Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Boys basketball, week in review


Team of the Week – Canon-McMillan
Some teams didn't play a game last week, others played just one. Canon-McMillan played three and went 2-1 with a pair of key wins in Section 4-AAAA and a loss to a one-loss Mt. Lebanon.
The Big Macs elevated themselves from last place in the standings with a 55-54 win over Upper St. Clair and a 60-57 win at Bethel Park. Dylan Berger averaged 18.5 points in the two victories, while Brett Haney and Kionte Davis scored double figures in each game as well.
Berger led C-M with 17 points in a 61-41 loss to Mt. Lebanon.
The Big Macs look to continue to make a playoff push tonight against Peters Township.

Runner-up – Bentworth
Non-section play wasn't kind to Bentworth, but the Bearcats are playing better basketball of late and picked up a key 58-56 win at Carmichaels Friday night. Eric Schoedel scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Starting five
Dylan Berger, Canon-McMillan
Christian Brumbaugh, South Fayette
Brett Haney, Canon-McMillan
Eric Schoedel, Bentworth
Josh Valentic, Trinity (pictured)
Off the bench
Naz Victoria, California

Record-setter – A few blog followers believe Josh Valentic is the best pure jump shooter in the area, a point that is hard to argue. When I watch Valentic play, I'm as equally impressed with how hard he works to get the basketball, whether it is fighting through screens or running the baseline. Valentic is a tireless worker.
He's also Trinity's all-time leading scorer.
With 2:32 remaining in Trinity's win over Waynesburg Friday night, Valentic became the Hillers' leading scorer on – what else? – a jump shot. He finished the game with 30 points and takes 1,297 career points into tonight's game against Washington. Mike Deegan scored 1,296 points for the Hillers.

Washington vs. Trinity – Tonight is a big night for important basketball games and big-time rivalries.
South Fayette at Montour.
Peters Township at Canon-McMillan.
Burgettstown at Chartiers-Houston.
Bentworth at Avella.
Tonight also marks the first time since 1970 that Washington meets Trinity in a section game. Besides the obvious rivalry, this game takes on more importance as the Prexies and Hillers are both 2-2 and tied for fourth place in Section 5-AAA.
The two are scheduled to meet a second time on Friday, Feb. 11 and the last time they met twice in the same season came in 1995-96.

12 comments:

prexie74 said...

wow, like i said that boy from trinity can shoot the ball, and my prexies can't, and their fundamentals are really lacking. its about time their coach starts working hard at practice against the zone because the word is out. here's one follower that hopes wash high gets some good coaching fast

mike_kovak said...

How about Valentic's pullup three-pointer on a fast break? That's trust between a player and coach.

Anonymous said...

Mike, do you think that lack of offensive structure, defensive discipline and overall player control is going to continue to hurt the Prexies. The team has talent don't get me wrong. But as a head coach, you have to be able to control and manage the talent. Not more than a handful of set plays, lazy passes and poor defense has never been a down fall for Wash High. What is going on down there?

Anonymous said...

the young prexies will be ok. we all realized during football season, that this hoops season would be tough with the young squad moving up from the weakest AA section to the toughest AAA section that is loaded with senior heavy teams. i just hope the boys stay positive and keep working. there's still hope for this season & the future looks great!

Anonymous said...

"good" coaching requires overcoming knucklehead parenting...something the "high" has been able to do in any sport for a couple years now....

mike_kovak said...

I think anon 1:40 p.m. got it.

I don't believe finger pointing is going to solve much. I also don't care what a group of kids did in junior high.

Anonymous said...

I think anon at 2:13 pm meant:

something the "high" has NOT been able to do in any sport....

prexie74 said...

mike good point about junior high, i hate to run down a coach but when you take that position, doesn't that eman you are committed to not only running the varsity program but overseeing the jr and even midget programs to make sure they are getting the fundamentals and discipline that the kids need to move up and have a sussessful program.
some schools, and i think wash high may be one, get buy with athleticism in the lower programs and still win, but they lack fundamentals and that hurts them later on, things like taking good shots and moving without the basketball. many of our local schools lack these fundamentals.
don't get me wrong ,i think we have some coaches in the area that do this( trinity, cm. sf), and maybe a few others but unfortunately not many.
here's one sports fan that hope that changes soon

mike_kovak said...

Some good points indeed Prexie74. Strong feeder systems can be invaluable.

And you're dead on, you can get by with athleticism when you're 12, 13, 14, but there comes a time when knowing how to play the game comes into play. Don't get me wrong, athleticism always helps, but if it doesn't come packaged with on-court intelligence, it gets wasted.

Anonymous said...

WOW!! You hit the nail right on the head with these last few comments!! Wash high needs to take a good long look at themselves...Unfortunately, i cant see it changing anytime soon.

Anonymous said...

Mike did you get a report on tonights game with Wash High at Montour. I ran into one of the boys at Getgo & it sounds like they put up a great fight. Wish I would of made it out - sounds like a total team effort in a back & forth game. Any details?

mike_kovak said...

Montour beat Wash High, 62-56. The Prexies played without Eric Ellis, something about having a cell phone at school according to his facebook page.

Four guys scored in double figures for the High. I didn't cover the game but it does sound like a much better team effort as Montour is a very solid team.

Half the section schedule remains. That's plenty of time to get things going if they can build off this effort.