Josh Ihrke has 36 athletes participating in 9-12 grade basketball at Becker High School this year. 

After finishing 10-15 last year and losing seniors  Brandon Gustafson, Sam Ricker, Basil Ricker, Sam Koubsky and James Schafer — Ihrke knows this year’s season is going to be a challenge.

“When you lose two starters in Sam (Ricker) and Brandon (Gustafson), it will take some time to get other guys into filling a different role from last year,” he said. “They were two of our leading scorers last year.”

The Bulldogs were knocked out of the first round of playoffs last March by Big Lake.

With the team moving back to the Mississippi 8 Conference, Becker will be facing past familiar foes in Princeton, C-I, St. Francis, Monticello, STMA, North Branch, Chisago Lakes and of course, Big Lake.

“That is going to mean we are playing a number of different teams this year that we have not played in the past years,” he said.

Ihrke has a few new coaches in the basketball program including Randy Kragerud, who will coach the C team.  Justin Liljequist who will coach the JV-B and Troy Paumen will be a volunteer assistant.

With Gustafson gone due to graduation, the Bulldogs will be without a big centerman in the middle and will have to make some adjustments to stay competitive. Ihrke knows it will be a challenge right from the start.

“It will change how we have to play on both ends of the floor,” he said. 

Ihrke’s captains for the varsity squad are seniors Gabe Lindbom, Nick Mittelstaedt and Cade Callahan. Mittelstaedt was the team’s second leading scorer last season with 159 points. Callahan was fourth with 140 points. Lindbom had 123 points and was voted “most improved”.

“I feel that this year we will have team that will be able to get out in transition to keep the pressure on other teams,” says Ihrke. “All five guys will have an abilitiy to get the ball to the rim and score. I hope that we continue to improve on knocking down shots and playing team defense.”

Ihrke leads his teams with his basketball prowess, experience and play calling. He also is challenged with dealing with fumbled plays, bad fouls and calls and attitudes in and around the court. He says he tries to promote with his players that they have to just play the game and move on to the next play. 

“Staying positive is very important in being able to have short memory with bad plays and learn from it to improve and make a better play the next time,” he said.

Another part of coaching that is challenging is juggling playing time and giving his team the best chance to win games.

“I feel that the guys that are playing the best as an unit should be on the floor earning the most minutes,” Ihrke says. “The grade of the player does not matter as I look at skill level, work ethic and how they play together to factor in who is contributing minutes on the varsity team. This year all guys will get mintues at various levels as we have a lower number of guys that have come out for basketball this year.”

Ihrke, still rather new to head coaching a high school basketball team, says he tries to strive to improve his team and program and learn to be creative like his favorite basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski of Duke does.

“I feel that he(Krzyzewski) has built a program by building relationships with his players and establishing a tradition of excellence and support of his players,” he said. “I strive to continue to improve and learn to create the same as he does.”

Last year, Ihrke was without guard Josh Fobbe, who never saw court time due to a football injury to his knee last fall. Fobbe’s leadership and skills will be welcomed on a team looking to stay in double digits in wins for the year.

Will Fobbe be Ihrke’s “go-to guy”?

“This is something that is going to develop as we go through the year,” Ihrke says. “The positive thing is that there are a number of guys that could fill this role as we progress through the season. Each player has a different skill that they are better at and I feel that we will have to use what has been affective and what the other team has not been able to stop.”

The Bulldogs commenced their season with a road loss Tuesday at Delano, 84-49. Mittelstaedt led the team with 14 points while Lindbom and Callahan garnered 12 points each.