Notre Dame boys basketball team overcomes key injuries in journey to final four

Amid his team's celebration following the district championship win over Sikeston, Notre Dame boys basketball coach Paul Unterreiner noticed a couple of his seniors relishing the moment.

Derek Hulshof and Grant Ressel were both starters for the Bulldogs before being sidelined by knee injuries, but that didn't stop them from taking part in what the team had just accomplished.

"I looked at Derek and Grant, and they were just crying," Unterreiner said. "I told Grant at halftime, 'Grant, it's going to feel just as good to lift that district championship plaque sitting on that bench.' He looked at me and said, 'You're dang right.' I went over to him and asked him how that felt, and he said, 'Pretty dang good.' ... I don't know how they've handled it like they have and how they're not as bitter. I would be very bitter if I were them, but their attitudes and how they go about life is, 'It is what it is. God has a plan.'"

The injuries have been part of a series of hurdles this season for Notre Dame, which has shown a great deal of poise in clearing each one.

The Bulldogs have had no time to dwell on the setbacks and have collectively handled each one by looking down the bench and saying, "Next man up," three words which have propelled them into today's Class 4 final four.

"We've come so far since the season started, and we don't care who scores the ball. We just want to win," said Trent Schumer, one of 10 seniors on this year's squad. "We just want to play for each other."

The Bulldogs were battle-tested early in the season.

After a 30-point road loss to Sikeston on Dec. 19, Notre Dame returned to the court three days later for its home opener against Scott County Central.

The Bulldogs came away with a 69-59 win but not before losing one of their key players in Hulshof, a 6-foot-2 forward who sustained a knee injury in the first half and was later diagnosed with a torn ACL.

Unterreiner said the biggest challenge was losing Hulshof's defensive presence.

"He was everywhere," Unterreiner said about Hulshof. "He was a rebounder, and he was our second-leading scorer. That's a player that's hard to replace. I mean, you can't replace him. ... But it gives you an opportunity for someone else to step up. I thought our guys did an unbelievable job of turning the page. They were there for him with his injury. They weren't trying to say he wasn't important, but they said, 'We've got to try to find another way to make it work.'"

Months removed from surgery, Hulshof continues to undergo physical therapy several times a week and has begun to jog in hopes of returning to play late in the baseball season.

He recalls how his teammates rallied around him on the night of his injury.

"In the locker room that night after the game when coach told them all, they all cried with me. They all gave me a hug and told me they'd do anything if I needed it," Hulshof said. "It's been that way ever since."

Unterreiner said no player has assumed Hulshof's role better than senior Tanner Shively.

"It was just incredible how well he's played since that injury and the confidence he's played with," Unterreiner said about Shively, a 6-3 forward. "Everybody else just kind of picked it up, and it's been a blessing this year with the depth that we've had."

The timeliness of Ressel's injury was perhaps the toughest for Notre Dame to overcome.

The 5-11 senior went down in the first half of the district championship, and without its floor leader Notre Dame was faced with the challenge of protecting its lead against a Sikeston pressure defense that forced more than 20 turnovers in the game.

"As soon as it happened, they knew what it looked like. It was his knee," said Unterreiner, whose team was able to stymie a late rally and come away with a 63-56 victory. "We've seen enough ACL tears this year that we kind of know what they look like."

Ressel said he was stunned by the injury, which was later diagnosed as a torn ACL.

"I was in a lot of shock, but with how far we've gotten, I just knew somebody else was ready to step up," Ressel said. "It was just one of those things you've just got to move on from. We've had a lot of trust in each other."

The list -- the "next men up" -- is by no means short. It begins with senior guard Brendan Boswell, who scored his first 12 points of the season on four 3-pointers in the Bulldogs' win over SCC.

"He knows his role all year long," Unterreiner said about Boswell. "He wasn't playing that much at the beginning of the season. As a coach, you're always trying to feel those guys out and make sure they're still buying in because you never know when you're going to need them. I remember one time he didn't play that much earlier this year, and he talked to me after the game and goes, 'Coach, I know my role. You don't need to talk to me about this anymore.' That was that. That guy has been more ready every time he's come in. He has answered the bell, and he has been unbelievable. ... He takes care of that ball, doesn't try to do too much, keeps guys in front and makes 40 to 46 percent of the 3-pointers he takes. He's just a nice weapon for us."

Senior Ross Essner has been another key contributor at the guard position.

Unterreiner said he wasn't sure how Essner would fit into the rotation at the beginning of the season, but he's not afraid to go to him now.

"I knew what he could offer. I didn't know if that's what we needed or not yet," Unterreiner said about Essner. "As the year has gone on, I've kind of started dipping into him and said, 'Let's go up and down, up and down, up and down.' We started throwing him in there, and things started clicking a little bit."

No player has been utilized more than Schumer, a 6-4 player who's listed as a guard but has been used at every position but center.

Schumer was a starter at the beginning of the season but was later used as a reserve, according to Unterreiner.

With Ressel out, Unterreiner said Schumer's role as a guard is needed more than ever.

"At the beginning of the year, he wanted to know what his position was. I said, 'It's not a bad thing for me to tell you that you don't have a position,'" Unterreiner said. "... We need him. We need everybody on this team, and we need him to kind of fill whatever position we need at that time."

Dean Crippen, a 6-5 post player who often relieves Shively, is another key player on the Bulldogs' bench.

"There are a lot of teams in the state of Missouri that would take Dean Crippen coming off the bench," Unterreiner said. "... He's almost growling and barking, ready to go in. He's my caged animal. I tell everybody that. I'll say, 'Dean,' and he'll say, 'Yep!' He'll kind of bark, and I'll say, 'Let's go!' And he runs off to the scorer's table. To bring that kind of energy and Ross Essner's energy off the bench, it's really a good boost for us."

And then there's Unterreiner's third option in 6-2 senior Nick Bradshaw.

"He doesn't play a ton, but when Dean and Shively get in foul trouble, I can't think of a better guy to come in and relieve somebody with his physicality," Unterreiner said about Bradshaw. "... He's just a big, strong body and just does a great job."

The team is powered by standout Quinn Poythress, a 6-7 senior forward who's leading the team in scoring this season with more than 20 points per game, but 6-3 senior Thomas Himmelberg and 6-4 senior Bobby Jansen are just another example of a pair of able-bodied seniors who make Notre Dame one of the deepest teams in the state.

Despite their injuries, Hulshof and Ressel have continued to help guide their team from the bench.

They'll be courtside at 3:30 p.m. today, when the Bulldogs take on Hillcrest in a state semifinal at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.

"I've got two of the best assistant coaches on the bench I've ever seen in my life in Derek and Grant," Unterreiner said. "It's just constant, the way they stay engaged in the game and the way they talk to our guys on the bench when they come out. Jeremy Brinkmeyer and Cody Bova, my assistants, do a great job of that, but I'll tell you what, they defer to them a lot now because [Hulshof and Ressel] can talk to those guys and know what they need to do. ... They've just got a whole new respect for the game of basketball and what it means to play."

Words like "unity" and "family" are just a few that Unterreiner has his players repeating, and with only two games remaining in the season, the first-year coach isn't willing to stop using those words now.

"Sports are a microcosm of society and life. ... The lessons you learn in basketball, in practice with any sport, are something you carry over for your whole life," Unterreiner said. "With a family, with friends, in a work environment, you're going to have bumps you'll encounter. It's just how you respond to them, how you're going to work through them, how you're going to become a closer family."