Beutel has Wolverines dreaming big

Bob Beutel is going to be inducted into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame in April.

Normally, that might be a reason to celebrate.

For area coaching veteran Beutel, well, he has bigger things on his plate right now than that honor.

After taking a year off from coaching, Beutel is back on the sideline this season, resurfacing at West Geauga after his contract was non-renewed at Gilmour following the 2016-17 season.

The Wolverines are off to their first 2-0 start in recent memory. And as nice as the state Hall of Fame nomination is, the current renaissance of West Geauga basketball is trumping anything else in the legendary coach’s calendar.

“I understand the specialness of 700 wins,” said Beutel, who is on the doorstep of the landmark number of victories with his 696202 career record, “and the hall of fame in Columbus is really nice. But I guess right now I’m in the midst of something bigger and more important than that.”

With West Geauga’s 9038 win over Wickliffe and 52-21 win over Riverside, the Wolverines are 2-0 and their coach is four victories away from the 700-win mark for his career.

It’s a stellar start to the season, especially with the late start Beutel and his staff got after longtime coach Cheryl Rye stepped down in the offseason.

Beutel and his staff took over in June. There was a full-court press to get the system in line by time the season started.

The early results show the press worked.

“It speaks to the girls’ ability to adapt,” Beutel said of his team’s good start. “They have bought in and have embraced change.”

Of course, transition helps when the team’s two leading scorers from last year - sophomores Nikki Ehrbar and Elana Zebrowski — are back.

Add in fellow sophomore Athena Hocevar, who transferred back to her home school after starting as a freshman on Gilmour’s Division II state runner-up team last year, and there’s some serious firepower in the 10th-grade class.

Beutel points to his 12thgraders as the key to his team, though. That group includes Alex Desciscio, Bridgett Sexton and Sarah Suba.

“We’ve gotten great leadership from our senior class on AND off the floor,” Beutel said. “That’s really important. They had a whole new staff coming in, there were changes... it’s remarkable how many things can be different. But they have embraced change and have been our leaders.”

Speaking of the staff, Beutel has a strong one joining him on the sideline this year, including his wife and longtime assistant Claudia.

Addtionally, Andy Kelley (a West Geauga graduate) and Stephanie McPeek are coaching the Wolverines. Kelley’s daughter, Emiley, was an All-Ohio player for Beutel at Gilmour, while McPeek - perhaps better known locally as Stephanie Youdath (her maiden name) - starred for Beutel when he coached at North.

“They are quite the additions,” Beutel said of his new staff members.

Beutel glows over the progress his team is making. A daily improvement is plain to see, he said, on both ends of the floor.

“It’s up and down,” he said of the pace of play he prefers. “We’re working really hard on our offensive skills and putting the ball in the hoop. Defense is vital, but I’ve always been a proponent of offense. There are very few shutouts in the game of basketball.”

The hot start is a product in part of the preseason,

Beutel said. While some coaches might look at scrimmages as a chance to see the hand they’ve been dealt — not worrying about the outcome — Beutel and his staff also accentuated winning.

A number of area coaches have already pinpointed the Wolverines as a team to contend with not only in the Chagrin Division of the CVC, but also in the Division II district tournament.

“The girls don’t talk about it, but I might bring it up time to time,” Beutel said of the season goals. “I want these guys to believe that winning should be in our DNA. Scrimmages are just scrimmages, unless you need them to be more — and we did need them to be more.

“We won our four scrimmages. I want them to see winning is going to be part of this culture.”

Because it always has been. His 696 wins scream that loud and clear.