Cleveland Rocks
Whether it began with the Hough riots, the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire – the most notorious of several similar incidents – or, more broadly, its place as an avatar for Rust Belt decay and suburban flight, Cleveland has spent most of the last 60 years as a national punching bag. Locals, perhaps as a defense mechanism, have often taken a self-depreciating view of their hometown, though that tide seems to have shifted a bit with younger generations of Clevelanders.
Given that background, it’s always a little jarring to hear how much Vikings’ head coach Chris Kielsmeier loves the city he’s called home for more than seven years. In fact, Cleveland was the first thing he brought up when asked about recruiting on the season debut of his weekly radio show Monday night.
“The city is a huge draw, especially for international kids, internationals are wanting an experience,” he said. “But the city sells itself, and they’re such a connection between Cleveland State and the city of Cleveland. And I hope that that’s something that could continue to grow and thrive because I don’t feel like we’ve got that quite where it could be.”
Kielsmeier, of course, was born and raised on central Iowa farmland, then worked at rural schools in Texas and Nebraska prior to his 2018 arrival at CSU. Outside of his Chicago Cubs fandom, there’s almost nothing in his background to suggest that he even enjoys cities as a concept, but he’s taken to this one quite well.
In fact, he wants to deepen the connection between Cleveland and his program, a point he returned to a couple times during the show.
“I think there’s more that can be done with that,” he continued. “And I know as an administration, as a program, that we’re steadfast in trying to move that forward. And I think you’ll see that needle move as we move forward again.”
“Cleveland is such a destination place for cool different experiences and I think a lot of times people don’t know that, but once they get here they figure that out pretty quickly.”
Model UN
It’s easy to be dismissive of anything said on what’s, ultimately, a marketing tool for the program. However, assistant coach Shelby Zoeckler, speaking after Kielsmeier, brought up a related point that probably hasn’t been considered enough: the successes that Cleveland State has had recruiting internationally.
The Vikings have avoided becoming too dependent on overseas talent, but do have a very good hit rate with the players they have brought in. The complete Kielsmeier-era list, though last season, includes Aminata Ly, Taylah Levy, Barbara Zieniewska, Sara Guerreiro, Carmen Villalobos, Grace Ellis, Filippa Goula, Jannah Eissa, and Sarah Hurley (hey, you need a passport to go to Canada).
Guerreiro and Villalobos were each Horizon League award winners during their respective careers, while Ly, Levy, and Zieniewska contributed heavily to CSU’s 2021 Women’s Basketball Invitational and 2023 HL tournament titles.
“I love our internationals,” Zoeckler said. “Internationals just have such a different perspective. I mean, they give up so much to come here. I know people who haven’t seen their family in years when they come over here, and they choose to come and give all of that up to come play for us. I think that’s a big deal.”
After running down some of the aforementioned history, Zoeckler threw in a bit of a teaser concerning this year’s squad.
“We’ve had some internationals who have played really, really special roles on our teams,” she said. “You’ll be excited to see some of the ones we’ve got now.”
Hurley remains on the team, and she’s now joined by another Ontario product, Izabella Zingaro. Europeans Shay Magassa (France), Sur Lozano (Spain), Paula Pique (Spain), and Hanna Medina Kajevic (Sweden) round out the current roster’s international contingent.
Oktoberfest
Guerreiro, of course, left Cleveland State after last season as one of the best and most memorable players in the program’s recent run. The Portugal national then signed a professional contract with BC Pharmaserv Marburg in the top division of Germany’s Damen Basketball Bundesligen (DBBL).
Though Marburg has lost its two most recent games by a combined 34 points, the team remains in fifth place of the ten-team circuit with a 3-2 overall record. Guerreiro has featured prominently throughout, including 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game in a starting role. The scoring total is good for third on the squad, behind Slovenian guard Lea Debeljak and Allyson Fertig, a center who coincidentally played with Ellis at Wyoming.
So far, Guerreiro’s obvious highlight has been a 16-point effort while playing 38 minutes of a 79-78 overtime win over SYNTAINICS MBC that spared her team from an embarrassing loss to a last-place opponent.
Marburg resumes its 22-game regular season on November 1st, at home against Nördlingen.
Into the Unknown
Ahead of Cleveland State’s exhibition game against Findlay on Wednesday, there’s an obvious question on most Vikings observers’ minds. Specifically, how is a team with 11 new players, not to mention the three members of the coaching staff added this past offseason, getting acclimated?
“I think we’re coming together really well,” Colbi Maples, one of CSU’s three returners, said. “I feel like we’re really getting to learn each other, and learn what we’re able to do on the court together. And I feel like it’s just been the test of being able to learn each other and learn what all we can do, and just be able to make the continuity to be able to do it together. So I just feel like it’s going really well.”
The coaching staff, though ultimately in agreement, was a bit more reserved.
“[Is] it excitement or is it anxiety?” Kielsmeier wondered. “Every year comes one, what are we going to get out of them that first time out? And there’s no way to know. There’s no way to say that because we had a group of ten returners, they’re just going to be able to roll the ball out that first game and go play great and win. You have ten newcomers, and there’s no way they can play well. All those things don’t mean squat. You’ve got to go out and produce and play.”
“For this team, it’s about handling the task at hand that’s right in front of us,” Zoeckler added. “We’re not worried about a game that’s two weeks away. If we handle the thing that’s in front of us together as a group and have a lot of fun doing it, then we can continue to move forward one day at a time.”
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