Feast Week Pt. 2: 5 Takeaways from Berlin and Waupaca on Opening Night

This basketball season is very different this year in our household. For those that do not know, I have been a high school basketball coach for the last fourteen years here in the state of Wisconsin. Leaving coaching was an extremely difficult decision to make, but being able to write about the game and officiate lower level games has been an incredible opportunity to see the game from a different lens. I had the privilege to attend a fantastic high school basketball game on opening night between two physical and well coached high school basketball teams on opening night. Here are five takeaways from Tuesday night’s contest between the Waupaca Comets and the Berlin Indians. 

#1 “Old School” Offenses can still be used in 2025.

As the times change, so do offenses in Wisconsin High School Basketball. No one told that to Matt Resch and Jeremy Mercer. Coach Mercer and Coach Resch are well established at their schools and are comfortable employing more traditional offenses for their programs. Last night we saw two well run offenses get great looks without playing a dribble drive or euro ball screen system. Berlin ran an effective swing offense that allowed them to dominate in the paint with their size and strength, while getting wide open and uncontested kick out threes. Berlin only attempted two mid range jumpshots the entire night that were off the dribble or outside of the paint inside the three. The results? Great looks and high productivity. If you were one of the many coaches in the 2000s that used Bo Ryan’s swing offense, you would love watching Berlin hoop. Coach Resch and the Comets run a traditional offense too using a 32 motion that you saw  the successful Weyawuega-Fremont teams in the 2000s run for so many years. Coach Resch is a WF grad and much like Berlin, the Comets got efficient, and high percentage shots all night. 

#2 The Senior Class for Berlin will propel them to be a contender in a new conference. 

Berlin starts all seniors from a team that made a deep run to the sectional semifinals last season before falling to Elk Mound. Cayson Starks (6-6), Carter Hess (6-0), Hayden Redington (6-6), Blake Metoxen (6- 0), and James Paskey (6-5) are all guys capable of giving the balanced Berlin squad 15 or more points in a given night. The East Central Conference was dissolved this offseason leading the Indians to be moved to the South Central Conference. Mauston has a lot coming back as well, but Berlin is my favorite to win the conference, which would be their first since 2004. 

#3 Waupaca will be a tough out in the NEC.

Waupaca battled all night behind the senior leadership and scoring of Austin Adamczak (6-2 Sr.) who finished the night with 23 for the Comets. Waupaca graduated prolific scorer Aaron Wolff last season, but Coach Matt Resch does have pieces to be able to battle with the best of them in the North Eastern Conference. The Comets also had contributions for athletic wing player Westen Lauritzen (6-4 Jr.) and valuable minutes from Freshman Kade Christensen (6-0). Another piece for Waupaca that did not play last night was one of their guards, Kanye Bessman (5-10 Sr) who missed last night’s contest due to family obligations. The Comets will get better as the year goes on, and don’t be surprised if they give one of the big dogs a run for their money this winter in their conference. 

#4 Multi-Sport Athletes thrive in night #1 

This game featured a lot of multi-sport athletes that quite frankly, are not strangers to winning in other sports and the weight room For all the young hoopers, lifting weights and playing three sports does not mean you have to be “bad” at basketball. The two multisport athletes that stood out tonight were Hayden Redington for Berlin and Austin Adamczak for Waupaca. Hayden Redington is one of the best tight ends in the state and is off to University of Augustana in the Fall of 2026. Adamczak was the quarterback this fall and was second team all conference in the Bay. Both of these guys have the potential to be first-team all conference players in the 2025-2026 basketball season.  Berlin and Waupaca have a ton of multi-sport athletes up and down their rosters proving that in the year 2025, you do not have to specialize in sports to be a productive and successful basketball player. 

#5 Adjustments prove to be enough for Berlin on opening night. 

Berlin actually trailed Waupaca at half by two. The Berlin squad then switched to a 2-3 zone around the 12 minute mark that proved to flip the script of the game. “We have worked on it and the (2-3 zone) plays to our strength. Our coaches and myself thought our pressure and our rotations were stagnant so we decided to go to the zone out of timeout.” Mercer said. After switching to the 2-3 zone Berlin went on a 15-2 run over the course of the next four minutes. Waupaca was not able to cut it to single digits the rest of the game leading to a Berlin victory. The Berlin boys were able to respond at half time due to their experience and senior leadership. “Having that hunger and experience from our senior group, allows us not to be rattled in those situations.” Mercer stated. He continued by saying, “those things are tough things to teach high school players.”  

This was an awesome first game to attend and cover. I will be at Xavier and Kettle Moraine Lutheran tonight at legendary Torchy Gym in Appleton. Look for our first podcast coming early next week breaking down this game and Coach Josh Linder’s journey in head coaching. 

As always, thanks for reading.

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