It’s been awhile since Niagara Wheatfield went into the season not knowing who was going to score late in games — they’ve graduated a 1,000-point scorer three years in a row.
But, things are different now.
After losing nine seniors at the end of the 2023-24 season, many of whom played a part in winning Class A1 in 2022, it became clear that there was some rebuilding needed at Niagara Wheatfield if they want to be crowned champions anytime soon.
The loss of Luke Walck, a two-time All-Niagara Frontier League player who was one vote away from player of the year last season, is sure to not only hurt, but change, the Falcon’s offense.
Now 1-6 on a three-game skid, Niagara Wheatfield is off to its worst start since the 2019-20 season, when the team went 2-5 and finished the season 9-12 overall.
There’s only one starter with varsity experience, Cameron Gruarin, who made it into the lineup after an injury halfway through his junior season. Starting besides him is a seventh-grader and three juniors.
“We played so well the other night against North Tonawanda and then all of a sudden we just kinda had this moment and it was like, ‘Holy cow. What are we doing out there?,’” Niagara Wheatfield head coach Erik O’Bryan. “And it’s just a lack of experience.”
The team is very inexperienced, but that doesn’t mean good things can’t happen, it just might take a little longer because they have growing pains to work through. There’s no big man like the 6-foot-5 Walck to rely on this year so the team has more shooters so they’re looking at a quick concept on the court.
The Falcons weren’t able to all get together over the summer either, as so many of the players are multi-sport athletes. While it helps to have a team of athletes, it is no doubt a struggle when the group lacks individual experience, and experience playing as a team.
While Gruarin’s experience makes him the unquestioned leader, he’s still learning with the rest of the group. With the Falcons all being thrown in the fire, they have the opportunity to rise or burn, but either way it is something they will do together.
The lack of experience allows for the opportunity to be coached and learn things the way the coaches intend, hopefully minimizing bad habits and building team chemistry along the way.
Niagara Wheatfield has a history of turning it around in recent years. O’Bryan’s teams have gone 20-16 before Jan. 1 dating back to 2019-20 — excluding the COVID-19 spring season in 2021 — and have rebounded to go a combined 46-17 in the New Year.
“Obviously losing is definitely not the goal, but at the end of the day as long as we’re getting better, and each game has been much better,” Gruarin said. “Right now losing is fine, as long as we keep growing, I’m sure we’ll start winning by the middle of the season.”
The energy presented at practices and games each day also helps NW stay focused and positive, two things that can help them improve their slow start to the season. The team is seeing improvement the more they play together and as team chemistry gets stronger.
There are shots they trust each other to make now that they might’ve been hesitant with at the start of the year, and the team has already improved since their 37-77 loss to McKinley High School to open up the season.
“As the season goes on our games keep getting closer and closer and I can see the fight and energy in our team as we keep going along and keep building this team,” Gruarin said.