CG-Belgium boys to get NCAA expertise

Derrick Wimmer is used to success on a big basketball stage, and he hopes the scheme and philosophy he is bringing to Cedar Grove-Belgium High School yields success as well.

Wimmer takes over as the boys’ coach from Principal Josh Ketterhagen, who had led the team since the 2017-18 season.

Wimmer was already familiar with the Rockets. Last year, he was Random Lake’s junior varsity coach and varsity assistant. The varsity teams split their season series, each winning one game. The Rams edged the

Rockets by two before getting blown out by 18 in the second meeting.

Wimmer started his coaching career at Grafton High School as a varsity assistant, where he got to know the school’s athletic director Scott Parsons, who now holds the same position at Cedar Grove-Belgium.

Wimmer then was junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant for Greendale before taking a few years off, then returning to coach at Random Lake.

He said the job with the Rockets fell into place.

“It was a good fit. I was starting to look for a varsity head coaching job close to my house,” he said.

Wimmer lives in Saukville and works in the engineering department of a manufacturer. His job, he said, has enough flexibility to allow him to coach. He sometimes works from home.

Wimmer said he is from the Hartford area and went to high school at Dominican in Whitefish Bay, where he was a “calm and cool” shooting guard.

In college, Wimmer played for Chicago State under former Marquette University star and NBA player Bo Ellis, before he transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

There, Wimmer played for Bruce Pearl and was part of the Panthers’ team that reached the Sweet 16 in 2005.

Much of Wimmer’s coaching philosophy comes from Pearl.

“I’m very heavy into sets. My playbook from him is like a football playbook,” he said.

“We have a motion offense but I like to run.”

On defense, Wimmer said, he plans to mix full and half-court man-to-man and zone presses.

Wimmer said he likes the athleticism of basketball.

“I just like the fast pace and the movement,” he said, adding he likes the strategy — which set to run when — as well.”

Truth be told, he would rather join his teams on the court.

“Sometimes I want to get out there and play with the guys but I can’t. It’s hard to turn it off,” he said.

The Rockets open the season at Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Their first home game is Friday, Dec. 4.