SHELBY, Ohio — Troy Schwemley appreciated the gesture, but Shelby’s veteran coach could have done without the attention.
Schwemley was recognized for collecting his 200th career win before the tipoff of Saturday’s 65-47 win over state-ranked St. Peter’s. The milestone victory came a week earlier at Bellevue and the Whippets were playing at home for the first time since.
The partisan crowd gave Schwemley a rousing ovation and he was presented with the game ball — all of which made him a little uncomfortable.
“I didn’t say anything to anybody about it being my 200th win because my main focus in this team,” Schwemley said. “We have emphasized putting the team in front of selfish things and I didn’t feel like the number of wins I have as a coach is as important as getting this team to play together.
“The last thing you want to do as a coach is draw attention to something that isn’t important.”
What is important, at least for Schwemley, is his team’s newfound sense of camaraderie. The Whippets have won three straight games for the first time all season and climbed a game over .500 (8-7) after the resounding win over the Spartans.
“I’m happy about how our locker room has changed in the last week-and-a-half,” Schwemley said. “That is more important to me than wins and losses.”
Shelby won three of its first four games, but stumbled through a three-game losing streak in mid-December. The Whippets dipped two games below .500 after back-to-back road losses to Lexington and Sandusky earlier this month.
“We talked a lot about being positive with each other and encouraging each other and not letting selfish things get in the way of the team,” Schwemley said. “It just felt like we had a different feel about us this weekend where the team was more important than individual things.
“When you do that … the locker room is a lot happier.”
Davey Hipp led a balanced Shelby scoring attack against St. Peter’s. The junior sharpshooter scored 18 points and connected on four 3-pointers. Brennan Armstrong and Carter Brooks each added 13.
“We started playing together and obviously it’s working,” Hipp said. “If we keep playing together I think it’s going to be a bright future for us.”
At 4-3 in the Northern Ohio League, Shelby trails league-leading Ontario by two games with five NOL games remaining. The Whippets host Tiffin Columbian on Thursday before invading the O-Rena for a showdown with the Warriors on Saturday.
“The kids have done a great job recently of encouraging each other,” Schwemley said. “From a coaching standpoint, that makes a big difference. When you do that, normally it seems like you are playing better basketball.”
