Show runner

Life is good for Andy Schmitz.

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The freshman point guard for the Central Lakes College Raiders men's basketball team has the enviable job of running one of the state's best offenses.

Choosing who gets the ball and when is usually Schmitz's biggest concern. And how the season has gone for CLC (19-4 overall, 11-0 North Division), whoever Schmitz decides to pass the ball to, an assist usually follows.

"It's just a lot of fun (at CLC) because there's so many guys that can score with the ball," said Schmitz. "I think everybody moves the ball well and when it's moving around we're getting easy shots. It's an up-tempo team and it's just a lot of fun."

The Raiders are averaging 84.6 points under Schmitz's guidance while shooting 48 percent as a team from the field, second in the North.

CLC will need its high-powered offense when the Vermilion Ironmen (18-5, 8-3 North Division) come to town Saturday for a 3 p.m. showdown.

Scoring

Leonard Langdon 12.5

Travis Krenske 11.4

Mike Pater 10.3

Deejay Mayfield 9.8

Andy Schmitz 8.4

Ronald Jackson 7.4

Adam Carson 6.8

Louis Roseman 6.3

Chris Metcalf 5.2

Jesse Dunn 5.0

Mike Peeters 4.4

Eli McVey 1.2

Top 3

Rebounds

Mike Pater 6.2

Chris Metcalf 4.2

Ron Jackson 4.0

Assists

Andrew Schmitz 4.1

Ron Jackson 3.2

Travis Krenske 2.6

FG percentage

Leonard Langdon 60.8

Mike Pater 58.5

Louis Roseman 58.1

3-pt percentage

Andrew Schmitz 46.6

Travis Krenske 43.8

Deejay Mayfield 38.5

FT percentage

Eli McVey 100.0

Travis Krenske 81.3

Deejay Mayfield 73.3

Women

Scoring

Bobbi VanWechel 17.0

Kaylee Bandemer 13.7

Megan Eastman 10.1

Jada Illies 6.4

Nikki Perlinger 3.6

Lindsey Finco 3.1

Terra Winscher 2.1

Jackie Sullivan 1.6

Beth Rogge 0.8

Top 3

Rebounds

Kaylee Bandemer 8.6

Bobbi VanWechel 6.7

Jada Illies 5.1

Assists

Megan Eastman 4.6

Kaylee Bandemer 1.8

Jada Illies 1.7

FG percentage

Megan Eastman 45.7

Bobbi VanWechel 40.2

Kaylee Bandemer 39.3

3-pt percentage

Megan Eastman 44.2

Bobbi VanWechel 32.9

Lindsey Finco 27.3

FT percentage

Bobbi VanWechel 80.3

Kaylee Bandemer 77.9

Megan Eastman 60.0

Schmitz has a plethora of options on offense. He can go down low to any number of post players or stay outside and feed the hot hand of shooting guard Travis Krenske.

"It depends on who's hot," Schmitz said. "You have Travis and you're looking for him a lot because if he gets on fire he can hit from anywhere. Then you have 'L' (Leonard Langdon) in there. You're looking at him all the time when he's on the block because it's two points. Everyone does a good job getting open. It's not too tough."

Schmitz can also call his own number. He is averaging 8.4 points, fifth on the team, while hitting 46 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point line, which is second in the North.

That combination of scoring and passing has helped CLC to its first Region 13 tournament berth in 37 years.

But it's Schmitz's consistent play that has Raiders coach Jim Russell smiling from ear to ear.

"Andy has been the glue to this team," said Russell. "He comes to practice early and leaves late. He loves the game and leads us in a lot of ways, especially by his actions. The team knows that if they're going to war, then Andy's the guy they want with them."

Schmitz's love affair with basketball started at an early age. His father, Tim, is the head boys' basketball coach at Hinckley-Finlayson High School. As soon as Schmitz could run and dribble a ball, he was at the gym with his father.

"I was just always around the game and always in the gym watching basketball," Schmitz said. "I was around the game all the time. He doesn't give me much advice anymore. We worked that out in high school. He leaves the coaching to coach Russell. But we still talk about basketball a lot."

With his basketball background, Russell knew before he even saw Schmitz in practice, what kind of player he was getting.

"I knew he was going to have a big heart and play hard all the time," Russell said. "What a guy to have with a ball in his hand and leading your offense. He carries a basketball around and you hope that it's contagious. He's the kind of guy a coach wants to get more of."

Women's notes

After Wednesday's loss to Mesabi Range, CLC's state tournament hopes ride on beating the lowly Vermilion Ironwomen (3-20, 1-10 North Division) Saturday at 1 p.m.

If the Raiders (5-18, 4-7 North Division) win, they qualify for state. If they lose and Northland beats Hibbing, the Raiders and Pioneers will square off in a playoff game to decide the fourth team from the North.

The Raiders have payback on their minds. Vermilion beat CLC on Jan. 31 for its only division win and nothing would be sweeter than to beat the Ironwomen with a state berth on the line.