MICHIGAN CITY -- Chemistry can make or break a basketball team.
"It only takes one and it can go south in a hurry," Kouts coach Kevin Duzan said.
Before the season, Duzan knew the biggest question with the Mustangs roster wouldn't be talent, it would be whether his senior class could set their egos aside and accept taking a backseat to the juniors.
"I talked to all of them pre-season, I said, here's where I see you, I'd like for you to stay and be a part of what we do," Duzan said. "I said, if you can't buy in, you need to make that decision now. When we had our parents meeting, I reiterated it, it's nothing personal, but some nights, they're not going to play. It doesn't matter your number, whoever's night it is, it is. It's got to be about us, not you."
The answer from the group of five was nearly a unanimous yes, as four remained on board, joined by another who hadn't played since he was a freshman.
"I like our kids, the freshmen through the seniors," Duzan said. "Our seniors are super important. It helps having that senior leadership that understands the importance of a team, buying in. We have really good kids who bought in. It's not about one or two, it's about us. We preach in practice, I don't care what five you're on, the Gold team, the Black team. make the other five better. It's not always the starters against the bench. They get pushed pretty hard."
The Mustangs went 12-12 a year ago with a senior-less lineup that included then-sophomores Lucas Kleckner and Landon Garrett. Classmate Jesse Overholt moved into first group, which has just one senior in Eli Harper.
"We all just moved up," Kleckner said. "We've played together the last two, three years. We all grew up together, played in younger leagues. Everyone knows everyone."
Freshman Billy Miller has added scoring punch and junior Brandon Hedge provides quality post minutes off the bench, which includes seniors Ryan Roznowski and Caden Spagna.
"Lucas is the guy we need out there to handle the ball," Duzan said. "He's quick. He can put their team in a bind from time to time. Sometimes, you've just got to let them go. Players play. I've learned over the years, you've got to let them have some freedom or it's not fun. Some nights, you coach to help your team do its best that night. Each night, it's a different look. We've gotten good leadership out of Lucas and Ryan. Kaden's my go-to guy. He gives me the pulse of what's going on. That's nice out of a senior who isn't the glory guy. He does the dirty stuff, guards the best guy, rebounding, diving on the floor, whatever it takes."
Duzan had a good feeling about the team in the summer, so he got them into the challenging Chesterton league for the first time.
"I think that helped us," he said. "We played some teams we don't normally see, some were bigger, some were stronger. We kind of grew up over the summer, another year playing together."
Kouts heads into the new year 5-1, a recent win over Marquette, last year's Class A regional champion, turning heads.
"Everybody's going to come after us," Duzan said. "We've got to keep playing to get better. Marquette plays a tough schedule. We know they'll be ready come March."
The Mustangs may have a big surprise with the addition of 6-foot-9 Adam Lundquist, a senior best known as a volleyball player, who rolled his ankle back in the pre-season.
"They said it was fractured, and he'd be out six weeks," Duzan said. "He came and talked, he said, coach, I'm already behind, I just want to be healthy for volleyball. He got a second opinion, they said, I don't think that's a break. He was in a walking boot, he practiced and had no problems. If he does what he does to us in practice, he'll help. You try to shoot over 6-9. I think he's bigger than 6-9."