Poland gets another chance at SVSM

March 15, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

CANTON

After two decades at Poland, Ken Grisdale has more victories (367) than hairs on his head (approximately 30, most of them gray).

He’s already led three teams to the state semifinals and has spent more time in the Canton Civic Center than most members of the Cavaliers’ D-League team.

So when you ask him if his team is embracing the underdog role in today’s Division II regional final against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, he simply says, “I embrace the fact that we’re playing.

“Whoever’s there, we’re going to compete against. We’re gonna play as hard as we can and let the chips fall where they may.”

The teams last met in the 2010 regional semifinals, with Poland jumping out to a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter before running out of gas against the deeper Irish, who pulled away for a 74-60 victory.

When asked to compare that 2010 SVSM team this year’s, Grisdale said, “They’re like clones. They’re all about 6-[foot]-3, 6-4 with long arms. And they’ve got a couple thicker kids like the [Dante] Booker kid that’s going to Ohio State [for football]. Really they’re just all really sound basketball players. They’re aggressive defensively with some good shooters. They play very hard on the glass.

“If you just changed the numbers, they look like the same kids.”

The Irish (18-9) have two first team all-district players in senior guard Jalen Hudson, a Virginia Tech recruit who is averaging 17.5 points per game, and sophomore forward VJ King, who is averaging 17 points per game and already has a dozen Division I offers, including Ohio State and Michigan State.

The Bulldogs counter with first team all-district forward Jacob Wolfe, who is averaging 12 points per game and who finished with a double-double in the regional semifinals despite battling foul trouble for most of the second half. Forward Danny Black and Kyle Dixon were both special mention all-district selections for the Bulldogs, whose only losses were to New Castle (which is 28-0) and Canfield.

Poland (24-2) can’t match SVSM’s size, athleticism or schedule (which reads like a who’s who of northeast Ohio powers), but the Bulldogs proved in Thursday’s semifinals what a patient, skilled, well-coached team can do. Against Cleveland Central Catholic — a team that beat SVSM 53-52 early in the year — the Bulldogs used a variety of screens and crisp passes to create open shots on offense, then stayed disciplined on defense, mixing in 2-3 and 3-2 zones to cut down on driving lanes and tempt the Ironmen into taking long-range shots.

“I thought they came and had a plan,” Irish coach Dru Joyce said of the Bulldogs. “Their kids executed their plan. They shot extremely well. It looks like they have five, six, seven guys that can really shoot the ball.

“We haven’t played them since [2010] and their coach changed his style since then. Back then, it was all pressing the whole game on makes and misses and they’ve kind of settled down.”

Poland has four regional championships, including three under Grisdale: 2002 (when the Bulldogs lost to LeBron James and the Irish), 2007 and 2008. SVSM has been to Columbus 11 times, including five times under Joyce, who won state titles in 2003, 2009 and 2011.

When asked what the Bulldogs need to do today, Grisdale deadpanned, “We need to score more than they do.”

Right. Anything else?

“I honestly think it’s got to be a game plan to similar to what we played [Thursday] night,” he said. “We’ve got to attack when the opportunity presents itself, but we also have to be willing to run clock and set screens to create open shots. Defensively, we have to stop their penetration and keep them off the glass.

“If we do that, we’ll have a chance to win.”