BOYS BASKETBALL Springfield coach's attire secondary to team's fire

Can anyone wrestle the ICL title from Jeff Brink's Tigers?
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- Springfield High boys basketball coach Jeff Brink, who has become as well-known for his all-black outfits as his success, decided to try something different last week.
He wore a gray shirt.
"I wore a stupid gray shirt and we ended up losing," Brink said with a laugh. "If I don't wear black, my guys sometimes don't think it's an important game. I guess it's a mental thing."
The Tigers, a Division III team, can be forgiven -- they lost to Division I-power East Liverpool, 51-46. The close loss shows that Springfield can hang with the big boys.
Key returnees
The Tigers return two senior starters, guard David Rispinto and forward Dan Schuler, and are the early favorites to repeat as Inter-County League champions.
But, as always, Brink wants more.
"This community sets the bar very high as far as expectations," Brink, whose team has a 32-game ICL regular season winning streak, said. "It's a step above some other places."
The Tigers went 18-2 last season -- losing twice to Poland -- and fell to South Range in the district tournament.
"And some people in the community thought it was a poor season," he said. "They want a trip to Columbus."
Springfield has the talent to get there. The Tigers have five players 6-feet, 3-inches or taller and have beefed up their non-league schedule to be more prepared for the postseason.
"Something we've never really had before is size, and we have that this year," Brink said. "We still have a long way to go. And it's a cliche to say we have to get better every night, but we're not where we need to be."
Schuler, a 6-foot, 6-inch forward, was last year's district player of the year and was a first-team all-Ohio selection. He averaged 16 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game last season.
Covers basics
"He's not the flashiest player, but he can do all the fundamental things," Brink said of Schuler. "He's a leader on and off the court and he's one of those guys you always have to account for on the floor."
Rispinto, a second team all-ICL pick, averaged 13 points, three rebounds and four assists per game last year. He's joined by senior guards Jonathan Vivo, Paul Savaet and Jeff Decenso. Seniors Jeff Mershimer (6-6) and Aaron Wood (6-4) play the post and seniors forward Rick Weimer (6-3) and Henrik Thomsen (a 6-8 foreign exchange student from Denmark) man the forward spots.
Brink has lost in the district tournament at Salem all four years at Springfield, but is cautiously optimistic about his chances this year.
"People think we're cursed, but the bottom line is that we didn't play well enough to win," Brink, who got married last summer, said. "I think when it gets to tournament time, it's a war of attrition. Whoever is still hungry after such a long season keeps playing.
"But we set our goals high. We're trying to make ourselves a better team when we get to February."
scalzo@vindy.com