2003-2004
Season Preview:
Crown Point Bulldogs |
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 |
A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith(11-28-2003) |
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2003-2004
Season Preview:
Crown Point Bulldogs |
||
|
A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith(11-28-2003) |
|
Crown
Point varsity coach Tom Johnson was asked to preview and profile the 2004 Bulldogs varsity basketball team. Here's what he had to say, as compiled
by Mark Smith for the Lake County Star .
MIKE
SMITH (Jr.) POINT GUARD 5-10
Mike has very good quickness. He's an outstanding defender. He really has a good
understanding of what we want to do on both ends of the floor. He's one of those
guys who can get other guys where they're supposed to be. He knows every
position and gets his guys in the right place at the right time.
MARK PATRICK (JR.) POINT GUARD 5-11
Mark and Mike (Smith) are almost interchangeable. Mark is a really good passer
and a good defender. He shoots pretty well. Maybe doesn't have Mike's quickness.
Mark's also good at getting people in the right place. When I talk about those
two guys, I talk about them together. This is my first year where I feel good
that we have two who can run the point equally well. There will be times when we
play them both together against pressing teams. Everything I said about
Mike, I can say about Mark.
AARON MILLER (SR.) GUARD-FORWARD 6-0
This is Aaron's third year on the varsity. He brings outstanding athleticism to
the team. He's very strong and quick. Good at putting the ball on the floor and
finding the open man. Good at creating a shot for himself. He brings experience
and we're hoping that a really good football season will carry over onto the
basketball floor.
KYLE ERNEST (SR.) GUARD-FORWARD 6-0
Aaron and Kyle are our only seniors. Kyle has had a good preseason. He's become
the team's vocal leader. It started in spring conditioning and it's carried over
to the season. If someone needs a pat on the head, he'll do it and if someone
needs a kick in the rear end, he'll do that, too. He's played well so far on
both ends of the floor. It's not a surprise but it's really good to see his
progress, and I look for him to have a good season.
CHACHI ALBRECHT (JR.) GUARD 5-11
Chachi is our other guy with some experience. He started some games for us last
year. We've finally got Chachi where he's healthy. He had a pretty serious
injury before last season and he wasn't 100%. Chachi is a wing who can also play
the point. He's smart and a very good defender on the perimeter. He can score
with a jump shot or he can put it on the floor. We're looking for him to score
and he can also hit the open man.
JORDAN HAM (JR) GUARD 5-10
Jordan is a greater shooter. He was 6-of-7 behind the arc in the scrimmage (Nov.
22 vs. Noll). What he gives us is a really good perimeter threat. He's improving
on the defensive end of the floor and he's a better passer than he was a year
ago. He didn't shoot well last year but he will this season. He's one of those
guys who can come in and give you instant offense.
SAM HENDERSON (JR.) FORWARD 6-foot-2
Sam lettered for us last year and he played some limited varsity minutes.
He's another guy who can really shoot the basketball. Sam's a streak shooter and
when he really gets it going, he can shoot very well. He plays perimeter and the
post. He's a good sized wing and an undersized '4'. Sam's a smart player
and he does a good job at both positions. He's good at defending one-on-one. We
want him to create mismatches offensively. Too quick in the post and too big on
the wing.
SETH HENDERSON (JR.) POST 6-foot-2
Sam's twin brother. He plays exclusively in the post. He's undersized but he's
had a good preseason. He plays really hard. If there's a loose ball, Seth is the
first guy to it. We're hoping for some mismatches where he can step out to the
perimeter against bigger people. He can also score in the post but it's got to
be quick. He won't power over guys at 6-2, 170. Seth's skills were better at the
'4' and Sam's were better at the '3'. He brings a lot of energy to the game.
When he's on the floor, good things happen. He makes plays that really turn the
tide for you. He gets everyone else going.
BRIAN MALONEY (JR.) CENTER 6-foot-5
Brian is one of our two true post players. He's not much of a wide body but he
is quick and he runs the floor well. He's really improved in the last three
weeks in catching the ball and scoring in the post. That's what we need him to
do. We're counting on him to do that consistently inside. We also need him to
rebound for us. We're counting on him to get at least six rebounds a game
inside. He can step out and shoot the ball, too. He's good defending the post
and he has to, otherwise we're going to have problems inside.
RYAN BROWN (JR.) CENTER 6-foot-4
Ryan's our other true post player. He's our wide body. Abut 6-4, 190. 'Brownie'
is a very physical player. He's good at mixing it up inside with people. He
brings us a good inside presence in terms of taking up space. He can score in
the post and he's another capable of stepping out and scoring. He hit a couple
of 3s in the scrimmage against Noll. He's one of those guys who has a
knack for drawing fouls. He's played JV for two years and like Brian (Maloney),
he has to score and rebound for us to be effective.
DAVID KELLER (JR.) FORWARD 6-foot-1
David is another inside player. He played as a freshman and didn't play last
year. Some of these guys, I'm happy they're doing well but it's not a surprise.
With David, it is a surprise. I just didn't know what he'd bring after having a
year off. He's got a lot of work ahead from the Xs and Os standpoint. You can't
just sit out a year and keep up with everybody. But he's done everything we've
asked and you can see the improvement on a daily basis.
DONOVAN GARLETTS (JR.) FORWARD 6-foot-1
Donovan is an undersized post. He plays both post and wing. I think he's had a
really good fall. He started some in the summer. Rebounds well for his size and
he's gotten a lot better offensively. Donovan's a guy who could be a surprise
where a lot of people maybe thought he wouldn't be.
Coach TOM JOHNSON (7th year)
We're going to run people in and out. The best thing about this group is that
they like to play. They bring a lot of energy every day. They like to
practice and they like to play. I've enjoyed coming to practice this year more
than I have in, maybe, the last four years. Not that other teams haven't. But
this one is very competitive. They genuinely care for each other and they want
to see each other do well.
It's
nice on a daily basis where you can see improvement. They're still 16 and 17
year old boys and I still have to get on them. But I really do like this
group from the standpoint of their work ethic and the standpoint of trying to
get better every day.
I really believe what they want to do is win. As long as we have more points,
that's all they care about. I don't see any individual agendas out there. As
time goes on, getting a group of kids to feel that way is harder and harder.
Now, having said all that, we play the toughest schedule this school has ever
seen. We are very young and we are very small. Quite honestly, I don't
think that too many people are going to pick us to win too many games this year.
But I think we like that. As a coach, I know I like it and I think the kids like
it. It's a challenge. We're not out to get moral victories but we're
out to gain respect and you know what? We're going to have to earn it. I'm
excited about this year. Everything's changed. You get in the habit of playing
the same people on the same weekend. That's all changed.
But this group pushes themselves on a daily basis. I would guess we're going to
have a faceless quality out there. We'll be running kids in and out. Mike
Hackett (Munster) had a club a few years ago where he had 10 guys and nobody
knew them. Not last year (2003) but the year before. That's an example. This
group does things together. They go places together. And that's an oddity these
days. You can't force those things to happen.
But our schedule is a bear. LC is loaded. Chesterton is good. LaPorte's loaded.
Merrillville is loaded. Valpo has their point guard and their big guy back plus
a bunch of seniors who shot almost 70% from behind the arc when they were on the
JV. Portage played 3 sophs last year and they're all back. Chesterton has their
leading scorer back. MC is always athletic and they always give us problems.
That's 14 blood and guts games right there.
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