By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo courtesy of Miles Postema
Injuries have taken a little bit of a toll thus far on the boys’ basketball team at Rockford. Expected junior starters Michael DeKuiper and Lucas Pitsch took a while to get up to game speed with injuries suffered in the Regional final loss for the Ram football team. DeKuiper had a high ankle sprain and Pitsch suffered a hairline fracture in his hip but both have gradually regained a fair share of their prowess over time. Though Pitsch is still on a bit of a pitch count, he had a nice game on the road against Caledonia on Friday, January 5th with 10 points and five rebounds.
Sophomore 6’6″ wing man Jake Bascom had the big game for the Rams with 23 points and 8 rebounds while seniors Drake Irwin and Andrew Landis both chipped in with 13 points against a game Fighting Scot squad. Irwin also had six rebounds to help Bascom on the boards. Bascom is another Ram who has had to regain his footing after being forced to miss last season with a stress fracture. But he has been a key cog for the Rams as he also poured in over 20 points earlier this season against a top-five team from Muskegon.
“We had a very ambitious schedule to start the 23-24 season with what we had coming back, but the injuries kind of held us back a bit.” said Rockford Coach Kyle Clough. “It was a great road win to begin OK Red play against a much-improved Caledonia team. This is their best team since I have been at Rockford and we were pleased to come out on top. Jake (Bascom) imposed his will around the rim and Andrew (Landis) and Drake (Irwin) continued their solid play. Lucas (Pitsch) also really made an impact despite only being able to play limited minutes as he recovers from his football injury.”
Landis is now a three-year starter and has relayed his culture fit for Rockford to the rest of a very young team. Irwin was a crucial bench player last year for the basketball team and has expanded that into also being a great role model for the rest of the team, much like he did as he assumed the reins as the quarterback for the Ram football team. And DeKuiper has also finally been able to regain the lion’s share of his athleticism and play at the speed Ram fans are accustomed to seeing.
That ambitious preseason schedule for Rockford included game with state powers South Christian, Muskegon and Byron Center. Those are also the three losses the Rams have suffered thus far though by only 7, 1 and 5 points respectively.
“It has been a good start for us although we anticipated being at full strength and healthy from the beginning,” said Clough. “But to their credit these kids have gone toe to toe with a pretty grueling schedule from day one. But the injuries have also had the benefit of getting experience for several other youngsters. Sophomore Dylan Gross is another young man who saw increased playing time and has made his presence felt as well. We believe that we have a lot of positive trends being established and look forward to taking on a very tough OK Red schedule as the season progresses.”
The Rams are home for a pair of conference games this week. Grand Haven will be the visitors on Tuesday and then Grandville comes in on Friday. Rockford will look to stretch their winning streak to five with the pair of home games on the slate.
