Under head coach Paul Westhead the 1989-90 edition of the Loyola Marymount University mens basketball team used its depth and conditioning to keep fresh legs on the floor at all times and literally wear down opponents physically, while putting up some of the highest scoring numbers in college basketball history.
Going into the 2011-12 high school basketball season, third-year West Holmes head coach Jim Lindeman has the type of roster that should allow the Knights to do nearly the same thing to their opponents.
Or Neerly the same thing.
With the arrival of junior forward Ryan Neer – a 63 transfer student from Ohio Cardinal Conference (OCC) rival Orrville – and the return of 64 junior forward Dylan Wengerd and 511 senior guard Joey Gonzalez, who both missed virtually the entire 2010-11 season due to injuries, the Knights have a varsity roster that can legitimately go 12 deep.
But with five of those players checking in at 64 or taller, Lindemans team isnt going to run up and down the floor like Westheads Lions, its going to wear teams down with tough defense and physical play under the basket.
Where the depth helps us most is on the defensive end, explained Lindeman, whose team went 8-12 a year ago after enduring a 1-20 season during his first year on the bench. If youre playing defense as hard as you can you can only go three or four minutes before youre spent and then you have to get somebody else in there. You get a drink of water, you catch your breath and you do it all over again. That depth allows us to do that.
While were not looking to score 100 points every night, itll help us keep other teams under 50 points.
Defense is our staple right now, added the 2002 Northwestern High School graduate. Thats where I feel were furthest along as a team is in the half court defense. And thats going to be something that in games when the offense isnt working so well, if we can grind in the half court, its going to keep us in ball games until hopefully our offense kicks in.
A year ago that offense ran through 59 freshman phenom Brady Arnold, who proved he could get himself open and knock down shots from just about anywhere on the floor.
He led the team with 317 points, on 42 percent shooting from the field, 35 percent shooting from behind the three-point arc and 76 percent shooting at the free throw line, while also helping transition the team from defense to offense on multiple occasions by coming away with 52 steals against the opposition.
The Knights second-leading scorer was 510 guard Keaton Leppla, who returns to the two-guard position this year as a junior, after dropping in 158 points in 2010-11, oftentimes driving to the basket through bigger, taller traffic, in a hard-nosed style reminiscent of his play as a linebacker shedding blockers on the football field.
With gridiron running backs Grant Hay (61 junior), Layne Perone (511 sophomore) and Gonzalez each expected to contribute significant minutes at the guard position as well, physical play and toughness wont be an issue in the backcourt.
Nor will shot making with 61 junior Michael Dewitt seeing increased minutes after showing the ability to come in hot off the bench a year ago and spark the offense to life, and with the addition of 510 junior Nate Ewing to the varsity roster, after he put up impressive offensive numbers as a jv player in 2010-11.
Theres guys that can go out and get baskets, but youre not going to win against good teams if its one or two guys getting it done for you, said Lindeman, who will look for contributions from his entire backcourt. Youve got to win as a team. I said, Look around fellas, weve got a lot of talent in here. Weve got to recognize were better when we can cycle guys in and keep kids fresh.
Its the same story up front, where 64 junior forward Gabe Snyder and 66 junior forward Brock Macaulay averaged 6.7 and 7.6 points per game respectively last season, while combining for a total of 300 points.
Too often, however, the Knights two big men found themselves in foul trouble, leaving Lindeman few options.
Those options have increased going into the 2011-12 campaign, with Wengerd healthy, 66 junior post player Donnie Dowling returning, after splitting time between jv and varsity a year ago, and with the addition of Neer.
Ryans a guy who has stepped in and fit right in and hes a hard worker, said Lindeman. He can do a little bit of everything. Hes versatile, he can handle the ball a little bit, he can go inside and post up if we have a mismatch, and hes got a pretty good outside shot. Its a little versatility thats nice to have because we can run him in there with some different lineups.
We have some good size – Brock, Gabe, Ryan, Dylan – and Donnie Dowlings been playing pretty well too.
Lindeman plans to use that size and depth to wear down opposing teams at both ends of the floor.
We intend to be the aggressors inside every game, he said. That has to happen. We have to be big every night. You can look big getting off the bus, but if you dont assert yourself and make sure you use that strength it doesnt matter, youre just big guys that arent doing anything.
I really believe its hard for a big guy to be successful as quickly as a guard at the varsity level just because of the physicality thats going on in there, but they grew physically and they grew mentally this summer.
We were physically tough most of the time last year, but sometimes when youre young and you dont have a lot of experience mental toughness is an issue. This preseason were starting to see that even though we only have one senior (Gonzalez), I think we look experienced out there with some of the stuff were doing and thats exciting to see.
When the Knights varsity squad put together their 2012 team calendar poster, they posed with fishing rods in their hands and dressed as if ready to go catch some walleye or catfish.
The slogan was, Reeling in a championship.
With the depth and talent this years team has, the time to turn that slogan into a reality might finally be near.
Or Neer.
We want to win every night, said Lindeman. It doesnt mean were going to, but thats what we want to do. We want to challenge for the conference and then we want to make some noise in the tournament.
And if everything comes together the way he wants, opposing teams will get worn out watching the Knights do exactly that.
