HILLMAN — For the past decade, there hasn’t been a more consistent boys basketball program in the area than Hillman.

The Tigers have enjoyed a plethora of winning seasons, unprecedented winning streaks and deep postseason runs over the last 10 years. Head coach Eric Muszynski has helped mold his Tigers into one of the most consistent teams in Division 4, year after year.

After a pair of down years and losing seasons for the Tigers during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 campaigns, the Tigers improved, with their 12-8 overall record serving as a sign of restoration for the program..

A year later, the Tigers are once again on the prowl, enjoying another one of their magnificent regular season runs. They have an unblemished 11-0 record, sit atop the North Star League standings and are ranked in the top 10 of the state’s Division 4 AP poll.

This is nothing new for the Tigers. This 10-0 start marks the fourth time in the past seven years Hillman has started a season 10-0.

“When I started here, we were 10-32 and then we ripped off 12 straight winning seasons and I thought we had it figured out and we should be above .500 every year, but we did take a pretty big graduation hit in 2018 and looking back we could have done some different things to better transition. We did enjoy the ride and I honestly think we may have lost our hunger a little bit and started to just assume it happens because of who we are and what we’ve done,” Muszynski said. “This group, with not knowing when or if we were going to play a year ago, it kind of ignited us because you didn’t know when you were going to take the court again and before you just kind of took it for granted. Our young guys made strides last year and we improved as a team as the season went on and I think that was huge for us.”

The Tigers have always had an array of talent and this year is no different as Hillman possesses the area’s leading scorer. Sophomore sensation Trenton Taratuta is averaging 24.1 points per game, has poured in 20 points in eight games this season and has eclipsed 30 points on two separate occasions, including 33 points in a win over Gaylord St. Mary and a career-high 34 points against Au Gres.

Along with his ability to fill the cup, Taratuta is averaging eight rebounds, 3.3 assists and 5.4 steals per game.

Along with Taratuta, Hillman seniors Landon Timm, Brady Firman, Sean Henigan, and Aden Sobeck have been outstanding complimentary pieces, giving the Tigers some dangerous depth.

Timm is second on the team averaging 8.8 points per game and juniors Caleb Hiveley and Braylon Firman have been key to Hillman’s success this year. Hiveley is averaging 7.6 points per game and has grabbed an average of 8.6 rebounds per contest to lead the team in the rebounding department.

“The turning point for us I think was the fact that we lost to Posen by 20 early last year, then lost to them by two at home later that season before beating them by 18 in districts. It felt like our championship game despite losing to Onaway our next game, I could tell we had our fire back and we were ready to put ourselves back on the map,” Muszynski said. “It took some of our young guys stepping up and we had summer ball this year and we’ve gotten back to what built Hillman basketball, putting your hard hat on and playing for the front of your jersey and understanding it is bigger than us individually. Another big part of our success is our length. It really helps when your lineup is over six feet because it really helps us shrink the floor on our traps. This is the most overall size that we’ve had which I think contributes to our success.”

The Tigers aren’t just winning games, they’re dominating, having won all but one game by double digits and are outscoring opponents by an average of 28 points per game, while averaging 61 points per contest.

Hillman’s closest game came in its season opener against Rogers City as the Tigers edged the Hurons 39-37.

The Tigers are hoping to show the strides they have made since opening night and continue their dominance into the second half of the season.

“It all starts defensively for us. We have been hungry this season. I love it and I’ve loved every season. I’ve been fortunate to have some great groups and some great teams, but this group is special because in practice they’re like sponges. I find myself coaching, but not overly coach. These guys listen and go out and execute. They’re a great group of kids,” Muszynski said. “We brought some of our guys that are juniors and seniors now, up a few years ago when we were taking those bumps and they learned our system and it takes time to learn this system. We took our lumps like we did at the beginning of my tenure, but the exposure that we got some of these guys when they were younger you can see is beginning to pay off. I think the tradition and getting the tradition back is what has fueled these guys. They all watched it growing up and they know how passionate I am about it and they’re embracing the tradition of Hillman basketball.”