APPLETON, Wis. — When half your team graduates in any given year, the following season generally isn’t one filled with great expectations.
The Lawrence University men’s basketball squad seems to be the exception to that rule. Despite losing eight seniors, including three starters, to graduation, the Vikings still figure to be players in the Midwest Conference race this season.
“The goal was to start new. We needed a new dynamic, a new personality, for the team,” Lawrence coach Joel DePagter said. “New guys are now captains, new guys are the leaders. We are starting over a little bit. Turn the page and start a new chapter in the program.”
That new chapter begins with the two returning starters, guards Ryan DePouw and Jamie Nikitas.
DePouw, a senior 6-foot-3 swingman, averaged 15.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last season while shooting 53.7 percent from the floor. DePouw has quietly put together a very good career and is closing in on 1,000 career points.
“Ryan DePouw is just a nightmare mismatch for most teams,” DePagter said. “Big guys can’t guard him, and he’s so strong that smaller players can’t guard him. You can’t be physical with him because he loves that, and you can’t sit off him because he shoots it so well.”
DePouw, who shot 43.8 percent from beyond the arc last season, also passes it pretty well. He was second on the team last season at 2.7 assists per game.
“He (DePouw) led the state of Wisconsin in scoring his senior year in high school, but he’s the most unselfish player I’ve ever seen,” DePagter said. “It’s like an oxymoron. That’s when I have to get on him because he’s been too unselfish. Other guys now have to look for him rather than the other way around.”
The explosive Nikitas blossomed as a sophomore, averaging 14.3 points and a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game last season.
“The guys call him call the Greek Freak,” DePagter said. “He has long arms, and he has a different kind of gear athletically. He’s everywhere. He can move from A to B faster than any guy I’ve ever seen.”
That was evident in his quickness on the defensive end of the floor. Nikitas averaged a team-best 2.4 steals per game last season.
“Jamie has really improved in every area,” DePagter said. “He is an intense, vocal competitor. His leadership this year has been fantastic.”
While DePouw and Nikitas are proven stars, the Vikings have a number of playing waiting in the wings to step into starring roles. Junior forward Trace Sonnleitner and junior guard Troy Miller will be joined by senior forward Andrew Borresen in the starting lineup. All three have been key reserves in past seasons but will now have to embrace a larger role.
“We have very capable guys who have played in key games but haven’t started,” DePagter said. “I’m excited about it because we have guys who are going to get their first real opportunities.
“Ryan and Jamie are the keys for us, but we have a lot of guys who have to fill in the gaps.”
The Vikings also will get contributions from their younger players. Sophomores like Mitch Willer, the biggest man on the squad at 6-7, Peter Winslow and Connor Weas, along with freshman Jeremy Stephani, will have an impact in a rotation that could go 10 to 12 players deep.
“I like this team. I love the way they practice. Our leadership has been fantastic,” DePagter said.
“The mark of a great program is if you can reboot and reload a little bit. Can we keep it up and be competitive or exceed what we’ve done in the past after losing eight seniors.”