MARIETTA — Tim Kreeger is familiar with the final four experience.
Five years ago, the Delphos St. John’s product helped the Blue Jays to the Division IV high school state semifinals and now he will be playing in the NCAA Division III national semifinals as a member of the Marietta basketball team. The Pioneers face Randolph-Macon, ranked No. 1 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne at 5 p.m. Friday.
In addition to making school history by going this far in the NCAA tournament, the Pioneers went 29-2 and captured the Ohio Athletic Conference title for the sixth time in the last seven years. One of the team’s losses was to Randolph-Mason back on Nov. 20.
In the last four years, the Pioneers have posted a 106-24 record, four conference crowns and made four NCAA tournament appearances. However, Marietta had just one elite appearance to show in its four trips to the NCAA postseason tournament until this year
“Honestly it has been a long, gruelling process,” Kreeger said. “We have been playing basketball six days a week since August. It was a lot of hard work, time and dedication from our coaches and the whole team in general that made it possible for us to rattle off 29 in a row and it gave us a great opportunity to succeed I would say.
“I think there has only been one or two years since 2010 that we haven’t won the OAC and that is what coach V (Jon VanderWal) says every year and that it is not about winning the OAC it is about dominating the OAC and I think we did that for sure and to then just to be that first team to take the next step and accomplish goals that some really, really great teams haven’t been able to accomplish is rewarding.”
In Kreeger’s sophomore season he was a member of the team that made it to the elite eight and lost on a buzzer beater that would have sent the Pioneers to the final four. He is one of four players on the team who had to endure that heartbreaking loss. This served as motivation the last several seasons to make it to the final four.
Kreeger said his role at Marietta has pretty much remained consistent throughout his five years. At 6-foot-8-inches, he played in 24 games and got his feet wet at the college level his freshman year and by his sophomore year, he made 19 starts and averaged 7.9 points and 5.2 rebounds a contest and led the team with 18 blocked shots.
By his junior year, Kreeger earned all-OAC second team honors, averaging 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds a contest, leading the Pioneers in rebounds with 190 and recording 27 blocked shots. In the limited 2020-21 season, he was an all-OAC honorable mention selection, averaging 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds a game, again leading the Pioneers in rebounding in 13 games.
This season, the fifth-year senior put in 11.7 points a contest with 4.8 rebounds a contest. He was named OAC player of the Week for the Week of Dec. 20.
“I would say I’ve always had a pretty big role,” Kreeger said. “I got to play a lot my freshman year and have earned a lot of accolades and everything but I would say in my fifth year my role has changed a little bit where I am just playing basketball and I am a senior on the team and every one looks up to me and it is just a lot of guys following in your footsteps. It is a continued role at Marietta where older guys lead the way and show everyone what needs to be done.”
Kreeger admits he is not a rah-rah type of guy and is more quiet and let-your-play-do-the-talking type and adds that he takes pride in everything he has when he is out on the court. He points out that his strong point is giving it his all and not losing and that fits well in the culture at Marietta.
“I just try to do what needs to be done the best I know who just like the guys before me and I am not going to get on everyone like some other guys. Every one has go their own style of leadership. We have the guys that are rah-rah guys. I just lead by example.”
Kreeger said this season the team reached new heights because everyone had bought in.
“This year more than any there are no cliques on the team and it is just one big family,” Kreeger said. “Everyone puts all they have into it for each other and it is definitely battling for the guy next to you. It is really awesome.”
Even though the stage is bigger and the stakes are higher for this final four, Kreeger approaches it with the same enthusiasm, confidence and competitiveness he did in high school.
In the postseason, he is averaging 14.5 points a contest and 5.25 rebounds.
“This is much bigger stakes and a lot more work was put into it,” Kreeger said. “I have a lot more help from other guys. In my senior year (at Delphos) I averaged 19 points and felt I was the most important component on that team but now I have so many more valuable pieces than just me but being a part of of one of those valuable pieces is just awesome. Our team is just special. We have different guys that can score any night.”
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