John Raffel
Sport Scene
Being a smiling, soft-spoken senior on the Clare basketball team, James Wezensky may be looked upon as a gentle giant, despite being 6’8″. But in his third varsity season, Wezensky has all the potential to be a terror against the teams that draw the assignment of playing the talented Pioneers.
Coach Rob Wise is expecting plenty from Wezensky.
“He’s improved, he went to quite a few camps during the summer,” Wise said. “He’s getting better. His touch around the basket is getting better. Defensively, he’s getting better. He’s in the MHSAA record books for blocked shots in a season. I expect the same type of things from him this year. He’ll control the middle of the paint. It will help our guards be more aggressive. That’s what he brings to our game. He’s so fast offensively, he can get up the floor with anybody.”
Asked if blocking shots is the part of the game he considers the most fun, Wezensky smiled and replied: “I think winning is the most fun.”
He’s a pretty decent passer.
During the off-season, Wezensky played AAU extensively and did other activities to improve his game. He earned all-conference honors the past two years.
“I was happy we made it to the regional semifinals,” Wezensky said. “During the regular season, I thought we could have played better.”
Wezensky said that he’s a better-disciplined player this season and is hoping to not have any problems with fouling out.
This season, the Pioneers want to be Jack Pine Conference contenders.
“I expect us to win it,” Wezensky said. “We did a couple of summer camps together. We played a lot of basketball.”
He’s played basketball since fifth grade and said he’s usually been bigger than the average player at his various ages. Most of his points will be coming from inside.
One might suspect that Wezensky draws plenty of attention from opposing defenses. But he’s not worried about that possibility this season because of Clare’s other strong post players.
Clare was a few games above .500 during the regular season last year and then exploded to a strong postseason, winning a district title and nearly pulling off an upset in the regional semifinals over a strong Western Michigan Christian team.
This could be a banner season for Wezensky and his team.
“We need to play as a team,” he said. “We definitely have the talent to be a very good team.”
In the Jack Pine Conference, Wezensky expects Meridian and Beaverton to give the Pioneers some stiff competition. In nonleague games, Beal City and McBain will be tough opponents.
Wezensky is coming off a strong football season with a Pioneer squad that was 9-2 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. The team was 7-0 in the Jack Pine. Wezensky was a key player as a tight end and a defensive end.
“It was an all right season,” Wezensky said. “I was recruited for football a little bit.”
Grand Valley State University and some other schools talked to him about football, but he is probably looking at a college basketball future. His pick of a college team “is still pretty wide open,” according to Wezensky, who added that Division II teams and MAC squads are expressing interest in his services.
In basketball, Wezensky has led the Pioneers to a 9-1 start. He had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a 70-27 win over Harrison on Jan. 20.