Pioneers looking to be more physical
West Greene head coach Jim Romanus talks to his players as assistant coach Beau Jackson (left) looks on during a timeout in a game last season. (Photo by Rob Burchianti)
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
West Greene无毛视频檚 Casey Miller (33) defends against a shot at Avella last season. Miller returns to the Pioneers for his senior year.
West Greene无毛视频檚 Wes Whipkey (2) challenges a 3-point shot by Avella无毛视频檚 Westley Burchianti (3) during a game last season. Whipkey returns to the Pioneers for his senior season although a football injury will likely keep him out of the lineup until January. (Photo by Rob Burchianti)
Jim Romanus is hoping to get back to normal in more ways than one this boys basketball season.
The West Greene coach has guided the Pioneers into the WPIAL playoffs for a school-record six years in a row, although all teams were invited to play in the postseason last season during the COVID-19 pandemic.
无毛视频淟ast year was a disaster, not only because of COVID but I also had a small roster and we had injuries that lingered throughout the year from football,无毛视频� said Romanus, who is in his 11th year as coach of the Pioneers and 45th year of coaching basketball overall.
What bothered Romanus most last season was his team无毛视频檚 style of play.
无毛视频淭he one thing we should get back to doing, which has always been a staple of mine except for last year, is we finally should be more physical again,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淟ast year we weren无毛视频檛. We just got pushed around.
无毛视频淚 think we无毛视频檙e getting back to the kind of basketball I like to see us play.无毛视频�
Romanus does have his leading scorer returning in 6-foot-2 junior Ian Vandyne.
无毛视频淚an started last year and averaged about 10 points a game,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淗e really worked hard in the offseason. He went to a couple camps, played in the Brownson House and in the Budd Grebb league, so he无毛视频檚 gotten a lot better.无毛视频�
The Pioneers have a few other key pieces returning also, one from two seasons ago.聽
无毛视频淥ur roster remains small this year but I do have some of my football players back, they无毛视频檙e just banged up,无毛视频� Romanus explained. 无毛视频淥ne of them who was a starter from last year, senior Wes Whipkey (6-1), will probably be out until January because he has a knee problem. Another senior, Corey Wise (5-10), who played as a sophomore but didn无毛视频檛 play last year, is back but he无毛视频檚 still a bit dinged up from football. Colin Brady (6-2), another football player with lingering injuries, is a sophomore who started some games for us last year.
无毛视频淐orey and Colin are both playing right now, they无毛视频檙e just not at 100 percent yet. When Corey was a sophomore he had a couple real big games. He can shoot it, as can Vandyne. Brady is just a pure athlete.无毛视频�
Romanus has a set starting five.
无毛视频淔or now, with Wes out, it will be Colin, Corey, Ian, senior Casey Miller (6-3 senior) and Kaden Shields (5-8), who无毛视频檚 a junior,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淓ither Shields or Vandyne will be the point guard.
无毛视频淣athan Reed (5-9) is a junior who will play some, too.无毛视频�
West Greene will also be relying on some underclassmen as other key players off the bench.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e got a bunch of freshman and some of them are pretty decent,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淭wo of them played a lot in the summer and have really come on well, Lane Allison and Patrick Durbin. They have some potential and they have a lot of support from home. Their folks really push them. Patrick plays AAU basketball and Lane无毛视频檚 a really good athlete.无毛视频�
Romanus is hoping his team can extend its playoff streak to seven.
无毛视频淚 know everyone was invited last year but we无毛视频檙e proud of that record and want to see it continue,无毛视频� said Romanus, whose squad will again play in Section 2-A with the top four teams qualifying for the postseason.
无毛视频淏ishop Canevin will be one of the top teams in the state so they无毛视频檙e the obvious favorite, and Geibel has a lot of players coming back,无毛视频� Romanus said. 无毛视频淭hose are clearly the top two.
无毛视频淎s for the rest, Mapletown has some good kids back, Avella lost some good players but if they put it together they could be a threat. I really don无毛视频檛 know anything about what Propel Montour has.
无毛视频淚 think slots three through six are up for grabs.无毛视频�
Romanus doesn无毛视频檛 want to make a prediction on how the Pioneers无毛视频� season will go.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know how good we无毛视频檙e going to be,无毛视频� Romanus said.
无毛视频淚 just want us to play physical and with a lot of energy. That无毛视频檚 what I无毛视频檓 looking for.无毛视频�