Defense, rebounding propel Bluejays to great start
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
Basketball teams that play stellar defense give themselves a chance.
Teams that play stellar defense and also get it done in the rebounding department give themselves an even greater chance.
The Elmhurst College men’s basketball team fits into that even greater category. Powered by a top-notch defensive effort and a national ranking in the rebounding category, the Bluejays have soared up the Division III d3hoops.com national poll.
To start the week, Elmhurst sported a 15-1 record and was ranked second in the nation behind only Whitworth. It’s Elmhurst’s highest-ever national ranking in men’s basketball. The Bluejays had won 12 games in a row heading into a contest earlier this week against North Park University. Included in that winning streak was an overtime victory over former national No. 1 Augustana.
“I’m not too surprised where we’re at now,” Elmhurst senior co-captain Bryant Ackerman told the Independent earlier this week. “I was a little surprised when the preseason rankings came out and we were seventh to start the year. Then we knew we had gained some respect from last year. We also knew we were capable of much better. We’re not satisfied. It’s a good compliment but we want to be even better at the end of the season.”
Third-year Elmhurst coach John Baines (49-20 at Elmhurst to start the week) noted the team has ranked in the top 10 nationally in rebounding margin for the majority of the season and has held teams to 37 percent shooting this season.
“Rebounding is one of our staples,” he said. “If your defense is good and your rebounding is good you can have success. Those are the things we do best. We have some really good individual defenders. It’s an experienced group of guys that has allowed us to have some different wrinkles with our defense and be able to adjust during games. The experience gives us a lot of different weapons to use defensively.”
Ackerman added: “We take pride in our defense and rebounding. It’s two of our main focal points. We pride ourselves in being one of the better defending teams in the league. We know we will be in every game because of how well we defend.”
That experience Baines speaks of comes in the form of nine seniors on the Bluejays’ roster this season. Elmhurst was coming off a 2014-2015 season where it went 20-8 and qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time since 2009.
“You don’t see that number of seniors that often on a college team whether it’s Division III, II or I,” Ackerman noted. “A lot of our success has to do with how much all our games have changed since Coach Baines came here three years ago. We’ve worked harder over the summer and we’ve bought into it. Not one of us has the same game as we did when he first got here. Changing our games has propelled us to where we are right now.”
Baines, a former longtime assistant at Elmhurst, likes the fact he can rely on many different players to produce. Senior co-captain Kyle Wuest (Edinburgh, Ind.) was leading the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game (to go with 4.0 rebounds per contest). Wuest is one of seven Bluejays’ players averaging 7.0 or more points per game. Marian Catholic High School product Erik Crittendon (12.1 points, 6.5 rebounds) and Loogootee, Ind., native Ackerman (10.6 points) give Elmhurst three players averaging double digits in scoring. Will Nixon (Plainfield South) averages 9.8 points to go with team highs in rebounds (7.4 per game) and blocked shots (34 total). Peyton Wyatt (Newton, Ill.) averages 8.0 points, while North Chicago product Pat Coleman (7.3 points) and Hillcrest High School alum Jalen Loving (7.2 points) round out that list of nine. Brendon Schwebke (Belvidere North High School) contributes 4.6 points and 4.6 rebounds.
Elmhurst, which was 5-0 in conference play to start the week, was shooting .477 as a team and was outrebounding opponents by an average of 46-35 per game, while holding a nearly 18-point scoring edge per game (86.6 points for, 68.9 points against).
“We play 10 guys in the rotation,” said Baines. “We’re pretty balanced offensively. We have a lot of good players up and down the lineup. The guys get along well and they work very hard. That helps on both ends of the floor.”
Baines and the Bluejays are not resting on their laurels. Elmhurst played a North Park team that was 11-4 earlier this week. The Bluejays face national No. 25 North Central College Saturday in Naperville and then encounter No. 3 Augustana again next week, this time in Rock Island.
“It’s going to be a challenging next few weeks,” he said.
Baines is happy for the team’s national recognition, but like Ackerman has his sights set long-term.
“We expected to have a good team this year,” he said. “We’ve stayed healthy for the most part so it’s not surprising. We knew we had the ability to be one of the better teams in the country if we were healthy and everything came into place. The ranking is nice, but being No. 2 in January doesn’t do much. It comes down to where you are at the end of the season.”
Elmhurst returns home Saturday, Jan. 30 for a 4 p.m. game against Millikin at R.A. Faganel Hall.
