Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The trio of Drew Luidhardt, Brayden Luidhardt, and Cam Schumaker will be key for the Eastwood boys basketball team this season.
“They’re super hardworking and just good kids,” head coach Michael Flipse said. “They want to win. They do things the right way, and just playing at the varsity level and having experience helps. There's been times in practice that all three of those guys have stepped up. They’re not afraid to speak their mind. I think just having three good players who want to do things the right way and want to win matters. The younger guys see that, and they follow.”
Brayden Luidhardt, a 6-3 sophomore, is expected to take a pretty big jump after starting his rookie season on varsity. Flipse said he’s the team’s best scorer.
“He had a decent year last year as a freshman playing varsity,” Flipse said. “That’s a big jump from eighth grade basketball to varsity basketball. But, man, this summer and just the practices now and the couple scrimmages we've had, he stands out. He's a scorer. He can score at all three levels. He’s got a nice mid-range game, can shoot the three, can get to the rim. He’s going to be one of our go-to guys when it comes to scoring.”
Schumaker and Drew Luidhardt, meanwhile, are a pair of experienced senior guards.
“Cam’s been great defensively, and he can really finish around the rim,” Flipse said. “It’s pretty obvious when you turn on film what Cam is good at. He's a good defender. He’s great at driving right. If you give up that right lane to him, he’s going to go finish.”
Luidhardt, meanwhile, will direct the point.
“His ability to see the entire floor with his passing stands out,” Flipse said. “He’s a leader. He calms us down when maybe we miss a couple shots in a row. Him just being able to handle pressure, and then if teams help off too much, if they're playing Brayden heavy or Cam heavy, he's a good shooter. He'll knock down those shots.”
In addition to those three, Flipse is also excited about two more guards in 5-9 junior Mason Chaffee and 6-0 junior Ben Buehler. He said he trusts each of those five guards to handle the ball and shoot from the perimeter.
Buehler, in particular, ran the point for the JV team last year.
“He’s a good shooter, and a good athlete,” Flipse said. “He's lengthy. He's a good defender. He has a great motor. He runs the floor well. And I think with all the attention that Drew, Cam, and Brayden will get, that will open some things up for Ben. He’ll have some big games for us this year just with his ability to score and how good of an athlete he is.”
Another key JV riser is Logan Miesmer, the team’s five man, who Flipse expects to have a great year.
“Just playing JV last year, and then he played at Great Lakes on my AAU team, he's ran a lot of the stuff we're running this year already,” Flipse said. “He's really good out of the pick and roll. He’s just a solid undersized post. He’s always boxing out, plays great defense, and takes a lot of charges.”
Max Chaffee, the younger brother of Mason, is a 6-6 freshman. Flipse said he’s the biggest kid in the program.
“He’ll come off the bench as a post player,” Flipse said. “He’s got a lot of potential, and I’m excited to see his growth and what he’ll be doing towards the middle and end of the season.”
Flipse said his team has been focused on putting a heavy emphasis on pressuring the ball defensively, solidifying rotations on defense, and running the floor in transition.
“I'm really trying to preach playing good defense, making the other team take a tough shot, turning the ball over, and then us being able to run a transition and score off of that,” he said.
Flipse takes over at Eastwood this year after spending the past three seasons coaching the JV team, including last year’s 16-4 squad. Prior to that, he coached the freshman team for two seasons and the eighth grade team for one year.
“I’m just super excited,” he said. “Working with the younger kids at the freshman and JV levels is super fun. It’s a good age group to coach. But a handful of years went by, and I really started thinking about being a varsity coach. With Coach (Jason) Faykosh leaving, the opportunity was there. There was no doubt in my mind that was going to apply. I’m just super excited. It’s a good group of kids who I’ve coached at the freshman and JV level. We’ve had a good summer, and I’m excited to get started.”
