Trojan Standout transfers to Tabor

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Micah Ratzlaff has confirmed what local basketball fans have been

anticipating behind the scenes for the past few months. The former 6-4

standout at Hillsboro High School will be playing basketball at Tabor

College this next season.



?I just have to say I?m ready to come home and be with the family and

friends,? said Ratzlaff, who played his first two seasons of college

ball at Oral Roberts University, a Division I school in Tulsa, Okla.



Ratzlaff proved himself at the D-I level this past season when a

couple of team suspensions gave him a chance to start the last six

games for the 13-17 Titans of the Mid Continent Conference. In the

final four regular season games, he averaged 13 points and more than

five rebounds.



Over the season, Ratzlaff played in 27 of ORU?s 30 games, averaging 14

minutes and 3.3 points per contest.



Though he would have liked to have played more during his time at ORU,

Ratzlaff said his decision to transfer to Tabor was based primarily on

family and personal reasons.



?It wasn?t because of basketball,? he said. ?I was just pretty much

sick of being away from home and didn?t like the school as much as I

thought I would.?



ORU?s loss is definitely Tabor?s gain, according to Bluejay head coach

Don Brubacher.



?There?s no doubt that Micah will immediately be one of the better

players in the KCAC,? Brubacher said. ?A player of his caliber

certainly does improve a team?s capabilities immediately. The fact

that he has a wide variety of skills, also, will increase his impact.



During his career at Hillsboro High School, Ratzlaff finished first in

assists (339), third in points (1,124), fourth in steals (168), fifth

in scoring average (14.4) and eighth in rebounds (321) over the

11-year span of head coach Darrel Knoll.



During his senior year, Ratzlaff averaged 22.2 points a game and led

the Trojans to the Class 3A state championship.



He was awarded numerous all-state honors by area media, including

Class 3A Player of the Year by the Hutchinson News.



Those skills have only improved over the past two years at ORU.



Said Brubacher, ?He handles the ball and passes well, he runs the

floor very well, has size to rebound and defend inside, quickness and

athleticism to defend on the perimeter, and skills to be very, very

effective well outside the 3-point line all the way to the basket.?



Brubacher said Ratzlaff came to him to talk about the possibility of

transferring to Tabor.



?It has to be that way because we will not pursue athletes who are

involved in other programs,? Brubacher said.



?I told him I thought he would do very well in our program and with

our style of play and of course we?d love to have him. But I would in

no way pursue, at least not until he had made it certain that he was

separating himself from his previous school.?



At Tabor, Ratzlaff will join his brother, Tyson, who averaged 12.7

points a game for the Hillsboro Trojans this past season.



The Ratzlaff brothers may be joined on this year?s team by former

Trojans Eric Driggers, Jimmy Janzen and freshman C.J. Hill.



This latest Trojan to join the program will only increase local

interest.



?A lot of people who enjoyed watching Micah play while he was growing

up will follow our program more closely now because o

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