Hobart Silencing their doubters

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:32AM

Disappointment was rampant. There was lots of sadness. Plenty of apprehension, too.

Perhaps more than anything, a lot of questions had to be answered when Hobart star guard Amanda Corral suffered a torn ACL against Griffith, Nov. 19.

What would Hobart coach Mike Hamacher do without his top player?

Who would replace the talented Northern Illinois University recruit and the team's leading scorer?

How would the Brickies ever manage to still win at least a share of the Northwest Crossroads Conference title for a third straight year?

What kind of season would Hobart actually have?

"I really couldn't imagine what was going to happen to be honest with you, because I had no clue,'' Hamacher said. "It's surprised me how well everything has kind of turned out. I knew some things had to continue to be done in order for us to win. I knew every player had to do a little bit more, and to their credit, they have."

Remarkably, since Corral's injury, the Brickies (17-1) have won 12 consecutive games and 14 overall.

Although shaken by Corral's loss, the rest of the Brickies - who've played together since the third grade - never doubted themselves.

Even when a majority of individuals - some even Hobart fans - wondered how the Brickies would manage to have a winning season, Corral's teammates believed in themselves.

"I specifically remember the Monday after the Griffith game at school," Hobart's Taylor James said. "Somebody came up to me and said: ‘Well, I guess winning that third NCC title in a row won't be so easy now, huh?' I said: ‘We played all summer without her. We're still a good team.'"

While Corral spent most of her summer playing AAU, the rest of the Brickies were playing summer league ball and further solidifying their team chemistry.

As much as Hamacher would love to have Corral, they've somehow managed to pick up the slack and fill the void.

After Corral's injury, Hamacher met with the players to talk.

"I told them all the things they each needed to do," Hamacher said. "They were all little things that weren't out of the realm of possibility. Nobody had to do a whole lot - or do something they weren't capable of doing. But again, if only a couple of kids stepped up, we wouldn't have won all those games.

"It's been pretty neat. It's pretty unique. It's been fun to coach."

Some of the things Hamacher said - aside from continuing to play the Brickies' vaunted in-your-face defense - were to rebound more, stay out of foul trouble and to look to score.

"We'd much rather have Amanda out there, no question, but I didn't think we'd be 17-1 with Amanda," Hamacher said. "These kids amaze me all the time. I don't know why I'd ever doubt them. They've surprised me and they've surprised themselves a little bit. It's been a life lesson. It just shows what you can accomplish if you put in the time, continue to work hard and play together.

"They're a team. They're unselfish. Playing tough defense, it's their identity. They'll make the extra pass. It doesn't matter who scores, it's all about winning."

Despite losing Corral, Hobart beat every Duneland Athletic Conference team on its schedule and swept the NCC opponents to win a third straight league title.

This team is as stingy on defense as the Grinch is on Christmas cheer.

Even without Corral, the miserly Bricks allow 32.3 points per game - nearly 6.5 points less per game than last year. The team's scoring average of 51.9 is barely off last year's 52.2 average.

"The one thing we're consistent with is our defense," senior Amanda Coons said. "As long as we bring our defense every night, we're good. We get stops to start our fast break, and when we get stops, we're off to the races. I think we're feeling pretty confident right now. Even though we don't have Amanda, we still have the same goals."

Senior Sarah Blandford, said defense is the key.

"We play man defense every night, and that man defense helps to create our offense,'' she said. "Basketball is a game of runs. To start them, you have to get those defensive stops. We're really aggressive in the passing lanes. Kim (Tokarski) is really good at putting on a lot of pressure and getting her hands on a lot of balls."

The Brickies love the challenge of proving anybody wrong who doubted them.

"We could have put our heads between our legs and felt sorry for ourselves when Amanda was injured, but we didn't do that," Blandford said. "We went out to prove everyone wrong and to show that we can still win. Even though she's amazing, we wanted to show people our team wasn't built around one player. It was built around a team aspect and having five good players on the floor."

The loss of Corral only strengthened their resolve.

"There was never a point where, even right after it happened, that we thought we couldn't still win," she said. "Everyone responded the right way. We all knew we needed to put in a little bit more time and effort. I think it was a good test of our commitment and our character."

Amanda's sister, Alycia, didn't think the team would be 17-1 at this point.

"No, at first, but I do now," she said. "Coach Hamacher told us not to listen to anybody on the outside saying we can't do it. I think it really made us work even harder and put more fire in us, because if someone tells us we can't do something, we're going to do it like 10 times better. We're all really competitive and determined. Whether it's a push-up or a down-and-back, we just get after one another.''

The team's motto is proving people wrong.

"That's the mindset this year," Hamacher said. "They tend to enjoy doing that. No matter what happens the rest of the year, these kids can walk away with their heads held high. The rest to me, is all just icing on the cake. I don't feel any pressure and the kids don't feel any pressure. It's all about going out and playing now, having fun and enjoying the moment. They feel good about what they've done."

James likely revealed the team's true feelings.

"Our goal was to have a winning season, and we've done that," she said. "But I don't really think - seeing that we're seniors - we can call this a successful season unless we win the sectional. That's definitely the goal right now."

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