Zilis: T’wolves Russell makes most of tough situation

It's easy to play for a winner.

Sure, playing on a stacked team has challenges – playing time is more competitive and practices can be more demanding. But camaraderie is easy to build when the postgame locker room is gleeful.

Playing for a losing team can be much more trying, especially for a talented veteran.

That's the situation in which Ariel Russell finds herself.

The Indian Creek junior is a fully capable high school guard. She's a good shooter and a good ball handler and she's matured as a player this season.

But this season hasn't been an easy one for Russell.

When Kate Thuestad decided not to play this season, Russell found out she had to play point guard, something she wasn't eager to do.

"Not at the beginning," Russell said. "But I've gotten used to it now."

When senior post player Anna Ostrander suffered a season-ending knee injury just a few games into the season, Russell was left with only seven young teammates. Now, three freshmen and a sophomore start alongside her.

"It was disappointing," Russell said. "[Ostrander's] a great player, but you have to work with what you have."

Russell is the only reliable offensive weapon the Timberwolves have, and the soft-spoken sharp-shooter has been forced to be her team's floor leader.

"I'm trying to tell her what to do and to get her to tell the other girls," coach Paul Muchmore said. "She's grown into that role. I've been really impressed with her."

It's tough for Muchmore to run regular practices. He needs his players to be in tip-top condition because each one needs to play significant minutes, but he can't afford any more injuries or more players defecting.

That's the problem for smaller schools. Sure, every once in a while a wave of talent, like the junior class of the Hinckley-Big Rock boys basketball team, comes along. But it's difficult for these teams to have consistently deep rosters.

Teams from schools like Hiawatha, Indian Creek, Genoa-Kingston and even Hinckley-Big Rock rely on their star athletes to play a sport every season.

When talented players don't play, it leaves a gaping hole, especially in a sport like basketball where one or two players can make all of the difference.

I'm in no position to pass judgment on players who decide not to play. Sometimes, athletes have to do what is best for themselves and their future – whether that means focusing on club sports or academics or something entirely different.

But there's something to be said about the players who stick it out, going into a season knowing that every game will be a struggle and every practice will be filled with freshman mistakes.

It's easy to play for a team when every player has it all figured out.

But Russell is a junior on a team that is looking toward the future. She has to come to practice every day and teach. That takes a lot of maturity.

"It shows a lot about her," Muchmore said. "We knew some people weren't going to play, and she knew she was going to be in a different role, she's accepted it and she's doing a great job at it."

• Anthony Zilis is a sports reporter for the Daily Chronicle. He can be reached at sports@daily-chronicle.com.