Seniors Jake Timm, Micah Russell and Jack Keleher, or “the three amigos” as they have become known at Mount Vernon High School, have been playing basketball together since fifth grade tournament league, so when Jake had a emergency appendectomy the night before their game against Western Dubuque Jan. 13, two of the amigos were worried.
When Jake found out he was going to have his appendix taken out on Jan. 12, he was concerned about recovery. The doctors weren’t able to tell him how long recovery would take; it could take 2-3 weeks, or the rest of his senior basketball season. “I knew whatever happened, the team would be fine,” Jake said. But when he came out of surgery his dad, Ed Timm, Mustang basketball head coach said the doctor told him that everything went really well and it would be 2-3 weeks until Jake would be back on the court. “Basketball helped me to get better faster,” Jake said.
Coach Timm said it was “kind of strange” how it happened the night before the big game with Western Dubuque, who were tied with the Mustangs in the WAMAC Conference rankings, on Friday the 13th. The first game was rough without Jake, because the boys weren’t just without their friend, but their point guard. Micah said, “It was a big deal because he gives me and Jack most of our shots and takes control. It was a bad time [to lose Jake] because we had hard games ahead.”
The Mustangs lost to Western Dubuque that Friday, and Maquoketa and Cedar Rapids Prairie in the first week without Jake. The way Coach Timm saw it, the other players needed to step up and make extra shots and rebounds to cover Jake’s 15 point per game average. “It was hard to adjust,” Coach Timm said. “The boys were playing like they were waiting for Jake to come back. It was frustrating because they weren’t competing like they would compete.”
Coach Timm wasn’t the only one frustrated. Jake wasn’t used to watching the game from the bench instead of playing. “It was hard because you’re so used to playing and then it’s taken away and you have to find other ways to help the team,” said Jake. He described himself as ultra competitive and said he did a lot coaching from the end of the bench.
Jack described how weird it felt playing without Jake since they had been playing together for a most of their basketball career, “He’s been our point guard since fifth grade. It threw off the rhythm,” he said.
“We lost confidence and didn’t know what to expect,” Jack also said about Jake’s absence.
The Mustangs gained some confidence in their second week without Jake and won their next three games, but Jake was tired of sitting on the bench. On Tuesday, Jan. 31 Jake was cleared by his doctor to play. Although he didn’t start, he did play the majority of the game against DeWitt Central. “He hadn’t practiced in two and a half weeks and it looked like he hadn’t missed a lot,” Coach Timm said. He also said that with a strong team of boys who have played together for as long as these boys have, it’s not such a big deal to miss two weeks.
The Mustangs played Anamosa tonight, and were behind until there was 3:06 left in the game. Jack scored a three point shot to tie the game 48-48. From then on the teams the score remained close, and both teams fought for every point. In the last second of the game, Anamosa scored to tie the game 56-56. The game then went into overtime. In the last minute of overtime, the Mustangs scored four points by free throws, three of those shots made by Jake. The Mustangs won 68-62. Jake said, “It felt good to be back and have the ball in my hand at the end of the game.”
