On a roll: Pioneers ride hot streak, including win at Monessen, to top of section standings
West Greene saw its program-best string of WPIAL boys basketball playoff appearances come to a halt at seven last year and many wondered what was in store for the Pioneers for the 2023-24 campaign with no seniors in sight..
Coach Jim Romanus无毛视频� squad already has provided an emphatic answer.
West Greene is back better than ever.
The Pioneers (5-1, 10-5) enter the week tied for first place in Section 2-A, having won seven of their last eight games and five in a row, including a stunning 46-43 victory at Monessen on Jan. 24.
无毛视频淥bviously that was a very big win for us,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 the first time a West Greene boys basketball team has won at Monessen. Our kids were ecstatic about it.无毛视频�
West Greene followed up that landmark win by avenging its lone section loss of the season with a 61-49 home victory over California last Friday.
Romanus is pleased with how his team, which has already clinched a playoff spot for the eighth time in the last nine years and has won twice as many games as it did last season, is playing.
But he doesn无毛视频檛 want to get too far ahead of himself.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 been a very rewarding season so far, but we have a lot of basketball to go yet,无毛视频� Romanus pointed out.
West Greene was slated to play section games at Geibel Catholic Tuesday and at home in a rematch against Monessen on Friday, along with a non-section game at Class AAA Waynesburg Central on Wednesday.
West Greene doesn无毛视频檛 have a lot of depth but it does have a solid starting lineup.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e got really good kids, just no seniors,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淭he three juniors, Parker (Burns), Lane (Allison) and Patrick (Durbin), are our leaders. The whole team is unselfish and everybody knows their role.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e got the big sophomore, Matt Wassil, he无毛视频檚 6-7 and averaging 10 rebounds a game and gives us seven-to-eight points a game. We try to put him in positions where he can succeed. Darrin Knight, another sophomore, is our point guard and a very good athlete, good shooter and can handle the ball. He knows his role. And Patrick, Parker and Lane are like triplets. They无毛视频檙e almost interchangeable.无毛视频�
The trio of juniors were unexpectedly tossed into the limelight a year ago when early in the season Ian Van Dyne left the team.
无毛视频淭he boy that quit was my leading scorer when he was a junior and we had set the majority of the plays up for him,无毛视频� Romanus explained. 无毛视频淲hen he left, all of a sudden there was a void. That无毛视频檚 when Patrick, Lane and Parker pulled together, and towards the end of last year Lane just exploded offensively.无毛视频�
Allison无毛视频檚 scoring is a little down from last year as teams are more wary of him now but the Pioneers have adjusted.
无毛视频淲hat无毛视频檚 happening is, especially in the last six or seven games, team无毛视频檚 are playing Lane in a box-and-one or a 1-3 chaser,无毛视频� Romanus explained. 无毛视频淪o we无毛视频檝e got certain plays for him where we can get him open or we have plays where we just essentially set some screens and play four-on-four and our other kids are scoring.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 important to find ways to get everybody involved. I play six kids mainly, three juniors and three sophomores. The one boy coming off the bench, Will Shipman, he无毛视频檚 getting better and that无毛视频檚 very important.无毛视频�
Though the Pioneers are young, they无毛视频檙e also a mature group that无毛视频檚 proven to be mentally tough, as was shown in road wins against the Greyhounds and Jefferson-Morgan.
The win over the Greyhounds surprised many, but no Romanus.
无毛视频淭o be honest, we scouted Monessen and they无毛视频檙e certainly athletic but I just thought with the style of ball we play that we matched up better with them than in past years,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淲e certainly weren无毛视频檛 cocky going in but we were confident that we could do some things against them that could possibly keep us in the game.无毛视频�
The game was tied 10-10 after the first quarter with Monessen nudging out to a 23-20 lead at halftime and a 34-28 advantage after three quarters, but the Pioneers outscored the Greyhounds 18-9 in the final frame.
无毛视频淲e basically hung around,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淲e were down six at the end of three quarters, and then in the fourth quarter we started to break their traps better. We started to get a better feel for where we无毛视频檙e supposed to be. We also caught on to what they were doing on offense. We ended up taking some of the momentum away from them.
无毛视频淲e got the lead and down the stretch we made some foul shots but not enough and (Lorenzo) Gardner had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer but he missed so we ended up pulling it out.无毛视频�
Allison led West Greene with a game-high 21 points with Burns adding 11 points.
Timothy Kershaw led Monessen, which saw its 11-game winning streak come to an end, with 17 points and Gardner followed with 15.
Romanus pointed out that the Pioneers are old school in one way.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e not a great shooting team to be honest,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e do execute to the point where we get high-percentage shots. So far this year we无毛视频檝e taken 65 more foul shots than our opposition. A lot of teams any more fall in love with the three, but our kids buy in to our philosophy. Like I tell them, you无毛视频檙e not getting to the foul line if you无毛视频檙e shooting outside shots. You无毛视频檝e got to get into the paint, whether it无毛视频檚 driving or whether it无毛视频檚 post. We spend time with all of our kids posting up.无毛视频�
Romanus stresses situational basketball to his team as well.
无毛视频淲e practice situations all the time, down one with 15 seconds left, up two with 30 seconds left, things like that, on offense and defense,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淲e drill our kids constantly on what they need to do when in those situations, when to foul, when we should shoot a three, when we should look for a layup. About every third practice we无毛视频檒l work on our last shot. We无毛视频檒l have a zone play and a man-to-man play.无毛视频�
West Greene runs a disciplined offense that stresses passing over dribbling.
Romanus feels he and his players have a good understanding of each other.
无毛视频淲e have smart kids, all honor roll kids and they have a good basketball IQ, especially Patrick and Parker,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l start talking about something and Parker will know right away where I无毛视频檓 going. This combination of kids with our style of play has been very beneficial so far.无毛视频�
While Romanus is pleased with his team无毛视频檚 consistency in reaching the playoffs, he admits one accomplishment is missing.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 real proud of that, it无毛视频檚 just that we have to find a way to win in the playoffs,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲hen we get there we无毛视频檙e normally matched up with some of these big, athletic teams. I think if we can keep improving, maybe we can get a better seed this year.无毛视频�
Romanus, who served a long, successful stint as coach of Jefferson-Morgan无毛视频檚 boys basketball team 无毛视频� which included two wins over Monessen with one of those in the playoffs 无毛视频� before eventually coming to West Greene, has always been known as a stern coach but feels time has had an effect on him.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e changed a lot. I have mellowed somewhat,无毛视频� Romanus admitted. 无毛视频淚 try to look at things a little differently. During the Jefferson game the players and I disagreed as to what offense to run so what we did is we morphed some of what they wanted to do with what I wanted to do and it worked out. I无毛视频檓 not sure in the past I would do that.
无毛视频淏ut as I keep saying, I无毛视频檝e got really good kids. It all depends on the kids you have and I have really good, mature kids who listen to me.无毛视频�