As much as the Lawrence University men’s basketball team has changed for 2016-17, the more it stays the same.
Gone is All-Midwest Conference performer and Jostens Trophy finalist Jamie Nikitas, along with his 25.1-point per game average. But the Vikings return a dynamic and versatile nucleus that includes outside shooting, size and a defensive presence.
“Jamie’s a big loss, just black and white statistically, it’s a huge loss. Those guys are hard to replace,” Lawrence coach Joel DePagter said. “From a basketball and team standpoint, we haven’t talked about him not being here at all. It doesn’t change what we’re trying to do as a team. It can’t ever be about one person, whether it’s one person going out or one person coming in.”
The Vikings, who open the season Wednesday at Wisconsin Lutheran College, built their reputation over the past 15 years on balance, grit and versatility, and that’s what this team brings to the table.
“We have to be more of a balanced team, which is not a bad thing. The way we play, we’ve never been based on one person,” DePagter said.
The Vikings return starting guard Jeremy Stephani, who averaged 11.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season. The entire frontcourt also returns with center Mitch Miller (9.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.1 bpg), forward Ben Peterson (6.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and wing player Connor Weas (3.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg).
Valuable reserves Pete Winslow and Eric Weiss are both back after missing multiple games due to injury last season as are the gritty Evan McLaughlin and George Mavrakis.
Entering into the mix are eight newcomers, seven freshmen and one sophomore transfer.
“Literally half the team is new and half the team is back. It may take a little time for those two groups to jell,” DePagter said. “We certainly will have freshmen play and freshmen starting along with guys who haved played quite a bit.”
Among the most intriguing newcomers are ultra-quick rookie guards Quinn Fisher and Abhishek Venkatesh. Fisher was Peterson’s teammate at Fenwick in the Chicago suburbs, and Venkatesh hails from Nike’s hometown of Beaverton, Ore. The Vikings also have a host of new big men, including 6-foot-6 Jason Dougherty and 6-4 Tyler Klug.
“It’s a good class. It’s a good base for the future, but some of those guys will have to contribute this year,” DePagter said.
“We will be back to the way we’re trying to do it with 10, 11, 12 guys. Whoever is playing well will go. It’s good, it’s a great thing. It also makes it hard to find which guys you want on the floor. It’s going to take a while to find some of those lineups that work well together.”
The Vikings will be working through these things against a challenging early schedule. Lawrence’s first home game is Nov. 26 vs. UW-Stevens Point, and the Vikings face both St. Norbert and Grinnell in early December.
“This year there are more unknowns but the ceiling is probably higher,” said DePagter, whose team was picked to finish eighth in the league. “We have the numbers and we have the depth to be the Lawrence we want to be.”