By Adam Knoll
Sports Correspondent
The 2014-15 season for the Whippet boys basketball team was tough with a record of 5-18 and a 71-58 loss to Lakeside Lutheran in the first round of WIAA regional action but the record only tells part of the story.
Whitewater was competitive consistently this season, averaging nearly 52 points per game and falling in five games by 7 points or less, proving that their record could have easily been flipped with a majority of wins versus losses.
Two of the team’s players were named to the Rock Valley North All-Conference honorable mention team: Josh Nast and Brodie Runez.
Runez averaged 10.3 points per game and hit 17 from beyond the arc during the season. Nast had a very comparable year, averaging 8.4 points per game, though the majority of his points came from near the lane as his 3-point baskets totaled 10 this season.
Where the Whippets struggled were in the middle quarters of the games as opposing teams found a way to attack and knock Whitewater off-balance temporarily. Over the season, they were outscored an average of 3 points in each of the second and third quarters, not much, but enough to turn the tides.
The average final score of their games was 57-51, close enough to be within reach each and every outing.
Runez is only a sophomore so it’s not a stretch to think he’ll only get better than his average of 10-plus points per game. That, coupled with a concerted effort by the team to stay strong all four quarters as they did in the front and back end this season, is a positive sign for next year.
