BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
WALLED LAKE — Simply put, everything fell into place for Walled Lake Central last winter on the basketball court.
The Vikings posted a fine 20-6 record and eventually reached the Class A state quarterfinals before falling to eventual state runner-up Saginaw Arthur Hill (78-59). Walled Lake Central has claimed three straight KLAA North Division titles and is favored to repeat again this season.
Although perhaps not as deep, Walled Lake Central does have several key components back in uniform and are definitely a program that could enjoy tremendous success again this season.
“We only lost few games, and I think one of them we didn’t play our best. Arthur Hill had something to do with that,” admitted Walled Lake Central coach Chuck Spolsky. “Are other big loss was to Walled Lake Western (73-66 in KLAA tournament) and all of their starters were seniors. So we didn’t have a bad loss at all. We were never really blown out of the water in our (six) losses.”
Ranked in the state-wide preseason Top 25 by the StateChampsNetwork, Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, expectations are quite high again in 2015-16 for the Vikings, who are coming off their first regional title since 1993, a year they finished 24-1.
It all starts with 5-foot-10 senior guard Walter Kelser, who averaged 18 points and five rebounds last season en route to All-State Honorable Mention accolades. Kelser is on the radar of numerous college scouts and is a dynamite scorer for the Vikings.
Anton Lucaj, a 6-4 senior guard/forward, is an aggressive player who can score in multiple ways. He will combine with 6-5 senior Malik Abiola, 6-4 sophomore newcomer guard/forward Houston Tucker and 6-5 junior forward/center Nako Ziegler to form a tough frontcourt.
The absence of Ade Ogundeji, a bruising 6-4 senior center and Division I football recruit, could be felt. Ogundeji missed most of the football season with injuries and has opted not to return to the hardcourt at this time.
“We need to quickly develop some of our younger players to improve our team depth,” said Spolsky. “That’s where we graduated some key role players, too. We lost Nate Collins (to graduation) and he was a key player for us. Someone will have to step in and fill that spot. We need to develop a deeper bench, too. And not having Ade inside could hurt. He was key for us down the stretch last year.”
Junior Dylan Hudspeth, a 5-10 point guard, is a likely candidate for the backcourt, and the heady Hudspeth should complement Kelser quite well. Transfer Runako Ziegler, a 6-1 junior guard who comes over from West Bloomfield, will also be in the backcourt mix.
The Vikings opened the season behind two wins, including a victory over another Top 25 program in Detroit Cass Tech (58-56). The other win was over Farmington (72-60).
“We do have some pieces to the puzzle,” said Spolsky. “We have a lot of quality players on this team. If we stay healthy, develop some depth and come together as a team like we did last year, then there’s no telling how good we could be.”