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Gauthier leads Hannahville boys’ cagers into new season

HANNAHVILLE — A new basketball coach will be calling the shots at Hannahville this season as its boys’ team opens by hosting Mackinac Island in a pair of games this weekend.

Escanaba High School graduate Mark Gauthier takes over the reins from Josh Eagle, who guided the Soaring Eagles through a 13-9 campaign a year ago and is now the head varsity girls coach at Bark River-Harris.

“We have a young team and we’re small,” said Gauthier, who played hockey for four years at Finlandia University in Hancock. “We have 14 guys and eight are first-year players. We’ve had to be real patient with them.”

Gone through graduation are point guard Cody Meshigaud, Trace Sagataw, Riley Saldana and Paul Nelson.

The Soaring Eagles are led by 5-foot-10 seniors Ira Meshigaud at forward and guard David Welling.

“I’m impressed with Ira’s leadership,” said Gauthier. “He’s fast and David is a good rebounder and shooter. We can also play David down low. Between the two of them, we’re getting some nice leadership.”

Also assuming starting roles are eighth-graders Joe Larson (6-0 point guard) and Mason Thunder (5-10 guard-forward).

“Joe is a good athlete who has been impressive in practice,” said Gauthier. “I’m happy with what I’ve seen from him. Mason is also a real good athlete who plays good defense and rebounds well.”

One can expect the Soaring Eagles to play an uptempo style as in the past.

“We’ve been trying to do a lot of three-man weaving and one-on-one drills to utilize our speed,” said Gauthier. “We want to play uptempo, although we’ll sometimes set up in a half-court offense when needed.”

Although Gauthier is new to the Northern Lights League, he’s aware most of its teams play a zone defense. The Soaring Eagles, however, plan to use man-to-man as their base defense.

“You always need to have good ball movement against a zone and shot a high percentage to win games,” he said. “We’ll try to get guys out of position and see if we can score some easy baskets. We’ll try to use our athleticism and beat teams that way.”

What can the Soaring Eagles expect in this weekend’s games?

“I know they (Mackinac Island) have a 6-3 guy,” said Gauthier. “They’ll hit us with a zone and we’ll try to double-team him. The kids are looking forward to it.”

With a team comprised of nearly all underclassmen, Gauthier says much of the emphasis has been on fundamentals.

“We have young guys and a few others with experience,” he added. “The age difference is huge. It will take time for the younger guys to develop. We’re going to be prepared. As long as the guys give 100 percent, I’m happy.”

The schedule:

Dec. 9-10 — Mackinac Island

Dec. 16-17 — at Beaver Island

Jan. 3 — Munising Baptist

Jan. 6-7 — at Ojibwe Charter

Jan. 10 — at Grand Marais

Jan. 12 — Republic-Michigamme

Jan. 20-21 — at Paradise

Jan. 23 — Big Bay de Noc

Jan. 27-28 — Maplewood Baptist

Feb. 2 — at Republic-Michigamme

Feb. 10-11 — at Mackinac Island

Feb. 14 — at Munising Baptist

Feb. 17-18 — NLL tournament at Hannahville

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