“It takes a little time to learn a new system,“ Hertz said. ”I think our whole team went through that last year, and the returners seem to be very comfortable with what we’re doing and what’s expected. The newcomers are learning, too, and to their credit, they haven’t really slowed us down at all. They had to pick up things and stay up with us. For the most part, they’ve done a good job. The effort and the commitment and belief in what we’re doing is very high right now."
Wittenberg opened the season with a 70-52 loss at Otterbein on Nov. 8 but then won two straight home games: 68-62 vs. Baldwin-Wallace on Nov. 12; and 82-65 vs. Wilmington on Saturday.
Junior forward Tyler Galluch, a Catholic Central graduate, scored a team-high 18 points against Otterbein and leads the team with 12.3 points per game.
Senior forward Eddie Brown scored 20 against Wilmington and averages 11.7 points per game.
Senior forward Dawson Scott is the team’s third double-digit scorer (10.7).
Those three players started for Wittenberg last season as did senior guard Cal Bavineau, who’s averaging 3.0 points per game.
“They’ve been unbelievable in terms of leadership on and off the court,“ Hertz said, ”and obviously they’re going to carry a big load for this team. A couple of them were banged up going into opening night, but they’re healthy now. I think we’re all still trying to find our stride together because we just hadn’t played everybody together due to some injuries in the preseason."
Wittenberg’s starting lineup also includes sophomore guard Kyle Kenney, a Centerville High School graduate who spent last season at Capital University, and guard Noah Frayer, one of nine freshmen on the roster.
Sophomore guard Spence Davidson, a Lebanon High School graduate, ranks fifth on the team in minutes played (22.7 per game) after averaging 13.4 minutes last season.
Sophomore forward Sam Miller and freshman guard Jace Wardlow also average double-figure minutes.
Wittenberg finished 9-16 overall and 5-11 in the North Coast Athletic Conference in Hertz’s first season.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Hertz said his current team, which was picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the NCAC preseason poll, is a work in progress.
“We have 11 newcomers to go along with a lot of returners,“ he said. ”We’re still trying to figure out exactly who we are. I like this team a lot. I think we have not reached our potential yet. We’re trying to find the right combination of guys. We play really well but not consistently for 40 minutes."
Wittenberg shot 25.9% from 3-point range in its first three games but held opponents to 21.4% shooting. The Tigers shot 34.1% last season.
“Early in the season, our defense has been pretty good,“ Hertz said. ”We need to continue to get better. That was kind of what we hung our hat on last season. But I think we have a chance to be a much better offensive team this year than last year. We haven’t shot it great to this point, but I think we’re actually a very good shooting team. That’s just going to take some time in terms of playing together, the amount of reps you get, the lineups, taking good shots, getting your teammate a better shot. We started to make some strides in our third game with that. We were a lot better offensively."
Outside the stats, Hertz sees another advantage.
”I think the biggest strength is the team itself," he said. “It’s a connected group that really likes each other. They let you know. If you ask them, they say, ‘I love my teammates.’ To me, that’s the culture you want to build with the guys you bring into your program and keep in your program. You want guys to have a great experience because of the people they’re surrounded by.”
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