Styles will clash when Olpe meets Marais des Cygnes Valley on Friday
By Michael Ashford
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Both Olpe and Marais des Cygnes Valley’s boys basketball teams will enter Friday night’s showdown in Olpe with identical 5-0 records overall and 4-0 Lyon County League marks.
But that is where the similarities between the two teams end.
Opposing styles will duke it out when the Eagles and Trojans go at it Friday night, with the victor keeping its perfect season intact in addition to taking an early edge at the top of the league standings.
“It’ll probably come down to which team’s able to get the game to their tempo,” Marais des Cygnes Valley coach Thad Thurston said.
Led by 6-foot-6, 210-pound center Dennis Becker (18.6 points per game), the Trojans will look to slow the pace down and make the Eagles guard for extended periods in the half court.
As for Olpe, ever since a frenetic, come-from-behind victory over Madison on Dec. 4, the Eagles have not strayed from an all-out, full-court defense that relies on creating turnovers to kick-start the offense.
Both squads’ perfect run through their pre-Christmas break schedule might have come as a surprise to some, as both teams had questions looming overhead before the start of the season.
Marais des Cygnes Valley returned seven of its top eight players from a year ago, but last season’s squad went just 10-12, and depth beyond those returning seven was in doubt. As for Olpe, the Eagles lost all but one player off last season’s team that placed third at State.
But both Thurston and Olpe coach Chris Schmidt said the other team’s success was to be expected.
“I’m not real surprised with where they’re at right now, because I think it’s a combination — they’ve got the leaders and Thad does a great job with those kids,” Schmidt said. “They’re going to be a handful, no doubt about it.”
Added Thurston: “Coach Schmidt does a great job for Olpe. They’re athletic and probably going to want to get up and down the floor.”
Heading into Friday night’s matchup, both coaches have pinpointed areas in which their respective teams must become better as the season moves forward.
For Olpe — which is led by junior Cole Krueger (17.6 ppg), the lone returner from a year ago — Schmidt said he wanted his still-relatively inexperienced team to improve fundamentally.
“We need to pass the ball a little better and protect the ball,” he said. “We get a possession, and we want a shot out of the possession as much as anything. If the shot doesn’t go in and it’s a shot we want, that’s one thing. When we throw the ball away and don’t even get an opportunity to put the ball up at the hole, that’s frustrating.”
Thurston said the Marais des Cygnes Valley players must continue to be confident in the system and rely on their knowledge and leadership to help push the team to greater things.
He’ll get a real good barometer on just where his team is at with that when the Trojans take on the Eagles this week.
“If we’re able to slow the game down, then I like our chances,” Thurston said. “If we start running with Olpe, things might not look so good.”
Northern Heights boys picking up where last season left off
The Northern Heights Wildcats also made it through their pre-Christmas schedule unscathed, as they take a 5-0 record into Friday night’s game at Pomona.
The Wildcats have come together nicely for coach Lanny Massey after the team graduated all five starters from a year ago. In the place of the graduating players were five more seniors ready to take over the reigns after last year’s squad went 18-4, as seniors Haydon Parks, David Hanks, Pete Symmonds, Levi Hizar and Michael Glass make up the starting lineup.
“I feel like our kids are doing a good job of stepping up and getting done what they need to get done,” Massey said. “I’ve seen what I want out of them, hit and miss. We need to get a little more consistent in some of the things we’re doing, but overall, I’m pretty pleased with some of the things I’ve seen.”
The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Parks has been the focal point for the Wildcats so far this season, as he is averaging a team-high 20 points per game despite being the opposition’s top priority defensively.
“He’s obviously being double- teamed and zoned quite a bit, and he’s done a wonderful job for us,” Massey said. “He’s really stepped up his game and has become an offensive force for us. Now, if we can just hit some shots from the outside to keep people from collapsing down in on him, we’re going to be in very good shape.”
Becoming a better shooting team is at the top of Massey’s wish list for his squad. He said last year’s team shot in the low 50s percentage-wise from the field, and he’d like this year’s squad to be able to match that performance.
“I’d like to see us shoot just a little bit better,” Massey said. “We’re shooting in the mid-40s from the field ... but maybe we got spoiled last year.”