Junior guard Alex Clark is ready to get Warrior basketball back on track. (Photo by Nick Goralczyk)

SYRACUSE – In athletics, players are taught to be able to adjust to the moment. “Quick-change” is a term that can be heard on every court and field from fall to spring.

In June, the entire Wawasee Warrior basketball program was called upon for a quick-change as long-time Warrior head coach Phil Mishler stepped away from the game in a move that sent shockwaves through the Wawasee community. Under a month later, Wawasee athletic director Steve Wiktorowski accepted the open head coaching position, officially beginning a new era in Warrior basketball.

Just over four months later Warrior faithful await the start of this new era and Wiktorowski is ready to get his team on the floor.

“We have a lot of experience coming back, that’s always good to have,” began Wiktorowski, a 30-year coaching veteran. “We will be playing a lot of kids that have seen a varsity floor but at the same time we will still be very young.“

The Warriors will return 11 letterwinners this season from a team that finished 11 games under .500 last season, but only two are seniors. Among the returners are five that started at least 13 games last season. Improvement seems to be the only option after posting a 5-16 record in 2012-13, but Wiktorowski knows that his team is taking on a lot of new information in a short period of time.

“The biggest adjustment has been that we just didn’t have the summer that most area teams had,” Wiktorowski said. “Trying to implement a new system two weeks before the season as opposed to having two months in the summer to work on things has been the biggest adjustment.  We only were able to get in four or five workouts with this new system in the summer.”

Under Mishler, Wawasee relied heavily on shots from behind the arc, but Wiktorowski is changing the offense this year and says the Warriors new attack will focus on “high-percentage shots.”

Though the fast-paced, high-scoring attack leaves with Mishler, Wiktorowski made it clear that the former Warrior head coach left an important mark on his former players.

“Phil (Mishler) did a great job at setting a work-ethic with these kids,” Wiktorowski said of his predecessor. “Expectations to both play and practice hard that carried over have made this transition a lot easier.”

One of the many players to put in a lot of time in at the gym is Alex Clark. The junior guard started for Wawasee last season and is determined to make this season one that all Warrior fans can enjoy.

“We are ready to get out there this year,” began Clark. “The new system challenges us to create and execute plays in the half court. Coach Wik’s offense gives us a direction but also allows for some freedom out there. Coach has done a great job communicating with us players and reminds us that this is not an overnight process, we have to take it one step at a time.”

While the Warriors will not achieve every goal overnight, Clark say they have already set their sites on the sectional tournament that will be held in Syracuse for the second year in a row.

“We have not set a lot of goals yet,” started an eager Clark. “But one thing we have put at the top of our list is winning a sectional championship on our home floor.”

The Warriors take the court for the first time Tuesday night at Fairfield with tip set for 7:30 p.m.