BRILLION — The Brillion Lions boys basketball team is having a phenomenal start to their season, as they’re off to a perfect 13-0 start.
“It’s fun to be out there and have the success we’ve had, but we got to keep our head down and stay motivated to be where we want to be,” Brillion senior forward Jeremy Lorenz said.
The loss to West Salem in the 2022 Division 3 state semifinals still stings, but that defeat showed them where they need to improve. So far, it’s working as they’ve won every game this year by double-digits.
“Just losing to West Salem in that state game gave us all that motivation,” said Lorenz. “That’s not what we want to happen this year.”
“Our guys know that it changes once you get to March, you got be physical and strong in those situations,” said Lions head coach Chad Shimek.
What's scary about this undefeated squad is that they brought back their top 4 scorers from last season and have a lot of depth.
“Unselfishness,” is how senior guard Bennett Olson describes the Lions. “We have a lot of unselfish players who understand each other’s role and when we put all those roles together we become a great team.”
“That's what makes our team as strong as we are, we can play a lot of guys off the bench if we need to – so every guy has a huge role on our team,” Shimek said.
The player that makes the Lions roar is 6-foot-8 senior forward Jeremy Lorenz. He’s been a starter since his freshman season and the Wofford commit is averaging a double double (21 points and 11 rebounds) and is the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
“I always say, Jeremy is the guy you want representing your program,” said the Brillion head coach. "He's humble. He's hardworking. He's unselfish."
“He’s got good vision,” said Olson. “He can kick it out to us shooters. It’s nice to have someone who can dominate inside, but also knows when he needs to pass it out.
According to his coach and teammates its his leadership that stands out.
“I’m that guy that needs to set the tone, Lorenz said. “The guy who is going to play hard and not take a play off and just make the right play and just help our team to make the right plays as a team and just keep us on track – if we’re getting off track and keep us motivated everyday and just keep everyone in line and not to get ahead of themselves.”
Like any successful team, it starts at the top.
“I like to put it all on our coaching,” said Olson. “Our coaches hold us accountable, make us do the little things right and I think that sets the standard for our team.”
“Having things that you’re going to stand for, whether it’s off the floor and that’s something we’re constantly working on. Just consistently working on being good people and good players,” Shimek said.
