Generals’ hardwood crew will be a work in progress

  • By Brian Questel
  • November 19, 2010
  • 305
                        
112910 WHSboysBKpreview Promo: Martin’s Generals young, but ‘hard working’ Generals’ hardwood crew will be a work in progress By Brian Questel The Wooster Generals’ boy’s basketball team will have a new look about it. . It would be hard not to, with eight seniors graduating from last year’s 14-6 squad, which finished in a tie for second place in the Ohio Cardinal Conference with a 10-4 record. However, the flood of new faces doesn’t worry third-year head coach Craig Martin. “I’m excited about this year and the players we have in the program,” said Martin. “We had eight seniors last year, so we have a young team this year and only two letter winners returning. Those are two starters, though, one being Alex (LaLonde), who is one of the better players in our league, and Duke Price, who was our point guard last year. He brings lot of experience with him. He’s our quarterback out there and he has a lot of athleticism and is a smart player. “We had a good group come up from the JV. I’m pleased with our effort and hard work. The JV was 17-3 last year, so they know how to work hard and compete. We lack some of that varsity experience, but this group’s ability to work and compete can help make up for that. “As these players gain more experience and more confidence, that bodes well for us as we go through the season. I’m excited. We don’t have as much height as we’ve had in the past … so we have to work defensively to help make up for that.” LaLonde and Price will be the heart of the squad. LaLonde, who just inked a scholarship to attend Air Force, shot 51 percent from 2-point range and 30 percent on 3-pointers while averaging 14.2 points a game. With 269 points over 19 games and a 14.2 average, he was the second-leading scorer on a balanced team that featured the departed Alex Kacere (283 points, 14.2 ppg), Mack Spittle (12.9) and Steve Stefanik (11.6). Price averaged 5 points a game and 3 assists a game, but he will be expected to boost those numbers. “We need to work on spreading the defense and create opportunities to attack basket and get good shots from the perimeter,” said Martin. “We have people who can shoot from the perimeter. Alex can and Duke is a pretty good shooter. He didn’t have to demonstrate that with the senior class --- we had people who could really shoot. Duke has the ability to score and he’ll have that opportunity to fulfill that role. Luke McGee is a good shooter along with Alex, Von (Blair) and Duke. We can put the ball on the floor and attack.” Martin’s major concern is a lack of height throughout the lineup, but the Generals’ defense has been solid in the early going. “One of the things I’ve been pleased with is our defense in our practices and our first scrimmage,” said Martin. “We have things to work on, but right now our defense is ahead of our offense, which is not a bad thing. Offense is one thing you can work on in practice and put more things in, and it only gets better. We have a solid foundation to start with. All we want is to be put in a position to be in games and give us an opportunity to win at the end. “I’ve always been a big man-to-man coach and that’s definitely my preference. We’re solid there, but because we lack height in the post, we’ll play more zones against certain opponents to help protect the basket and help with teams with larger posts. We’ll mix up coverages with different match-up zones. A lot of defense goes back to hard work, heart and being able to compete. That’s one of our strengths. This team is willing to work and step up and compete. “We may not have as much athleticism as last year, but their willingness to work hard and compete helps. It’s a smart group – they have a good basketball IQ. What we lack in athleticism, we have the ability to know where to be on the floor and that helps somewhat to make up for that. And as we practice more and have more scrimmages, that will help determine how deep we can go on bench. I see potential to play 8-9 deep this year.” The help coming from the JV starts with junior Luke McGee, who swung between both squads last year and scored a dozen points in nine games. “James Hunter is a senior and one of our leaders on JV and an energy guy. He’s a very good rebounder and defender,” said Martin. “Wes Welker (senior) was the starting point guard for the JV and he’ll back up Duke at point guard and see time at the 2-guard. He’s a smart, heady player. He’s not going to put up a lot of points, but he’ll handle the ball and not turn it over.” Sophomore Grant Stokes, who just picked up his second varsity letter for the football Generals, “will be one of the major post guys. He has good post skills … and he has a high basketball IQ,” said Martin. “Von Blair is only a sophomore but he brings a lot of athleticism to the floor and can really attack the basket … and apply pressure on the ball. He’s come a long way and continues to develop and get better. “Our other seniors are Austin Hackworth and Brodie Arnette, who were good contributors at the JV level,” said Martin. “Brodie is a good shooter who knows how to come off screens, and Austin is a hustler, a real energy guy again.” The Generals will open their season Dec. 3 at Cloverleaf.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load