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Thursday, 15 November 2007 |
New senior leadership emerging on the hardcourt
By BRIAN SMITH
Sports Editor
ST. MARYS — The balancing act is delicate.
Asking a senior to raise his game, while asking him to stay true to the style he’s played with since blacktop days.
St. Marys boys basketball coach Paul Sadler thinks he has a group of seniors who can handle the pressure of becoming the scorers.
On the top of that list is senior guard Cory Menker.
“We need Cory Menker to be a consistent, first-team All-WBL caliber player,” Sadler said.
The signs of that happening were there in 2007. Menker drained six three-pointers in the first half against Ottawa-Glandorf at the Supreme Court, giving the Riders a boost that lifted them to the win.
Sadler thinks Menker is ready to bring that top-shelf game to the court every night in 2007-2008.
Seniors Menker and Derek Dunlap said it’s strange being on the floor and not having Adam Johns out there. Or Aaron Pfeffenberger. Or the five other seniors who made their mark for the Roughriders last season.
Everyone in the St. Marys locker room is quick to admit that the team is undersized.
“We’ve got a bunch of small guys,” Dunlap said.
Menker said the team’s style has dramatically changed with the make-up of the team.
In his second year as the head coach, Sadler felt no compunction to stick with the style of last year’s club. Adam Johns and Aaron Pfeffenberger played a high-low game built on halfcourt sets and penetration by point guard Doug Burke.
“We don’t have that 6-5 guy to dump the ball into when times get tough,” Sadler said.
“We’re going to use our speed and athletic ability to get up and down the court,” Dunlap said.
“It suits my style,” Menker said. “Shot and run. That’s what I’m good at.”
It won’t be all Menker, though.
“We have a bunch of great shooters on this team,” Menker said. “Whoever I pass the ball to, they make the shots.”
Among the most important pieces to this year’s team is the senior Dunlap.
At 6-feet and playing the power forward position, Dunlap will be outsized almost every game.
But the time with Dunlap sitting on the sideline with an injury last year showed how valuable he can be to the team.
Sadler and — especially — Dunlap are eager to see him on the floor for an entire season.
“It was bad,” Dunlap said on having to sit out. “I never had to sit out before. I kind of shortened it up and got back as soon as I could.”
Sadler loves what Dunlap does for his team — most of it never showing up on the stat sheet.
“He’s energy personified,” Sadler said.
And calling Dunlap the proverbial quarterback of the team would be overly coy.
He was the quarterback this fall.
“Being the quarterback really helps (with leadership skills),” Dunlap said.
Another key piece to the 2007 season is Michael Schmitmeyer. The senior guard is a sharpshooter from outside.
He can be so much more however, Sadler said. The second-year coach asked Schmitmeyer to round out his game this season and to be able to score all over the floor and help run the offense.
St. Marys opens its season on Friday, Nov. 23, when it hosts Toledo Central Catholic at McBroom Gymnasium.
The Riders finished 5-4 in the WBL in 2006.
Sadler begins his second season at the controls of the Roughrider basketball program.
Notes: Sadler said Jameel Brenneman locked up the point guard starting spot with his play in the first three scrimmages. He only turned the ball over twice... the center position starting spot is still fluid.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 19 November 2007 )
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