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by Ryan James
bassgemrj@hotmail.com
 Rochester Mayo star has his division one scholarship and with this trophy room full of the individual words he’s focused on bringing big success back to the Spartan program.
The Big Nine has really produced some talented teams and some great players in recent years but outside of Mankato there have been some struggles come playoff time.
There has been a reputation that the Big Nine teams facing the southern metro teams within section will fall and lately that has seemed to be more fact then rumor. But this year Rochester Mayo is trying to change that and they enter the year ranked as the conference favorite and the favorite to get to state from AAAA section one.
Mayo coach Shaun Lang wants to get his team prepared for the playoffs and they have a tough December schedule to prepare his group. They open with long time rival Rochester JM and then travel to Marshall for the Breakdown Tip-Off Classic where they will face defending state champion Ellsworth. Match-ups with another conference favorite in Mankato West and then ranked Tartan loom the following week with the Rotary Classic finishing off their month.
The Spartans are well equipped to handle this tough road as they have two talented seniors in Lucas Kuipers and Jordan Hicks who will be three time all-conference players come March. Kuipers is a 6-foot-7 power forward with a dynamite shooting touch from mid-range, the depth to hit three-pointers, he’s an aggressive rebounder and has a nice skill set for a player his size.
Kuipers is also the leader and he feels practice is off to a real nice start. “This year is going really well. The team is working very hard, and we are attempting to prepare for each game to the best of our ability. As far as the team goes we have some size, have some shooters, and now have younger talent in the point guard position, something that was lacking in the past years. We are holding ourselves to high standards of play, and hopefully this will be carried over to the game time situations.”
A year from now Kuipers will have moved down to Texas where he will begin his career away from Minnesota. Lucas is taking advantage of his basketball ability to focus on a college degree that few others can get and he’s relishing that opportunity.
“I have always felt that academics are the first priority,” Kuipers explained. “Chances are that I will not be playing ball after college. I need to think of my future, and how will certain college degrees help me more than others. Rice is commonly thought of as the Ivy League school of the south. It is ranked 17th best in the nation for academics.”
In love with the academics Kuipers was also sold on his future Owl teammates and their program. “I also really enjoyed the team,” Kuipers explained. “They are honestly a great bunch of guys. The coaches are also very good, and I feel that with them guiding me I can do some very good things. I don't want the impression that I don't care about basketball. I love the game, and will continue to work my hardest to become the best that I can possible be. During the summer I would work about five hours a day at a minimum.”
With this work ethic and drive to succeed Kuipers had several school after him and the list to choose from was long. “I was considering Northwestern, Lehigh, Lafayette, William and Mary, Albany, Princeton, Wright State, Illinois State, U of W Green Bay, Harvard, Penn, American and Air force. This is just what comes to mind as of right now. These were a few of the schools calling me constantly.”
Before Kuipers walks onto the Rice campus in Houston, Texas he has some serious business to take care of, as Kuipers wants to leave behind a solid impact along with his teammates.
“As a team I would say we have the talent and ability to go very far, but small things can compromise that. We have the potential to go deep into the state tournament. Underestimating opponents and uplifting their own team however is the downfall of many teams.
“Personal goals I would say would revolve around the team. I will be happy as long as we are winning games. If I can draw the defense, and give the ball to some other player, that's what I'll do. I don't think is possible to judge a player on his stats. I would say the ability to make his team better and therefore win is the ultimate goal.
“I obviously would like to score and rebound and block shots, I will do whatever is in my power to do what is best for the team. I would be honored to be all state, but I realize that I have proved nothing yet, and therefore expect to be given nothing, until I lead my team to victory.” |
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