Senior Jaceb Burish brings defense, smarts and toughness to the regional-bound Warsaw basketball team (File photo by Nick Goralczyk)

WARSAW – The casual fan may not realize the value of Jaceb Burish to the Warsaw boys basketball team.

Doug Ogle and Kyle Mangas are not your casual fans, though.

Warsaw coach Ogle and star player Mangas both know the importance of the smart and hard-working Burish to the regional-bound Tigers.

“Jaceb has been a key component to our success this season,” said Ogle during Media Day on Wednesday in the Tiger Den. “He just does a lot of things for us that the layman would not appreciate.

“He’s definitely a very smart young man and a very serious person. You can’t have a good defensive team like we do with a weak link out there. Jaceb is definitely one of our strong links defensively. He’s our most physical player and he’s the kind of guy that when he is guarding you it gets old for who he is guarding.”

Warsaw will take a 17-9 mark into the regional on Saturday. The Tigers, who won the regional title last year, face East Chicago Central (15-9) in the second game of the Class 4-A Michigan City Regional at around 1 p.m. (ET). The 11 a.m. (ET) opener pits No. 17 South Bend Adams (21-4)  versus Merrillville (19-7). The regional final is set to tipoff at 8:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

Star guard and Indiana All-Star candidate Mangas, who is the unquestioned leader of the Tigers, also knows the value of his senior classmate.

“Jaceb makes a bunch of plays for us, especially on defense, that no one sees,” pointed out Mangas, who now ranks fourth all-time in career scoring at WCHS. “He’s the kind of player who makes big plays in big situations. He’s versatile and has a lot of poise. Him and JD (Jeremy David) anchor our defense down low.”

Burish, a strong 6-2 forward, has started 23 games this season after playing a reserve role on last year’s team that went 25-2 and lost in the semistate to McCutcheon. He averages 3.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while shooting 44 percent from the field and 73 percent from the line. He also ranks third on the team in minutes played at 510 and has 33 assists and 13 steals.

“I just try and go out there and be our hardest worker and a voice on the court, especially on defense, for us,” said Burish on Wednesday of his role. “It’s about the mindset of accepting my role and doing whatever I can to help the team be successful.”

Jaceb Burish will try to help his team win a second straight regional championship on Saturday (File photo by Scott Davidson)

Burish, who helped the Tigers win back-to-back sectional titles for the first time since 1996-97,  is a key cog for a Warsaw defense that is allowing just 41.5 points-per-game. The Tigers relied heavily on that defense to beat Northridge, Elkhart Central and Goshen to win the Elkhart Central Sectional title for the second straight year. Warsaw beat the Raiders 36-33 on a trey at the final horn by Mangas, then rolled to a 16-0 lead to open the game to avenge a regular-season loss to Central in a 71-36 semifinal rout and then outscored Goshen 33-16 in the second half in the title game to post a 49-32 victory.

“We’re a tight-knit group that works well together,” noted Burish of the Tigers, who have eight seniors this season. “I think that our defense really stepped up in the sectional and Kyle, like he always is, was exceptional.”

Ogle knows that a team based on fundamentals, defense and team play has to have outstanding role players like Burish, whose value goes far beyond the final stat sheet.

“Jaceb’s value to us is also that he’s a good screener, a good spot-up passer and a good free throw shooter,” added Ogle.

Warsaw will face an East Chicago Central team that is quick, loves to run and is led by 6-5 stud senior guard Jermaine Couisnard. Couisnard is averaging 28 points-per-game for the Cardinals, who are averaging 70 points-per-game as a team, and among the schools recruiting him is Kansas, who is ranked No. 1 in the country.

“We have to bring a lot of energy and have a big defensive game this Saturday against them,” said Burish of the showdown with ECC. “I think that it’s a good matchup. We have to rebound, stay packed in on defense and key on Jermaine and stay in front of him.

“We just have to come out Saturday and play our game,” added Burish, who plans to attend Purdue and study mechanical engineering.

And a valuable and key part of that game for the Tigers, whether it appears in the boxscore or not, will be the work of Burish.