I got the chance to speak to Coach Langerock about his squad’s upcoming games, their talent, and the growth in the Harrisburg community.
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Kicking it off, you guys had a good season last year. How does it feel to go back to the state tournament?
You try not to take it for granted. When I first started 16 years ago, we hadn’t been there in over 20 years. So that was probably 2016, the first time we got back in AA. And this year, you have high expectations. You don’t just want to get there this year, you want to win some games.
But you don’t take it for granted. It’s a special moment for the guys and their families and our community. So it’s a lot of fun.
And I think our guys realize, because they all played last year, you know all of our starters played at the state tournament. So it’s a different feel this year with the guys and they’re pretty good so it’s been extremely fun.
End of December, you guys played Cordova [Tennessee] then you were the only team to take down Mitchell this year. Obviously two good teams, you played them well in a tough environment. How do you think that helped you guys this year?
They expected to win that Cordova game. Our guys took that one pretty hard, because they thought they could have won that game. So right then I just knew this team was very competitive and they expect to win every time they step on the floor.
Winning at Mitchell, getting off to a great start…and down seven with three minutes left, just kind of found a way. This group has just been really resilient about just not quitting and just winning one possession at a time. And the next thing you know, you score twice and you get a few stops in a row and you are all of a sudden you are right back in that game.
Those are two great games and you learn a lot from playing at a high level when your opponents are playing at a high level too.
Obviously you guys have put up 70+ points in the last month four times. The offense has been good, you can say you have been playing your best ball right now. What’s been clicking for you guys?
I think we’re sharing the ball, we’re moving the ball. We are not settling for bad shots. These guys are pretty skilled, the skill sets are great. But I do think we are more efficient, we’re playing through the paint a little more. Either getting it to [Cam] Phipps or [Aiden] Costain or just attacking to the rim. It might be off the drive with Jacoby [Mehrman] or [Braeden] VanBockern or even [Braeden] Feldy attacking the rim. Feldy is very, very underrated about applying pressure and then he doesn’t shoot a lot, but he applies pressure so the defense has to rotate and then it helps Jacoby Mehrman and Braeden VanBockern make plays on the perimeter.
Braeden [VanBockern] and Jacoby [Mehrman] have been your two leading scorers this year. What can you say about those two?
They are just incredible playmakers. I don’t know if there, in any class, a better guard combo than those two. They can just flat out score at the rim, they have great pull up games and obviously they can shoot the three.
Jacoby is very strong when he goes to the rim and BV is so deceptive with his first step. He covers so much ground and there is no extra movement. So those two are just incredible players and we are really lucky to have them.
You know your forwards maybe don’t score as much but they definitely contribute pretty well. Talk to me about that group and what’s been working well with them?
Yeah, I’ll start with Maddox. Maddox Plack is probably the most underrated four-man in the state. He does so many things defensively, holy moly. Every time I watch a film, he’s covering other people’s breakdowns and he’s very good at help recover. He’s a very good perimeter defender for being 6’4. He’s a great rebounder, he anticipates very well.
Offensively, he keeps the offense moving. What I mean by that is that if we have too much dribbling with no purpose, he’s going to go cut, he’s going to screen. He’s going to get things moving. Instead of trying to create his own shots, he’s moving to create for others.
And Cam. Cam has got great feet and great hands around the post. He’s tempo is great. He just takes his time to see where the defense is. So we are excited about those guys for sure.
How does this team differ from past teams?
I just think every single one of the guys can impact the game and take over the game. We’ve had that throughout the year.
For your schedule, you have to play in the ESD and Metro. So what’s that kind of been like, playing teams where there is something to play for every night?
When we first moved to AA, obviously the ESD was gracious enough to let us in. And that was a huge thing for us. We are very thankful for the ESD for giving us our first shot in AA. And it’s such a great conference, there is so much pride in that conference. Winning ESD championships is important to everyone and when you win ESD that is something to be very, very proud of.
And then obviously the Metro is something we’ve only been in three years but we’re close enough to Sioux Falls where it is a lot of fun. It’s super competitive. Our kids play with one another and against one another all year long in a lot of different things. So the competition is incredible every night.
Now coming into that first round matchup, you got Watertown. They played them less than a month ago and maybe one of the most underrated teams especially defensively. What can you say about this upcoming matchup?
I think you hit it right on the head there, they are extremely underrated. Coach Mack [Pat McClemans] does such a great job with those guys. Every time I watch film, I don’t know if they spend 45 minutes a day, just on reading screen and slipping. If it’s a pin screen, or it’s a flair screen or a slip, they have a good pace to them. They have a good feel for it, they change speeds and they can all shoot it.
One thing I think about a bit with Harrisburg, you guys have had a lot of growth over the last 20 years. Going from a smaller school to a bigger ESD school, Metro Conference. But yet, you guys have always been a tight community. Can you talk to me about that and the culture of the school?
I think it’s important to our administration, it’s important to our school board. Our school board has set that mentality with our growth. They aren’t afraid to build elementaries to keep them smaller, because they like the community, the unity, the small town feel. They want to keep that and that’s kind of been our approach.
Coming into this tournament, what do you most look forward to as a coach?
I think just the camaraderie of our guys. When it comes to the state tournament, you just spend all day together. You are spending time together and watching other games and talking to other players. You just get to see the personal side of the kids more. So just getting to be around the kids and it’s just a three day finality of all the work for the seniors. It’s kind of a celebration, you know? Just leaving it out there for one another.
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