School: Wissahickon
Golf, Basketball
Favorite athlete: Jimmer Fredette
Favorite team: Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning team MVP this year against Communications Tech
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: In AAU last year, my voice cracked while I was playing.
Music on iPod: A little bit of everything – rap, hip-hop and rock
Future plans: Attend Pittsburgh or Penn State
Words to live by: ‘Play every game like it’s your last.’
One goal before turning 30: To own a house
One thing people don’t know about me: I play golf in the fall for the school team.
By Alex Frazier
Three. Three. Three.
Opposing teams get pretty tired of routinely watching another three points added to Wissahickon’s side of the scoreboard.
But that seems to be the norm when senior guard Mike Scheier steps on the court.
“I’ve always been a shooter. It’s always been my strength so I’ve continued to work on it throughout the years,” he said.
“Shooting is part of his confidence,” said Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson. “He puts in a lot of time to be a good shooter. It just doesn’t happen. You have to put in the time and the reps. Michael is a guy that shoots in the off-season hundreds and hundreds of shots a day, and even during the season he looks for any opportunity.”
Recently, Scheier tossed up five three-pointers in the first half, leading the Trojans past Upper Dublin for the first time in five meetings. He scored 18 points in the win.
“He’s by far the best three-point shooter on our team,” said Wilson. “He probably has the deepest range of anybody in our league. It’s opened up other things for players on our team.”
Scheier has been averaging 11.8 points per game. He has 44 three-pointers to his credit and is shooting 40 percent from outside the arc. He is also a 71 percent free-throw shooter.
Tuesday he pumped in 16 points, including four three-pointers in the district playoffs against Council Rock North, the second seed in the playoffs. The Trojans lost 50-44 but still have another shot at a PIAA playoff spot against Coatesville.
Three-point shooters don’t just happen. For Scheier, it’s been a development since his youth basketball days.
“I’ve always been one of the smaller kids out there,” he said, “so I’ve had to develop my shot because it’s difficult to get shots in the lane at my size.”
A slender guard at 5-11 and 135 pounds, Scheier often takes a beating when he tries to penetrate, but remarkably he has not missed a game.
“Teams try to play physical (against me), but I’ve gotten used to it,” he said. “You just have to be physical back, push them a little bit so you can get some space and get some shots up.”
Despite the physicality, Scheier has come through uninjured.
“He’s one of the few players we’ve had of our starters to play in all 22 games,” said Wilson. “He’s not a big strong kid, but he seems to take a licking and keep on ticking.”
It helps that Scheier lifts in the off-season.
In his first full year of playing time on varsity, Scheier is the lone senior in the starting lineup.
“As a first-year varsity player, he’s just done outstanding for us, helping us to get where we are right now at 14-9,” said Wilson.
“I didn’t play a whole lot last year, so I didn’t get to work that much,” said Scheier. “I go to the gym a lot in the off-season and played a lot of summer league games, and that’s carried over to this season.”
Scheier is also captain, one who leads by example.
“I like the fact that kids on the team saw enough in me to vote me captain,” he said.
As the acknowledged leader, he sometimes has to take action.
“Sometimes practice can get a little unorganized or we’re not taking it seriously enough,” he said. “You have to get everyone together and make them realize that practice is important because if you don’t practice well enough, it’s not going to translate to the game. In those situations, I feel like I should take a leadership role.”
Of course, as captain, he also sets an example.
After practice is over, he hangs around to take extra shots.
“He goes out, plays his game and he’s a hard practice player,” said Wilson. “You never have to get on him about coming prepared. He brings it everyday. He comes to work hard and gives it everything he has.”
For most of his basketball career, Scheier has had his father as a coach. Mike, Sr. is currently an assistant to Wilson. The relationship, though testy at times, has been one that has brought the two closer together.
“It can be tough at times having my dad as coach,” said Scheier. “He can be really hard on me sometimes, more so than the other kids, but I’ve gotten used to dealing with the criticism, and he’s helped me moving forward.”
Scheier has also played soccer and baseball growing up. He quit soccer two years ago and in its place picked up golf.
“It used to be a hobby,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. I’m not really good at it or anything, but it’s something I like to do.”
Scheier said he shoots in the high 40s, low 50s for nine holes.
Academically, Scheier carries a 3.81 unweighted grade point average (4.51 weighted) and is a member of the National Honor Society.
“He’s been a positive influence on our team and program,” said Wilson.
This year may be Scheier’s last hurrah on the basketball court. He has been accepted at Pitt, Penn State, Temple, Drexel and Maryland, all big Division One schools.
He has yet to make a decision, but he does plan on majoring in finance/business. His father is in that profession.
“I’ve taken a lot of business classes in high school,” he said.
Currently he is taking advanced placement economics and statistics.
He will visit Penn State in March and will make a final decision shortly after that.
Scheier chose all big schools, as he said, because “I want to have a fun college experience.”
There’s an outside chance he could play for a Division Three school.
“I would like to (play),” he said “I just haven’t heard from any schools about playing.”
Though he may not play inter-collegiately, he won’t be a stranger on the hardwood.
“I’ll play intramural or club, whatever they have where I go to school,” he said.
You can bet some club team will be more than happy to have a sharpshooter like Scheier on the team.
