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Jacubec's 15 helps Wildcats win No. 11
By Jon MOFFETT
Campbell
Depending on who you ask, the Struthers offense changes with who has the ball.
If it’s senior Nate Jacubec, opponents had better be wary of his ability to drain a 3-pointer at any moment. And if the ball is in the hands of classmate Adam Ryczaj, he’s probably going to drive on you — and he will most likely score.
A little bit of everything happened for the Wildcats in a 66-51 win over host Campbell High Friday. Jacubec led the Wildcats with 15 points, and three others had 12. Ryczaj, doing a lot of the dirty work and drawing double-teams inside, had nine points.
“On the road, in a hostile environment, it’s great to get out of here with the win,” Jacubec said.
Their 11th win, actually.
The Wildcats (11-1) got something out of everyone. Jacubec led the team, while his younger brother, Jake, along with seniors Ja’Meire Brown and Jordan Ryan had 12 each. Ryczaj had nine — but said he had to do a lot of the dirty work inside.
Jacubec was quick to give credit to his 6-foot teammate.
“We have dominant post players in Jordan and Adam,” he said. “And they get the double-teams. They’re great at passing it out and we can knock it down. They make my job 10 times easier.”
And all the credit Jacubec was willing to dish out, Ryczaj was willing to accept.
“This offense is like a puzzle. If I wasn’t there, the who puzzle doesn’t work,” he said with a laugh. “It doesn’t work at all.”
He added, “I just get everybody the ball. They can have the points. I’ll take the assists. It’s all about a love of winning for me.”
While it was all fun and games for the defending All-American Conference White Tier champions, things continue to get frustrating for Brian Danilov and Campbell.
Injuries, discipline and players leaving have left the Red Devils (4-9) with few options. Three players fouled out in the fourth quarter, including Lester Hughes, who had a game-high 19 points.
“We’ve been improving, but we’ve had a lot of adversity in terms of [the roster] and injuries,” the veteran coach said. “But hopefully we’ll have a full team coming up, and we’ll take it from there.”
Still, Danilov was very complimentary of the Wildcats, who are coach by his good friend Joe Savko. He said it’s no secret why the team gives conference opponents fits. And Danilov is glad to be in the Blue Tier to avoid possibly playing them again down the road.
“They’ve got a real nice team and they’ve got all the pieces to the puzzle,” the veteran coach said. “Their guards are solid and their big guys play a big role. They’ve got a really nice team, they really do.”
Perhaps Ryczaj is on to something with his puzzle idea.
“Chemistry is a big thing to us,” he said. “We hang out all the time, and we look to each other to get shots. We’re all unselfish.”