With just three healthy returning lettermen, injuries and a short rotation, Bradford High head basketball coach Brian Hobbs is focusing his team’s attention to what it can control in the early season.
That focus, according to the coach, is on the defensive end of the floor while the Owls continue to figure things out on offense. A likely season-ending injury to Alec Kuzmeskas, a bench spark last year has thinned out the rotation, while returning District 9 League, Big 30 all-star and letterman Deondre Terwilliger (10.4 points per game) is still getting his legs under him after a summer knee injury.
“We always play pretty solid defense,” Hobbs said. “I’m a defensive-minded guy so that’s going to be kind of our crutch until we figure things out. We’re not very deep, so we’re going to have to do some different things defensively and switch some things up from time-to-time. One of the main concerns is just staying out of foul trouble.”
One of the goals for the Owls – which will bump up to Class AAAA this year under the PIAA’s new classifications – is to limit teams to 40 points on offense.
“I tell the guys, we’ll win games if we play good, solid defense,” the seventh-year head coach said. “The offense will come. In the past, we’ve set goals where we’re trying to hold guys to 40 points. If you hold a varsity basketball team to 40 points, you give yourself a good opportunity to win.”
With Terwilliger less than 100 percent, letterman Nate Higbie will be expected to carry the offensive load. The senior guard scored 6.5 points and three rebounds per game.
“He did a solid job last year putting the ball in the hoop,” Hobbs said. “He’s solid from the perimeter and attacks the basket pretty well. We’ll rely on him on the offensive end pretty heavily.”
The other returning letterman is guard Kyle Kirk, the other senior on the roster. The quarterback on the football team, Kirk will again be asked to be a leader on the hardwood and provide ball-handling.
In the projected starting five, Higbie and Terwilliger figure to be joined by juniors Adam Boyer and Danny Manion and sophomore Donny Pattison.
“Adam is a kid who was in the gym all summer long,” Hobbs said. “He’s really improved his skills from last year. He’s one that we’re going to look to score as well.”
Manion – who missed most of the season last year with an injury – is a big body at 6-foot-2 and will be asked to control the paint along with the 6-foot-1 Pattison, while also providing toughness.
”[Pattison is] someone who gives us good energy. He’s a big, athletic kid who can help us underneath with the boards. He does a nice job guarding on the perimeter for his size, so that’s going to be a bonus for us.”
Also expected to see varsity minutes are sophomore Blake Bryant, Nate Blauser and freshman Tyler Gigliotti, who will also play on junior varsity to help acclimate to the speed of high school basketball.
“He understands the game, he makes good reads,” Hobbs said of the freshman. “We really haven’t had to do a whole lot of teaching.”
Other players who Hobbs is looking for contributions from off the bench include a trio of juniors in Nate Evan, Cade Hayden and Dalton Fiero.
The PIAA’s reclassification meant District 10 restructured their teams’ schedules, according to Hobbs, which is why the likes of Mercyhurst Prep, Eisenhower and North East don’t appear on the slate this year. Instead, area schools like Cameron County, Otto-Eldred and Coudersport will match up against the Owls.
Bradford opens its season in the four-team Redbank Valley tip-off tournament Friday and Saturday nights. The Owls take on Ridgway at 6 p.m. Friday, while Redbank Valley and Moniteau play in the nightcap.
The schedule follows:
December
9-10 – Redbank Valley tournament
13 – DUBOIS CC
16 – COUDERSPORT
21 – At Erie Central Tech
23 – At Cameron County
29-30 – IAABO tournament
January
4 – At St. Marys
7 – OTTO-ELDRED
11 – At Johnsonburg
13 – At Brookville
18 – DUBOIS HIGH
20 – PUNXSUTAWNEY
25 – At Elk Catholic
28 – WARREN
February
1 – ST. MARYS
3 – At Brockway
7 – At DuBois High
10 – BROOKVILLE
14 – ELK CATHOLIC
17 – At Punxsutawney
