Indians’ Weimer plays big role in Hays title run
When Sean Dreiling assumed the head coaching reins of the Hays High boys’ basketball program for the 2021-2022 season, he already knew the school had a rich tradition in the sport.
He also knew from having transformed nearby Trego Community High School in WaKeeney that it was possible to enjoy the same success at the Class 5A school.
Perhaps to nobody’s surprise, then, in his two years on the bench with the Indians, he has guided the team to seasons of 13-9 and 13-8, including one Western Athletic Conference championship and a runner-up finish.
This time, Dreiling saw his team compile a 7-1 WAC record, splitting games with 5A state-bound Great Bend to win the league crown by one game, as Great Bend suffered its second loss to third-place Garden City early in the conference campaign.
“I think one of the reasons for our success is that we’ve been able to have the boys buy into our philosophy and to do what’s best for the team and put aside individual accomplishments,” said Dreiling, who was voted Coach of the Year by his peers. “We were fortunate with this year’s team to have a lot of different players who could score. We had outside and inside scoring so some nights we are a difficult match-up.”
The main cog in the Hays system was 5-10 senior Jack Weimer, voted the WAC Player of the Year (see story below), but also key contributors from senior Edwin Muller and Kyzer Fox. In the middle, though, was 6-6 sophomore Dawson Ruder, who became a force for Dreiling in his second season of varsity competition.
“If we needed the outside shooting, we had players to handle that,” Dreiling said. “If we needed the inside scoring, we had Dawson. It was just a matter of knowing how best to manage the game depending on what the opponents’ defense was doing.”
Dreiling said it has been the day-to-day work ethic of his players that has contributed to the program’s success.
“There are many games where we are not the most talented team on the floor,” Dreiling said. “So we know we have to be the hardest working team. They came ready to play, they came ready to work at practice and were able to focus on the job at hand. I think we were able to stick to the process and not worry about a big picture of goals in mind.”
Hays’ non-conference schedule was also one of the toughest in Class 5A, thus preparing the Indians for the double round-robin format that the WAC employs to determine conference champions.
“Every part of the season is a grind,” Dreiling said. “In December we were just trying to win some games in the (Hays City) Shootout, and then get three wins before Christmas.”
The Indians then competed in the Colby Orange & Black tournament in mid-January and again faced some tough opposition.
“I’d say that in most cases we were a team that was good enough to win, but also a team that wasn’t so good that we couldn’t get beat,” Dreiling said. “
When Dreiling arrived at Hays, the Indians had come off two outstanding seasons with one state tournament appearance. The cupboard wasn’t exactly bare, but he had a young team for his inaugural season of 2022-23.
“Everything is new when you change coaches and systems,” Dreiling said. “These kids have put in the time and effort and I’m fortunate to also have a great staff of experienced coaches. We have talented kids and a very good culture and with the experience of the staff, we get a lot accomplished.”
While he loses three starters to graduation, Dreiling is still excited about the young prospects he will welcome back next season.
“It’s a good place to be with the younger players coming up,” Dreiling said.
WAC BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JACK WEIMER, HAYS/5-10, SR./GUARD
When Jack Weimer learned from his Hays High coach Sean Dreiling that he had been selected as the 2024 WAC Player of the Year for boys’ basketball, he was excited.
“It feels good to be named player of the year,” Weimer said in a telephone interview. “But the more important thing for me was winning the WAC as a team. Coach (Dreiling) really wanted us to come into the season and each game with the mindset of us being a (Wolf) pack.”
Weimer had been primarily a shooting guard during his sophomore and junior seasons, but Dreiling convinced him to become the point guard, the floor general, for this year’s Indians’ squad.
“Before the role change, coach said there would be times I’d still need to score, but I needed to play more like a point guard and get the offense started and get everyone involved. I think it just helped create a sense of everybody buying in to what was best for the team.”
Weimer’s senior season saw him average 12.7 points per game, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists while also taking on guarding some of the other team’s top perimeter players despite his 5-10 size.
“I think the biggest area of improvement for me this year was my passing and being a leader on the team” Weimer said. “The main thing is to get the guys involved and to get the best shot in the offense. I think my defense got better, but it was really bad before. I just tried to become a better rebounder and help where we needed it the most.”
One of the critical games and moments of the entire WAC season came the second week of January when Hays visited defending champion Garden City, which had knocked off preseason favorite Great Bend the week before in the WAC opener.
With the game tied in Garden City’s home gym, Weimer took the ball down the left side of the lane, went up for a baseline jumper and swished the game-winner with 0:02 on the clock, just before the final buzzer sounded.
“It was probably without a doubt one of the highlights of the seasons,” Weimer said. “At the timeout we took, I knew I was going to take the shot. It was a difficult shot and I just barely saw it go in. Then I got mobbed by my teammates.”
Weimer said transitioning to the floor general took a little adjustment early in the season.
“All games are different, so I knew the shots I would be taking had to be good ones,” Weimer said. “I had to feed the others and get them shots. There were some guys where I knew I was going to need to score, and I thought coach Dreiling did a good job of preparing us for those.”
Weimer hopes to continue his playing career at the next level and plans visits to several NAIA schools over the next month to evaluate his options.
“We’ll see how it goes, but I definitely hope to have the opportunity to play,” Weimer said.
His plans are to pursue a degree in sports medicine or business with an eye on setting up his own company in the future.
First Team All-Conference Selections
| PLAYER | YEAR | SCHOOL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Weimer | 12 | Hays |
| 2 | Ian Premer | 10 | Great Bend |
| 3 | Emilio Zundt | 12 | Garden City |
| 4 | Tochi Okoro | 12 | Dodge City |
| 5 | Dawson Ruder | 10 | Hays |
Second Team All-Conference Selections
| PLAYER | YEAR | SCHOOL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J. Brooks Kappelmann | 12 | Liberal |
| 2 | Maddox Spray | 12 | Great Bend |
| 3 | Jacob Hall | 10 | Great Bend |
| 4 | Kyzer Fox | 12 | Hays |
| 5 | Brody Burns | 12 | Garden City |
