“We’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow; that’s where we wanna go – way down in Kokomo.”
Judging from the 146 points on the scoreboard Sunday afternoon at the Sudbury Arena, the Sudbury Five did a lousy job of channelling their inner Beach Boys – not that head coach and GM Logan Stutz was about to complain at all.
A 146-76 thumping of the visiting Kokomo Bobkats served a number of purposes for the local Basketball Super League team – though “taking it slow” was not particularly high on that list.
With a couple of players who are fully expected to be part of the 2024-2025 roster still away for a few days (Curtis Hollis and J.D. Miller), the remaining cast of 13 prospects lit it up pretty much from the word go with eight different players reaching double digits.
Considering that the group has been together all of a week or so in northern Ontario and that the lineup on Sunday included what appears to be nine men who had never previously suited up for the Five, the post-game mood was an awfully festive one to kick start the new campaign.
“I was very happy that we were able to get an exhibition game in with so many new faces right now,” said Stutz. “In five days, we probably didn’t put in too much, just about enough to allow the guys to recall it – and it showed on the court today.”
The locals were led by Shawn Olden (23), Ja’Myrin Jackson (21) and Charlie Marquardt (21), the latter having led the Frederick Flying Cows in scoring last year and returning to Maryland once the BSL post-season will come to a close.
“I came to Sudbury with an open mind,” noted the 29 year old native of Rockaway Beach, New York. “In speaking with coach (Stutz) about his philosophies and culture, I just want to be the best player I can be, the best teammate.”
“I want to do all of the intangibles, the little things and in doing that, I can add to our success.”
Opening the scoring with a three-point basket, Marquardt was one of eight Sudbury players to find his range from beyond the arc, a testament to team play in his mind and the potential that he sees in this roster.
“I hit some shots tonight but that wouldn’t be possible without great teammates that are able to get into the paint and make extra passes,” said the graduate of the Molloy University Lions (NCAA Division II). “It was nice to see how deep of a roster we have, thirteen guys who were really good.”
“I think we can be really special and build a championship here.”
That certainly is the hope of coach Stutz and his staff as the ultra-friendly native of Missouri continues to tinker with his recipe for the ultimate success, bringing a league title to the nickel city.
“We’ve always been run and gun, shoot-shoot-shoot,” said Stutz. “But we’ve got to take it a step back to see how we can get better in this area and it really comes down to the defensive end. I think a lot of those baskets happened in transition which came after good defense.”
“That’s what we’ve been preaching,” he added. “We have defensive rules, defensive principles and if you execute this, we’re going to have a great chance to go down and get a basket.”
Leading 36-20 after the opening twelve minutes and increasing the advantage to 66-42 at the half, the Five somehow found a way to maintain their offensive intensity without allowing the contest to become “playground basketball” on the defensive end.
“I thought it was going to be a very ugly, sloppy fourth quarter,” said Stutz, his team cruising to victory with a scoreboard that read 107-59 after three quarters of play. “There were signs, but we kept them under 20 in both the third and fourth quarters.”
“That was a big challenge for us, to stay focused and build our good habits.”
As anyone who knows coach Stutz well knows, the importance of sound, fundamental basketball is rivalled, quite often, but a larger picture approach, key mantras and beliefs in understanding exactly how a championship program is built.
Don’t expect 2024-2025 to be any different.
“What we did today was okay, but we have to build on it,” he said. "If we ignore it, it’s going to slip. I tell people: what you water will grow. We have to keep watering our good habits. That’s going to be our identity.”
And on this day at least, one and all in the Sudbury lineup were in absolute lockstep in this regard.
“With 13 guys (dressed), keeping them all mentally locked in is pretty tough to do, but these guys know what they are playing for right now – and they did well,” said Stutz. “Everybody played, everybody scored, everybody contributed – and everybody bought into the habits.”
“Our execution wasn’t perfect but the buy-in was there.”
The Sudbury Five will open regular season play on Saturday, November 23rd at 7:00 p.m. at the Sudbury Arena when they welcome the Montreal Toundra to town.
