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Rasile’s Blue Devils have offense to burn
McDonald averaging 91.4 points during its 9-1 start
By Steve Ruman
McDONALD
There is an old adage in sports which suggests defense wins championships while offense sells tickets.
Under Jeff Rasile, the McDonald Blue Devils have always lived up to the defensive end of the deal. Rasile’s teams have won seven conference titles and three district championships. They have played in a district title game all 11 years Rasile (232-40 at McDonald) has been at the helm.
McDonald’s success over the past decade can be credited in large part to a defense predicated on an in-your-face style of full and half-court presses.
This season, the Blue Devils have turned some of their focus toward the offense. As a result they may be the hottest ticket in the Mahoning Valley for fans eager to see high scoring basketball.
The Devils — off to a 9-1 start — are averaging 91.4 points per game. They have hit the century mark twice, including a 117-74 win over United. They have also scored 99 against Crestview and Niles.
Against Crestview, McDonald scored 73 points before halftime.
McDonald is paced by senior Jake Reckard, who is averaging 16.2 points per game. Reckard, along with Dylan Portolese (12.3 ppg), Evan Magill (12.3 ppg), Zack Fedyski (11.5 ppg) and Joey Ragazzine (10 ppg) are all averaging in double-digits.
In its 10 games, McDonald has had seven different players lead the team in scoring.
“Given our depth (McDonald regularly rotates nine players) and our talent, we made a decision back in the summer that we were going to get off as many shots in a game as possible,” Rasile said. “We didn’t change what we do defensively whatsoever. We basically wanted to take the hectic pace that we’ve established on defense and bring it to the offensive end.
“We tried this in the summer and it worked. We tried it in the scrimmages and the success continued. We’re just going to keep running with it and see where it takes us.”
The Blue Devils indeed are running. Rasile estimates that in years past, his teams put up between 50 and 55 shots per game. This year, the goal was to fire up a shot every 20 seconds, or to hit the 90-attempts mark every game. So far, they are right on target.
“I honestly had doubts whether or not we could maintain such a pace,” Rasile said. “We put up 90 shots in our first game. We put up 94 [shots] and scored 117 in the second game, and I realized that we did in fact have the players to make this happen.”
In a 99-70 win at Niles, McDonald attempted just 70 field goals, but converted on ten three-pointers.
When asked to describe McDonald’s style of play, Reckard uses terms such as “unorthodox” and “controlled chaos.” He finally concedes that it’s difficult to explain exactly what the Blue Devils are doing, acknowledging that they simply hope to “outwork, outrun and outscore each opponent.”
“I know this much, we’re having a lot of fun out there,” Reckard said. “There will be times when we go on a 20-2 run or something like that, and we’re jumping around, all excited and not even tired and you can see that the other team is wiped out.
“I think what we do out there probably looks hectic and out of control, but you have to be in control to play this style. We don’t put up bad shots, we just always look to put up the first open shot available.”
While McDonald does miss its share of field goal attempts, it gets second and third chances thanks to its ability to pull down offensive rebounds – an average of nearly 20 per game. It is also forcing nearly 30 turnovers per contest, creating quick opportunities.
“It just feels like as long as we keep up the pressure, we dictate the tempo and we control the game,” Reckard said.
McDonald has won its nine games by an average of 28 points per contest. While the video game-like numbers are garnering the headlines, senior Matt Howard is quick to point out that a stingy defense is still the cornerstone for the team’s success.
“We throw everything we have at teams when they have the ball, we try to force mistakes, then take advantage of it offensively,” Howard said. “Teams are having a tough time hanging with us for a full game. We’ve been in some close games at halftime, but I think the constant pressure wears down our opponents.”
Rasile insists that the up-tempo, high-flying offense isn’t some sort of new-fangled experiment which is created on the fly. Rather, it is a calculated system catered to the current roster. The fact that McDonald can rotate nine players without missing a beat allows it to push the envelope against Inter-Tri County opponents – most of which simply don’t have the numbers to maintain such a hectic pace.
After starting off with nine straight wins, McDonald on Tuesday suffered a 72-68 loss to Girard. Rasile said the setback proves that there is still plenty of room for improvement.
“In every game so far, we’ve had stretches where we’ve played outstanding, but we’ve never put together four solid quarters of basketball,” Rasile said. “Some of these players, they still aren’t used to being told to shoot as soon as they have an open look.
“In many ways, we’re still a work in progress.”
The Blue Devils, 2-0 in the ITCL, return to league play tonight at Jackson-Milton.