ASHWAUBENON — The Fox River Classic conference is tied at the top. The Ashwaubenon boys basketball team and De Pere are both 12-1 after victories on Friday night.
The Jaguars haven’t won the conference since 2014 and are led by senior Marcus Tomashek, who’s averaging a whopping 26.1 points per game. However, if you take a look at their roster, he’s not the only Tomashek helping them get to this point.
“Go in there and win games, play hard and run through people,” Marcus Tomashek said.
That’s the mindset the Jaguars have every time they step on the court. Tomashek is the No.13 scorer in Wisconsin heading into Friday night.
“He’s extremely competitive and his drive and determination and competitiveness is off the charts right now," said Mark Tomashek, who is his father and head coach. "I think that has really helped him as a basketball player.”
“He can shoot, he’s a great teammate. He helps all of us. He’s a leader. He plays hard, especially on the defensive end which helps me try to play harder on the defensive end too. He’s just a complete player,” said Drew Tomashek, Marcus's younger, sophomore brother.
It’s a family affair at Ashwaubenon, Mark Tomashek relishes in the time he gets to spend with his kids. He's been coaching the Jaguars since Marcus was a sophomore.
“I get to spend four months after school with kids," he said. "Not many people have that opportunity to do that. It’s special, for sure.”
Playing together since they were kids, for Marcus and Drew, this is their first and last year playing varsity ball together.
“It’s nice it’s our first time really playing meaningful games together and sometimes we argue a little more than others," said Drew.
“I think that’s going to help create a bond for the rest of their life between the two of them," said Mark. "Not only did they play basketball, they got to spend one season together playing it and play it at a fairly highly level. I think they’re going to be able to always have those memories and that bond that nobody can take away.”
For Mark this was something he hoped would happen since the boys were young, all three of them on one court at the same time.
“I’m kind of living out that kind of like a dream," said Mark. "Your kids are playing a sport that you like and now you get to do it with them.”
Coaching them since they were little, Mark admits as a coach he’s tough on his sons, but he makes sure to show there’s no preferential treatment.
“He pushes you harder and makes you do things he doesn’t make other kids do, but I think it’s good,” said Drew.
“He’s a really good coach but he gets on us, which we expected," said Marcus. "He keeps us all working hard and that makes us better.”
If you ask any of them, they’re all enjoying the moment together and have a one game at time mindset.
"You try to enjoy the process. You enjoy what’s going on. You celebrate the small victories. You celebrate the big victories. You enjoy the moments, but you just think it’s probably not going to end. But obviously, we know it will end," said Mark.
That end will be in the next month or so, but Drew is excited to help his brother go as far as he can in his final season. Next year, Marcus will be lacing up for Michigan Tech.
“It’d be nice to get farther because as you see our last conference championship was 2014 — we’re trying to get a (conference) banner up there (and) a banner up there for state,” said Drew.
But no matter how good on the court his sons are, he wants them to be even better men off of it.
"Humbleness. Humility. Don’t take yourself too seriously, because there’s eight billion people in the world. Don’t take yourself too seriously and then, make be good to the people and make as many friends as possible," Mark said on what he tells them about the mindset to have.
Ashwaubenon will be at De Pere next Friday for what will likely decide the conference if both teams win their games before then.
