Hickey reflects on Flyers’ historic turnaround

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Most basketball teams would be happy to win 15 games in a season but winning 15 more games than in the previous season is almost impossible.
Lake accomplished that feat this season, going 17-8 and advancing to the Division III district semifinals, just one year after going 2-21.
Under the direction of second-year coach Luke Hickey, the Flyers finished third in the Northern Buckeye Conference at 9-5 while winning their first sectional title in nine years since former coach Ryan Bowen was roaming the sidelines.
The starting lineup consisted of Preston Snyder, a 5-10 point guard; Carter Behlmer, a 5-9 shooting guard; Travis Merrill, a 6-1 wing; Dylan Wiley, a 6-5 post and Caleb Tobias, a 6-5 post.
The primary reserves were Jay Blazevich, a 6-0 guard; Drew Tajblik, a 6-2 forward and 6-2 forward Jack Sobczak.
The other players were 5-11 guard Greyson Reed and three seniors — Felipe Garcia, a 5-4 guard; Connor Eck, a 5-6 guard and Joah Herman, a 6-2 forward.
Merrill was the leading scorer, with 13.2 points per game, followed by Tobias (12.5 ppg), Snyder (12.2 ppg) and Wiley (11.4 ppg). Tobias averaged 7.2 rebounds and Wiley averaged 5.1 rebounds. Snyder broke the single-season assist record with 210 — previously held by Lake legend Connor Bowen — and averaged 3.0 steals per game.
How did the team manage to go from two to 17 wins?
“I think a lot of it has to do with the togetherness of our group and the selflessness –– they do whatever it takes to win. Our mantra is ‘one job, zero excuses.’ They 100% bought into that,” said Hickey. “They knew whether it was out-rebounding an opponent or focusing on offensive spacing. I think that contributed a lot to our success.
“I just think program-wide, we really have this never-give-up mentality, whether it’s basketball, your job or life. You learn so much from the experience, whether it’s good or bad (last season). The best thing you can do in life is just respond. We had a lot of returning players from last year,” he said. “It would’ve been easy to throw in the towel. We were very, very young last year; we started two freshmen. Our guys were committed to getting back to winning and they are reaping the benefits of staying the course.”
One of the victories that stands out is the Flyers’ 72-69 overtime win over Bucyrus Wynford on the road in the sectional final.
In the final four minutes, Blazevich hit a three-pointer, Wiley and Merrill made field goals, and Tobias hit two free throws.
Snyder led Lake with 16 points, Wiley and Merrill scored 15 points apiece, and Tobias finished with nine.
“That was probably one of the greatest high school games that I’d ever been a part of, whether it was watching, coaching or playing. I’m glad our kids got to experience that. That game was kind of like how our season went — there were ups and positives, but some low points, too,” said Hickey. “Our team never lost two games in a row this entire season. This team always finds a way to respond in a positive way. That’s what that game entailed, it was so emotional, so many highs, we thought we had it won, and then Wynford made a play. It was just about being resilient and being selfless; our guys knew that we would pass up good shots for great shots. We defended really well at the end. Our job on defense was to get a stop; our job on offense was to get a great shot. Our guys did not flinch, they did not blink. We’re just going to go after you, no matter who’s playing well or playing poorly. I saw that for the entire 36 minutes of the game.”
There was also the 59-52 win over Swanton — coached by Hickey’s former coach, Bruce Smith — in the opener; a 73-72 win over Otsego in the second game, one where the Flyers came back from a 22-point deficit and won on a buzzer beater by Snyder; a big 74-70 road win against Oak Harbor on Dec. 27 and the 49-47 triumph over Eastwood on Jan. 30.
“Beating Eastwood at home was awesome. The first Oak Harbor game at their place was a tremendous victory — it was a back-and-forth game against a top-tier program. When we beat Swanton, we really saw our kids believe. Game two at Otsego, where we won on a buzzer beater by Preston Snyder after we were down 22 points in the second quarter –– that was the first time we had to tell them at halftime that we have to keep believing, we just weren’t making shots, so we just have to do what we have to do at a high level. That is when our kids knew they were never out of the fight, regardless of the score,” Hickey said. “I think that was evident throughout the year. We faced some challenges and having that comeback victory showed that we were never going to quit. That Otsego game showed what we were capable of doing.”
Hickey had high praise for his five seniors — Wiley, Tobias, Garcia, Eck and Herman.
“They gave us their all, no matter what we asked of them. All five of our seniors were five extra coaches that we had on the floor, off the floor, in the locker room,” said Hickey. “That’s a credit to their character. It’s so easy, if you’re not getting the minutes you want, to sulk, (but) they never questioned anything, had a tremendous work ethic and helped us become a better basketball team.”
Hickey, a 2013 graduate of Whitmer, where he played with former Wisconsin Badger Nigel Hayes, was part of the Panther Division I state runner-up team in 2012. Hickey also had a successful baseball career at Bluffton University.
He still communicates with Smith, a legendary coach who also led Southview and Delta in the past.
“He was great –– he expected a lot of us, on the floor and off the floor. He was certainly intense, but he just wanted what was best for us,” said Hickey. “He was a great coach in terms of knowing when to push us and scale it back. I enjoyed my four years playing for him. We’ve enjoyed coaching against each other.”
Hickey is also an assistant baseball coach and is the high school’s assistant principal. At 29, he’s not shying away from any challenges.
“It takes a lot of work and a lot of time, but within the profession I’m in, and with the coaching, it’s always been about the kids. I’m willing to do whatever it takes for them to be successful as citizens of this world, being the best basketball or baseball player,” Hickey said. “The kids probably won’t understand this, but they bring so much joy to me, they challenge me — I need them more than they need me. We’ll get to see them as fathers and husbands (in the future). The most important thing is that we develop great young men.”