Ask Austin basketball coach Kris Fadness about his point guard situation entering the 1999-00 season and he’ll answer, "Good question.

Thursday, December 02, 1999

Ask Austin basketball coach Kris Fadness about his point guard situation entering the 1999-00 season and he’ll answer, "Good question."

He’ll follow that with what he hopes is a good answer:

"Rohne and Tufte will man the point," said Fadness, the third-year coach who’d been blessed for two seasons with a natural leader in diminutive point guard Zak Ulwelling.

Ulwelling is now playing backup point for the Riverland Blue Devils, leaving Austin with a big hole to fill. Ulwelling guided the team to a 19-win season last year that included a share of the Big Nine title.

This season, Fadness figures the conference to be wide-open with eight teams vying for the crown. The coach listed "backcourt play" at the top of his list of qualities that will separate the truly worthy teams from the also-rans.

But, In Rohne and Tufte Fadness Trusts.

Evidence of that can be found in the Packers’ approach to the game. Fadness is not taking the heat off of his duo, instead "a lot of what we run is point guard based," and it will stay that way.

Rohne and Tufte.

Tufte and Rohne.

If the Packers were a door, Rohne and Tufte would be the hinges.

"I like to pass the ball," Rohne said. "I like to take control of the team."

Boy, does he ever.

Rohne, a senior, cut his teeth at the point last season, when he led the Austin junior varsity to a 14-0 mark.

He expects nothing less than success as a varsity contributor.

"The team was 19-5 last year and our goals are to be right there again," Rohne said. "I want to be a big part of that."

Fadness is a big fan of Rohne, who hurried back from a preseason separated shoulder to break the starting football lineup in midseason.

"He got the toughness I like in a point guard," said Fadness, who said he will play both Rohne and Tufte at the same time.

In that scenario, Rohne will move to shooting guard. In part because, "he can flat out stroke," Fadness said.

And in part because, when Fadness talks about the junior Tufte, he talks glowingly.

"He’s a good ballhandler, probably the best ballhandler on the squad," Fadness said. "He’s got good court awareness and he sees the floor. He can picture the trailers (on the fast break) and sees the passing lanes.

"He’s got a feel for the game."

This summer, while Rohne and Tufte played ball on the same tournament and camp team, Fadness learned something about Tufte that immediately brought him into the point guard picture. It’s something important to any point guard in the rugged Big Nine.

"He’s physical," Fadness said. "He plays off the bumps well. A hand check doesn’t throw him off. He’s got mettle."

Rohne doesn’t seem to have any problems sharing the point guard duties with the upstart Tufte.

"He’s a real quick passer off the dribble," Rohne said. "… I like the point, because I feel like a part of the action.

"But I like the two guard too, because I can get just as much action."

Hopefully, Austin fans will learn to like their two guards too.

Tufte and Rohne. Now it’s up to them to answer the questions.