NEW ULM — Two former high school basketball players from New Ulm are getting their first taste of college basketball.

Jevan Wilfahrt from New Ulm Cathedral and now at Gustavus Adolphus College and Nate Firle from New Ulm High School and now at the University of Jamestown are both experiencing the jump from high school to college basketball, as both learn the college game at the JV level.

WILFAHRT EMBRACES ROLE

Wilfahrt said he is getting into the swing of things at the college level.

“It’s going pretty well,” Wilfahrt said. “I feel like I am definitely improving by playing my game and learning from the older guys. There are still a lot of fifth year [players] here yet. Everyone here is great especially the coaches.”

Wilfahrt said coming into his freshman year, he knew that the speed and physicality and the speed of the game was ramped up.

“It is completely different from high school and it can be tough at times — the players are basically grown men.”

In high school, Wilfahrt saw a lot of playing time already as a freshman for the Greyhounds.

For the Gusties, Wilfahrt has seen limited playing time just because of the amount returners on the varsity.

“We have a JV team because they did not lose any players from last year because of the fifth-year returners,” he said. “So a lot of us freshmen are getting in JV games just to play games,”

Wilfahrt said that it was a tough adjustment from being a starter as a freshman and playing every game for the Greyhounds to now seeing limited minutes on the JV.

“That was tough because in high school I was always playing, but I knew it was going to be tough, especially that first year,” he said. “It was very unlikely that I was going to see some playing time. But I am looking forward to next season because we will have a whole new team basically.”

Wilfahrt said that at Gustavus he is doing his role for the team.

“At Cathedral I was in a lot of different roles, and now you are playing with a lot of players who are really good, so now my role changes. So every game that I get in I want to do the best that I can. I have been playing well, especially on the defensive side and rebounding. For me, that is something that I can really control with the effort that you put into it.”

Wilfahrt said playing defense is stressed a lot.

“I found that out the first day of practice,” he said. “Playing defense is the most important thing by far — they stressed it the very first day of practice and now every day in practice. You better be able to play solid defense.”

Wilfahrt has been working as a forward/high post/low block.

“But I have also gotten outside beyond the arc as a guard,” he said. “And I like the best of both worlds — I like getting down low inside the post, and on the flip side I like being outside the arc and being able to take my guy one-on-one.”

Wilfahrt said as his freshman year evolves, he wants to improve on his confidence and effort.

“I tell myself to stress every practice like it is a game,” he said. “Because that kind of mentality will get you prepared. And I want to always play great defense.”

FIRLE FINDS FOOTING

Firle said this season started off pretty rocky for him.

“But after that it has been really good,” he said. “It was a big adjustment, but now it is going great”

Firle said his rocky start was something he had to learn to adjust to.

“I had some difficulties getting up in the morning, but after I got myself on a solid routine, it was great,” he said. “We have practice at 6 a.m. and we lift weights every other day. At the start of the season, that was pretty draining, but now that we are in season and playing games, it feels like it is all worth it.”

Firle said that the toughest part of college basketball is the schedule.

“Keeping school, basketball practice, weight lifting is pretty draining,” he said. “And it was a big jump from high school basketball to college basketball, but I feel like my high school coach [Matt Dennis] definitely prepared us for this. He was pretty hard on us in practice,”

Firle said his time on the JV is going well.

“I am playing power forward right now, and I recently had a 20-point and eight-block game,” he said. “That was really exciting for me.”

Firle said that he wants to improve on his defense this season.

“My defense has been great, but there are times where it could be even better,” he said. “I want to be one of the best defenders that I can. Defense is the most important thing here. Every player in college basketball can score, and the speed of the game can be overwhelming. But a good defender is probably the most respected person on the court.”

Firle said as the season progresses, he could stay at the JV or be moved up to the varsity.

“But either way I am perfectly fine with it,” he said. “I am just happy I am playing college basketball.”