The Spartans have been so good for so long - a winning percentage of 91% (113-11) in the last 5 years - it's hard to imagine them not in the state title discussion. They appeared to be headed along the same path this season until a 2-point loss at Andale, a game where senior point guard Markus Phox broke a bone in his foot that will cause him to miss the rest of the season.
Since then Collegiate has not only fallen out of state title talks, but out of the rankings and now it's a question if it can even make the state tournament. The Spartans were 6-0 and averaging 65.8 points with Phox, unquestionably the one that made the Collegiate attack go. Without him (not counting the Andale loss), the Spartans are 2-4 and averaging 53 points, not to mention they gave up over 60 points in three of those games.
"We have refused to embrace the defensive end of the court and until we do that, nothing about the direction of this team is going to change. We're just not interested right now in the end of the court where there's no glory," Fiegel said in his opening address.
That's not the Collegiate and way and that's definitely not the Fiegel way. So let's pick the mind of the commander of the Spartans and figure out what is wrong with them and what they can do to fix their issues.
Collegiate has had some wonderful offensive talents come through its system over the years and teams that could score with just about any team in the state. But that's not why they won.Fiegel is not shy about announcing his fondness for the defensive end of the floor. He's made "Defense Decides Championships" sort of a mantra for the Spartans and even went as far as stitching it into the uniforms, in case it ever slipped one of his players' mind what the No. 1 priority is.
What troubles Fiegel isn't so much about what he sees on that end of the court, it's what he doesn't see.
"It was one of those things where you almost take it for granted until it's not there anymore," Fiegel says. "Toughness is way underrated in the world of sports. Toughness is being disciplined and doing your job when it's supposed to be done. There's a loose ball, there's no question you're going to be the first on the floor. Right now those 50/50 balls, we're not getting them. How many of our teams over the years did we not get those?
"That's the formula we've been using to be successful since before any of them were born."
Fiegel recalls the losses - 2 points at Andale, 5 points to Clearwater, 10 points to Kapaun, 8 points at El Dorado and 2 points at Mulvane - and points out missed momentum swings for the Spartans in every one. The common denominator in all of those losses is Collegiate couldn't produce a defensive stand when it absolutely needed one.
That's not something that can be drilled in practice, Fiegel says. That comes when all five players on the court share the same sheer determination to work as one unit to accomplish a singular goal (i.e. getting a stop).
"At some point in the game, you have to be able to lock down and get a stop and waltz out of there with a 'W'," Fiegel said. "Until we learn to do that, it's like we're playing the lotto."
So that part is fixable, Fiegel thinks. It has been disappointing to this point in the season, but Collegiate has a lineage of tough-minded squads and Fiegel sees no reason why this team can't join them by the end of February.
But the more concerning issue is replacing Phox at the helm of the offense. As the cliche goes, you can't replace a player the caliber of Phox. He wasn't just a four-year varsity player. Phox knew the offense inside-out, knew what Fiegel desired, knew how to grind out a win and knew what it takes to be a championship team. And with one unlucky break, all of that is gone.
The complexion of the team has transformed and Collegiate is an entirely different team now.
"Markus' injury was one that affected every single guy on the team," Fiegel said. "And not every injury does that. He was the best ball handler. He was the best communicator. He's been with me the longest. I mean the guy has been hanging around my office since he was 4-years-old. Now we have to have everybody step up their role and that's not always easy."
The landscape of Collegiate's offense suddenly changed in his absence. No longer can Fiegel rest easy and assume Phox knows what is best for the team. He has handed over the reigns to Camron Chugg, but it truly is a group effort now. Phox was such an excellent creator, replacing the shots and points that resulted from that will be nearly impossible.
But don't think the Spartans are devoid of talent. They still possess two of the better offensive players in the league with seniors Riley Kemmer and Taj Holt. Kemmer should be a 20-point scorer by the end of the season and his size (6-foot-6) creates nightmarish match-ups for every opponent. And Holt has assumed the number two scoring role and also possesses a knack for scoring.
The rest of the cast is a perfect example of producing a whole that is greater than the sum of their parts. Don't expect anything flashy from Landon Root, Elliott Mann, Vafa Behzadpour, Camron Chugg, Cameron Christian, Brodey Dick, Jack Copher and Xzavaier Adams. But together Fiegel envisions one solid unit capable of taking down any opponent in its way.
Collegiate kicks off its stretch run tonight with a road trip to Maize South, who will provide a solid challenge for it to end its rough patch. Then another road trip, this one even more difficult, to Clearwater comes on Friday. To top it off, Collegiate hosts Dodge City, a Class 6A team receiving votes as a top-10 team, on Saturday. Calling it a difficult week is an understatement.
But one thing a Fiegel team never does is give in. He points to the 2006-2007 team that lost six games in the regular season, yet went on to win the Class 3A championship. This team has a different make-up, but the point stands: it can be done.
Collegiate's goals are also still attainable. A 3-2 record in the first round of AV-CTL D3 play diminished the Spartans' chances at a league title, but did not eliminate them. Collegiate needs Andale, which has a 2-game lead, to slip up and if it does then the final game of the season - when Andale travels to Collegiate - will become a de facto title game.
More importantly, Collegiate still can be a top seed in its sub-state, where 2 games separate first place from fifth. To secure a home game in the first round, Collegiate likely needs to finish with 13 wins. A top seed could require a win or two more.
"We could look at this as a negative or a challenge, but really this is a great opportunity for all of us," Fiegel said. "It's an opportunity for us to step up and say, 'Hey, we lost a great player that we had to comeback from and we had to readjust and redefine and reinvent ourselves but here we are and we've done that. Let's rock and roll.'"
A new identity is fine, but Fiegel leaves no question what will turn around the season for Collegiate: defense. But can Collegiate develop the toughness required to become a great defensive team like its predecessors this late in the season?
"You give us the month of February and my guess is that if I have these guys figured out like I think I do, then at the end of February we're going to be a team nobody wants to play in that sub-state," Fiegel said.
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