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Puzzle Pieces
Photo
Poland defenders Tate Duarte (10) and Jared Burkert make it difficult for Canfield’s Andrew Midgley (11) to score in a game last year. The Bulldogs hope they have the right pieces to make a return trip to the regional final this season.
POLAND
It’s hard to imagine a team that won 20 consecutive games fly under the radar as much as the Poland boys basketball team did last season.
Following a Dec. 20 loss at Canfield, the Bulldogs strung together 12 weeks of perfect basketball. While head coach Ken Grisdale would never agree that it was perfection, he does admit that what last year’s team did was pretty special.
“We had an awesome season,” Grisdale said at a recent practice. “That team won the second-most games of any team in the history of this school.”
Yet the one game that left a sour taste in their mouths was a 54-42 loss to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary in the Division II regional final.
“We had a chance in that regional final with 1:40 to go,” Grisdale recalled. “We were down by four and we had five shots in one possession and just couldn’t get anything to fall.
“It was heartbreaking, because we thought we were good enough to [get to Columbus]. But you couldn’t ask for more from what that team accomplished.”
The task now is to regroup and try and get back to where they were a year ago. The challenge will be doing so without last season’s go-to player.
First team all-district forward Jacob Wolfe graduated and traded in his blue jersey for a purple one at Mount Union. He averaged 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs last season, but according to his teammates, he did so much more.
“Jake was such a great player for us and really did everything for us,” senior guard Nick Romeo said. “He scored, rebounded, played defense, handled the ball, so I don’t think one guy can replace a player like that.
“It’s going to have to be a team effort, but I think we have the pieces to do that.”
POLAND’S PIECES
When Grisdale began putting together his roster for this season, he realized they stack up pretty tall.
The Bulldogs have five players listed 6-foot-3 or taller on their varsity roster. Junior Jacob Burns is the tallest at 6-6, while Matt Baker and Tate Duarte are next in line at 6-5.
“We’re definitely going to try and get the ball down low to our big guys in the paint,” said senior Kyle Dixon, who’s the shortest of the five at 6-3.
Duarte had a different offseason than he’s been accustomed to. Instead of the typical, sometimes boring fall workouts before basketball season begins, Duarte decided to give football a try.
With his big frame and good hands, Mark Brungard didn’t have a problem finding a spot for Duarte at wide receiver.
“I think I’m a lot more physical now,” Duarte said. “With football, I played both ways and the defensive side of it helped me become more physical.”
“Down low, getting rebounds, you really have to be aggressive.”
He said football conditioning was slightly easier than basketball (although football season’s over and Brungard can’t make him run anymore), but energy wise he feels ready to go.
Three starters return — point guard Nick Gajdos, Dixon and forward Dan Black (6-4) — leaving two spots to be battled over. Grisdale thinks Duarte could be a double-double player.
“We all have to buy into the same thing, because that’s what’s going to win games,” Duarte said.
OUTLOOK
Grisdale admitted his team probably wasn’t ready for the physical style of basketball they saw in the regional final from SV-SM and it was “something that caught up to them.”
On the flip side, they beat what Grisdale called the “most talented team” they played in Cleveland Central Catholic in the regional semifinal.
This year’s schedule has Warren Harding twice (now a member of the All American Conference) Uniontown Lake and Farrell, Pa., which are all teams Grisdale hopes will prepare them for the ultimate test down the road.
“We’re all business this year,” Dixon said. “We’re locked in and just trying to get better everyday.”