In the first ever Lincoln Area Media Day basketball event from Anderson Hall, Norris was the first team to take the podium in the Meier TV studio. And the Titans’ hope is they can end their season the same as well.
Jimmy Motz enters his fourth season as the head basketball coach and highly praised his big three between guard Josh Bornschlegl, Chris Garner Jr, and Barrett Boesiger.
“They all bring something different to the table,” Motz said. “They are all underclassmen, they all started last year but some things will change.”
One of the things that is changing is that guard Bornschlegl will have a different role, he is moving away from being a point guard and is going to move off the ball. As a sophomore, Bornschlegl led the team in assists with two a game yet only averaged 5 points per game. Motz said he wants Bornschlagel to score more.
“I mean, we would go by committee,” Motz said. “I think we got a lot of different guys that can play the point. We don’t really have that true necessarily point guard like we did a few years ago.”
Norris returns talent outside of Bornschlegl. Boesiger and Garner both return. Boesiger is a junior that led the team in scoring last season for the Titans, while Garner averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds.
Garner gains an extra year of maturity inside and outside the weight room.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” he said. “Mentally, I’d say I’ve mature a lot. Physically, you know, I got in the weight room. Last year, I took a lot of bruises to those 17 to 18 year olds, but now I feel like I can handle it.”
With the loss of former center Wyatt Wubbles, in comes Thomas Hansmeyer. Motz praised Hansmeyer and what he can do for this Norris team.
“Thomas Hansmeier is a junior, he’s a 6’5 kid, that’s got really good feet, a good athlete,” Motz said. “He’s about 215, 220. He’s a starting offensive lineman, but he’s a really athletic kid that can kind of fill that void kind of that banger inside that we kind of need.”
Norris hopes to stay healthy and the goal is simply to win a state championship.
The Titans finished 17-10 last season with a state championship appearance, in which they lost in a state quarterfinal match against Platteview.
Their season starts Nov. 30.
