Greencastle hopes too much talent will be a good thing

Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Brody Bollman (left) throws an entry pass to Lane Winslow.

The Tiger Cubs battled through a tough season in 2013. Playing most of the year with just a few upperclassmen on the roster, the Greencastle boys' basketball team seemed many nights as it was their JV team going against other schools' varsity.

At times the talent showed through, like when the Tiger Cubs beat Northview for the first time in more than 20 years, but other nights the inexperienced squad struggled and played down to its competition.

Lack of experience won't be an excuse this year.

Sophomore Ryan Coble (left) and senior Holden King were key parts of the Greencastle offense last year. The players will all be relied upon on both sides of the court this season. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

Greencastle begins the season with a large varsity roster full of sophomores, juniors and seniors who have played extensive minutes, started at the varsity level and learned how to play in tight games. That will show during the season, but it's also revealing itself in practice.

"We've got a lot of kids that have some varsity experience and because of that we've got a lot of competition in practice," GHS head coach Troy Greenlee said. "We feel like we have a lot of guys that we're not afraid to put in the ballgame and each of those guys brings maybe a little bit different thing to the table."

That was true last season as well, Greenlee said, but then it meant having offensive lineups and defensive lineups.

This year, with improved effort, he says it's not about if they'll be able to play defense, but how. Some may be better at trapping and playing a zone, and others will be better in a man-to-man set.

"Defensively I thought we did some really good things last year, but these guys being a little bit stronger and a year experienced I believe we can increase the level of our intensity on D a little bit," Greenlee said. "Defense is one of those deals that much of it is just the willingness to play hard.

"We're going to have to challenge these kids that maybe rely on the offensive end more to carry their weight on the defensive end, too."

Playing hard is easier to expect when there is a reliable backup to plug in after the first unit tires out. The Tigers spent all of last year forming a team of reliable components.

This year, with much of that group back and a few players coming out for their senior season after taking the past few years off, depth isn't going to be nearly as big an issue as finding minutes for everyone.

There is no established star, but there are a lot of pieces the Greencastle hopes can combine to form a team.

"This year we're not going to be able to count on one or two guys to carry the load," Greenlee said. "We've got to be a team that relies on each other and understands that if we don't all play together we're just not going to be as good as we should be.

"That's really what I'm stressing this year."

Playing as a team becomes easier if they can start winning as a team. The Tiger Cubs won just three games last year, but they're hoping it was just a blip. Two seasons ago Greencastle won 13 games and won its opener in sectionals.

Getting back to that level and beyond is where the goals are this year.

"We talked about winning championships," Greenlee said. "Not to say the other games aren't important, but we really feel like that's the reason you play is to get a chance to win championships. It's a long way away, but we want to be in a position where at sectional time we feel like we can compete with anybody in our sectional.

"There's a lot of different goals. The championships are a goal. But we just want to keep improving every day and every game and hopefully by the end of the year we're where we want to be."

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  • Let's hope the team comes together this season. The Cubs are 20 games under .500 with Greenlee as coach. Things don't change pretty soon we should go another direction.

    -- Posted by Vernie1 on Wed, Nov 20, 2013, at 9:18 PM
  • Love this Headline!

    -- Posted by Wait a minute on Thu, Nov 21, 2013, at 7:08 AM
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