Epenesa, Smith, Stephen return to lead Edwardsville as Waldo begins 28th season

There’s no denying the passion Mike Waldo has for coaching basketball.

Waldo, in his 28th season at Edwardsville High, is back in his element with the Tigers, who again are expected to be one of the top teams in the metro-east.

“I like sports and I like kids,” Waldo said. “I like competition and I like basketball, so I feel fortunate to be able to do what I’m doing. I appreciate the opportunity.”

The Tigers, who were 2-2 in the Battling Bulldogs Thanksgiving Tournament, will open Southwestern Conference play at 7:30 p.m. Friday against visiting Collinsville.

Edwardsville, which was 18-11 overall and 8-6 in the SWC last season, returns its top three scorers in 6-foot-5 juniors A.J. Epenesa, Mark Smith and Oliver Stephen.

Chrys Colley, a 6-2 senior, 6-7 sophomore Caleb Strohmeier, 6-2 junior Nathan Kolesa and 5-11 sophomore Sammy Green also will play large roles.

“I like our guys,” Waldo said. “They work together well and are good practicers. They like to prepare, so I like our guys. It’s a very, very competitive year. The (Waterloo) tournament games were very competitive and our league is going to be very competitive. I think it’s going to be hard to win games. You’re going to have to play really well to win games.

“I think our guys will improve and I think we’ll get better each game. We’ll just have to see how we fare when we play teams. We’ve got experience back from last year. That always helps.”

Epenesa, one of the top football prospects in the country at defensive end, averaged 13.8 points and 11 rebounds last season. Epenesa’s size, strength and skill around the basket will be a handful Edwardsville opponents.

“A.J.’s just a good guy,” Waldo said. “Every sport he plays, he tries to do well. He’s very approachable and is a very good teammate. He showed a lot of improvement last year as the year went on, and I think he’ll do that again. A.J. comes from a good family and he manages himself real well. He’s a very likeable guy; the guys on the team like him because he treats people well. And he’s a good athlete, so that’s a good combination.”

Smith averaged 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds and made 47 3-pointers last season. He is a headache for defenders because of his ability to shoot 3s and penetrate. Smith led the Tigers in free-throw attempts last year (119), making 91.

“Mark Smith’s really improved,” Waldo said. “His ballhandling’s improved, his shooting’s improved, his ability as a playmaker has as well. He’s made a lot of strides since last year and has done a real good job for us so far.”

Stephen could be the best 3-point shooter in the metro-east. Last year, he shot 51 percent from beyond the arc (80-for-158) and averaged 10.4 points. Stephen had 10 3-pointers and 31 points in the Tigers’ 73-41 victory over Waterloo on Friday.

“Oliver does a lot of things well,” Waldo said. “He’s a good defender and he’s a very, very heady player. He passes the ball well, screens well and makes shots. Oliver’s spent a lot of time working on his shooting and is a good shooter, and our guys do a good job looking for him. He’s a very valuable guy.”

The others

Colley and Strohmeier complete the starting lineup, with Green and Kolesa coming off the bench. Green started Saturday when Epenesa attended Senior Day activities for his sister, Sam, a volleyball player at Purdue. Green had 11 points in a 67-59 loss to Althoff.

Colley played in 16 games last year and averaged 1.8 points. Strohmeier played in three games and did not score. Kolesa did not play at the varsity level last season.

“(Strohmeier) works at it and he’s a good shooter,” Waldo said. “What we need him to do this year is play away from the basket because we’ve got a post player. As his career goes along, he’ll probably play in the post more, but I don’t see him doing that a lot this year.”

Waldo doesn’t expect changes to his lineup, but said nothing is written in cement.

“I think we’re probably pretty set as far as who starts for us, but every game is different and you need different things on different nights, so I’m sure we’ll utilize a lot of guys as the year goes on,” Waldo said. “We want to be playing as best we can in March. You always want to try to do that. But it’s going to be hard to win this year. We’ll have to play well.”

Other games

Edwardsville’s first game in the tournament in Waterloo was a 62-46 win over Highland. The Tigers then lost to tournament champion Carbondale 51-43 before the games against Waterloo and Althoff, a state-champion contender.

Waldo said it’s too early to make many judgments about his team.

“Early in the season, it’s hard to be good at anything,” he said. “We played against a lot of different styles (in Waterloo). We just have to keep practicing and getting better. I think if you’re pleased after three weeks, you’re probably not using your head much. But I’m pleased with the way our guys have prepared. We’ve got a long way to go execution-wise.”　

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Epenesa, Smith, Stephen return to lead Edwardsville as Waldo begins 28th season."