The time is now for Hanover Central senior Langdon Oldenburg.
The 6-foot-3 guard/forward waited his turn to be a central figure for the Wildcats, so he was eager for whatever came his way.
“I’ve had to take a different role from what I’ve been used to as a shooting guard,” Oldenburg said. “I’ve had to play post more just because we’ve lacked a little bit of size, especially compared to some other teams.
“I’ve had to embrace a role of getting to the basket more, drawing more fouls, hit my free throws, contribute more on defense with steals. I have to be more active than I was last year, obviously. Hit threes when I’m able to pop open and definitely just keep our team together and keep us levelheaded and make sure we’re always communicating.”
Oldenburg is flourishing on those fronts. He was averaging team highs of 12.0 points and 7.0 rebounds for the Wildcats (5-7, 0-1) before a Northwest Crossroads Conference game at Hobart on Friday night, and he also serves as a captain with senior forward/center Owen Sosnowski and senior guard Jack Geldmyer.
“He’s technically first lead in terms of our captains,” first-year Hanover Central coach Chandler Spring said. “He’s the lead. He really represents everything we want our program to be about.
“He’s an incredible leader. When you think of the mold of someone you want to lead by example, it’s him. He may not be the most vocal guy, but everything he says is with intent. Part of that lead by example, he lets the game come to him. He has this patience and maturity to him that applies not only on the court but off the court too. It’s fantastic.”
Oldenburg has exhibited that patience over the years. As a freshman at Illinois Lutheran, he missed most of the season with a stress fracture in his back. He was limited to the junior varsity team as a sophomore after transferring to Hanover Central, and he spent most of last season on the JV team, too, as a senior-dominated group won its first sectional title since 2020.
This team is virtually entirely new under Spring, who was the JV coach and varsity assistant for two seasons.
“I’ve had to step into a much larger role this year, obviously,” Oldenburg said. “I really consider this my first varsity year. It’s been a lot. But I’ve been mentally preparing the last two years. I’ve been waiting to get on the court and embrace varsity minutes.”
Oldenburg has been making the most of that opportunity.
“What Langdon brings to the team is his determined mindset to get better every day and that hardworking guy that everyone looks up to,” Sosnowski said. “Everyone always sees Langdon at the early shootarounds and how he’s the first person in the gym every day. Langdon isn’t the guy to show up every once in a while. He’s in practice leading and providing that leadership role that you don’t even have to ask for.
“Langdon is even arguably a better role model off of the court as well. Langdon is one of the smartest guys I know and kills it in the classroom with his pure intelligence. If I have a question about any subject and need someone to turn to, I know who to go to, and that’s Langdon. Langdon is the perfect mixture of seriousness and the relaxed funny guy he is. People know if you have a question, Langdon is the guy to go to.”
Oldenburg “really has it here,” Spring said as he pointed to his head.
“He’s extremely intelligent,” Spring said. “He’s very, very bright.”
Oldenburg emphasized he’s a student before he’s an athlete.
“All of my friends will say I’m a nerd,” Oldenburg said with a grin. “I like reading. I actually enjoy school. Some kids might not. But I enjoy my academics. I like learning every day. I like to be able to better myself off the court because I know it’s not going to last forever with basketball.”
Still, Oldenburg aims to play in college. He said he’ll likely major in secondary education with a minor in economics, and he’s interested in teaching and coaching.
Oldenburg called Spring “a role model” and praised the seniors from last season for helping get him ready for this moment.
“I give them a shoutout,” he said. “They had a big role in our sectional win, and being able to play against guys like Brad (Rohde) and Henry (Maurer) every single day in practice, even on scout team, I may not have gotten varsity minutes on the court, but going against 6-6 in Brad and a lights-out shooter in Henry, it really did help me further my game.”
