LEXINGTON — Brayden Fogle was not yet born when the famous musical brothers Jake and Elwood put The Blues Brothers Band back together in the 1980 movie.
But just like those brothers (played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd), the 6-foot-5 junior Lexington forward is starting to remember what it’s like when the music is sweet and the joint is jumping.
A first-team All-Ohioan as a sophomore, Fogle missed the first 12 games this season after breaking his left wrist in the third and final football playoff game of the season on Nov. 16.
A key component to a talented junior class that includes 6-4 power forward Joe Caudill and speedy 5-9 point guard Seven Allen, Fogle watched from the bench as his teammates won 10 of those 12 games to keep Lexington in the hunt for another Ohio Cardinal Conference title.
What was the hardest part of sitting out due to injury for the first time in his career?
“Just watching my teammates have fun (without me). I have played with these kids my whole life pretty much, at least these juniors. Even just watching games we’re losing, knowing I could be helping, like that Wooster game (a 75-68 defeat) for example.
“I felt if I would have played, we would have won. It hurts to just sit there and have to watch without any control,” Fogle said.
He returned to the court on Wednesday and scored 10 points in 12 minutes against a winless West Holmes team in a 71-32 win.
It was a tougher task on Friday night in his first home game against a surging New Philadelphia team that came in with a four-game winning streak.
But Fogle, the OCC Player the Year last year after averaging 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, made the most of his home debut.
Again coming off the bench as he works his way back into basketball shape, Fogle scored 11 points in 16 minutes to help the Minutemen run their record to 12-2 overall and 7-1 in the league with a 56-49 win.
photo gallery from lexington’s 56-49 win friday over new philadelphia
Fogle praised his teammates for keeping it all together without him.
“I think it shows a lot about our chemistry. Like I said earlier, we’ve been playing a whole bunch together … pretty much my whole life. It shows these kids have a pretty good fight in them.
“Obviously, I think we’re a better team with me back, but I mean it’s just a testament to what they’ve done, how they’ve played so far.
“I still feel like we all have to get better. I don’t think we’re the best team we’re going to be right now,” Fogle said.
‘It’s nice to have the full roster’
For veteran Lexington coach Scott Hamilton, the key is making sure everyone in the band gets comfortable back on stage together, especially with huge games coming up against Wooster, Dover and Mansfield Senior in the next couple of weeks.
“Any coach will tell you it’s nice to have the full roster,” Hamilton said.
“Before Brayden was cleared from his surgery, we were 10-2. Guys were playing well, chemistry was good. We were doing the things we needed to do,” he said.
“Now it’s like when you take a new item home from the store and you put it all together and then they call you and they say, ‘Hey, here’s some some extra parts.’
“Do you completely tear it apart and rebuild it, or do you try to figure out where those parts can fit in to make it a little bit better? That’s where we are right now,” said Hamilton, the the winningest coach in school history.
“I think we had something that was going pretty well and now I’ve been given some extra parts … that are good parts. I’ve just got to figure out how to kind of fit them in piece by piece without completely tearing apart what we’ve already built.
“The guys are excited about it. Everyone’s happy that he’s cleared and able to play.
“But I just got to figure out that rotation and just not disrupt what we’ve got going on,” Hamilton said.
‘I think we’re just playing good as a team’
During the successful football season last fall, Caudill and Fogle often found the connection together as quarterback and receiver.
Without Fogle on the basketball court for the first half of the year, Caudill has often played with four guards on the court as the team’s lone big man.
It’s a challenge he has met, though he welcomed his teammate’s return to the home hardwood Friday night by scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while never leaving the floor.
“I think we’re just playing good as a team,” he said. “I think the chemistry is really starting to click.
“(Having Fogle back) helps a lot. He rebounds the ball well. He scores. People are obviously worried about him and it just makes my job easier,” Caudill said.
Caudill had 15 points in the first half, while Fogle hit consecutive baskets during a one-minute-plus stretch near the end that pushed a 44-42 lead to 48-42 with 1:50 left in the game.
Who scores when doesn’t matter to Caudill.
“I’m just trying to win games. If that’s what it takes, me doing it early and (Fogle) coming in helping us out late, that’s what it’ll take. We have got to win. That’s all that matters,” he said.
Watching his football quarterback from the bench for a dozen games gave Fogle even more appreciation for how much Caudill has improved.
“Joe’s freshman year compared to now is just crazy, even his personal growth (as a quarterback), football-wise, I’m pretty proud of that kid,” Fogle said.
“We’ve been close since sixth grade. It’s amazing to see how much he’s improved. Knowing this year we have a pretty good chance (to go a long way), he’s a big piece of the puzzle.”
Working back into basketball shape
As you would expect, coach and player have different opinions on Fogle’s physical readiness for a 32-minute game. In the first two games back, the star forward has been on a pitch count.
The player wants his coach to know he thinks he’s ready to rumble.
“I think (my conditioning) is pretty good. I was a little tired when I first came back (against West Holmes), but I’m feeling great.
“I’m not really that tired. I felt like I played pretty hard out there (against the Quakers), so I’m pretty happy with it,” Fogle said. “I am already feeling just fine. I’m not too worried.”
The coach is happy to bring his player back in gradually.
“I’m excited about it. I have been waiting for him to get cleared. I was actually looking for him to get cleared a little bit sooner over the holiday break, so we could get some more conditioning in,” Hamilton said.
“You saw it tonight. There were a couple of times we took him out because it’s like, ‘You’re dragging right now.’ We did the best we could (in non-game conditioning), but it’s just not the same, not being in a game.
“You can run all you want in the gym, but it’s not the same as getting that game experience. He’s coming along,” Hamilton said.
“I think if you ask any kid they’ll tell you, ‘Oh yeah, I can play 32 minutes.’
“There’s not too many that can at a high level. I think at 16 (minutes) right now, that’s kind of where we can get him because we want him to be active. We want him to be aggressive, we want him to be getting up and down the floor, we like to play at a (fast) tempo when we can,” Hamilton said.
Key OCC clashes are just ahead
Having the band play like a symphony will be crucial in the next couple of weeks if Lexington wants to retain its OCC title.
The Minutemen host Wooster (7-6, 5-2) on Jan. 24 and play at Mansfield Senior (9-3, 6-1) on Jan. 28. Lexington handed the Tygers their only league loss, 74-70, at home on Dec. 20.
Both Fogle and Hamilton know what lies just ahead.
“Absolutely, especially knowing we lost to Wooster last time,” Fogle said. “I think we’ve got some revenge that we have to get. Mansfield’s always a good game. It’s always a good atmosphere (at Pete Henry Gym) and they’re obviously really hungry to play us. They’ve said that.
“They’re gonna run into a whole different machine than they did last time,” he said.
Hamilton will turn up the heat to get his star ready for game minutes.
“We want to get him going as quick as we can. Now that he can go full go, we can actually do that in practice.
“Everything before was no contact, so he was just basically on a bike (or) running. We tried to mix it up. We had him doing some workouts with the basketball, but he was running and then we put him on a bike.
“Now he can actually get in there and bang a little bit,” the coach said.
(Below is the complete box score from Lexington’s 56-49 win against New Philadelphia on Friday night.)
