DE PERE (NBC 26) — The (10-1, 7-1) West De Pere boys basketball team is in their first year playing in the FRCC, and they’re already making some noise tied for first at the top of the conference.
The Phantoms' motto coming into this year was, “Why not us?”
“We’ve always had this mentality of yeah nobody believes in us, we’re coming into a new conference, we’ve got to show them what we’re about,” said senior guard Erik Bouchard.
The Phantoms lost four starters coming into this season, including junior big man Tref Rademaker, who transferred to DME Academy. He led West De Pere in points and rebounds per game (18 and 10) last season, and they heard the outside noise that they wouldn’t be competitive without him.
“We always had faith in us,” said junior guard Carson Samson. “Other people would be telling us we lost Tref, we’re not going to be very good, and we would try and fight back with them and be like, ‘We’re going to be good.’ In the open gyms, we’re showing that we’re going to be good.”
Without him, their starters have stepped up, and all five are averaging nine points or more per game this season.
“They have just figured out, let’s just share the ball, and as a coach, it makes it difficult to plan for us because you never know who it might be on a given night,” head coach Todd Deschane said.
Senior Erik Bouchard has made the biggest leap in his play. Last year, he was buried on the depth chart and played JV. This offseason, he worked hard, earned a spot on varsity, and is shining for the Phantoms — he’s currently tied for the team lead in points per game.
“It’s the typical rags-to-riches story. He just worked his way up, improved, and he’s benefiting from it now, and we are too,” said Deschane.
While West De Pere knows the potential of their team — as the old cliché goes — they’re just taking it one game at a time.
“Our goal is definitely to win conference and make a run in the playoffs, and if it means state championship, that’s what we’re going to work for," said senior guard Patrick Greisen.
