The Texas Catholic Herald Serving the Diocese of Galveston-Houston January 19, 2007 Page 15

Area Basketball Teams
prepare for final district stretch

HOUSTON -With district play well underway, varsity basketball teams around the archdiocese are looking to keep their stride from the tournament season, or rebound from some early setbacks.
          At St. Agnes, Coach Jeff Hollinger has the Tigers on the prowl following success in tourney play and a quick start in TAPPS 3-6A. Still, increasing communication between players and other fine tuning remains a focal point for the first year coach.
          "Right now, we are focusing on them talking more. The more they talk on offense and defense, the less mistakes they will make," he said. "So I am trying to get them to say things like 'box out, shot, down screen.' Just getting them to talk helps us look better and play faster."
          The Tigers have been playing enough mistake-free basketball to compile a considerable record as they swiftly close in on 20 wins. Improvements have been made, but there is still plenty of work to be done to maximize the team's motion offense, according to Hollinger.
          "Early on, I saw good improvement, because it was new to them, so they learned it very quickly. But we kind of stagnated,. and now is the time where we need to take care of the little tiny things," he said. "They have conquered and understood all of the major stuff, but we need to expel the same effort focusing on the little things, like the communicating, like the talking that is required in this offense, like setting up your defender when coming off of a screen ... Little things like that."
          He added, "If we can get over that hump, we have a legitimate shot of going far in the playoffs. But I don't see that happening until they decide to do it. I can threaten them as much as I want, but eventually, they are going to have to want to do it."
          The coach did say that he has seen considerable efforts during the season by his players, particularly seniors Kaleigh Bowman, guard, and post Kathryn Stuart.
          "Kaleigh is driving more to the basket, she's creating more shots for herself. Plus, she is driving and dishing," Hollinger said. "Before, she would just bring the ball down and initiate the offense. But now, if she sees the defense is giving her holes, she is going to take it -she adlibs much more. Her speed has gotten better, and she has gotten quicker. She was quick to begin with, but she is a lot quicker now."
          Stuart, who was coming off an ankle injury, has also impressed Hollinger in recent contests. "She has done a really good job at the post position, she is understanding how the offense works more and more. She recognizes situations she can take advantage of. She has a very smart basketball IQ. She knows what is going to work and what is not going to work."
          All assessments aside, Hollinger says the team is "a lot better now" than at the start of the season. "Hopefully, we can iron out some more of the mistakes and slowly chip away at them, but I think we have a shot at getting better at all of these things," he explained.
          St. Pius X fell to St. Agnes in their first district meeting, but St. Pius Coach Fernando Villasana and his coaching staff have seen their talented team already hit the 20-win mark as they angle for a postseason appearance. "I have been truly blessed with the players that are up to the challenges of working hard and realizing that we are presently laying a foundation to estabilish a girls basketball program that will rival or match any in the state," said Villasana, in his second year at St. Pius.
          Spearheading the Lady Panthers this year is standout junior Jasmine Rush, the squad's skilled go-to player. Other key contributors include freshman point guard Kayla Stewart and post Amber Sophus. "(Stewart) compliments the whole team by making everything run right," Villasana said. "I have said it before, but she is the most prepared and skilled freshman I have ever coached in 14 years."
          Sophus is the "person controlling and patrolling the paint for us," the coach added. "She usually plays our opponents strongest and biggest post player, and is a threat down low whenever she gets the ball."
          Another TAPPS 3-6A school, Incarnate Word Academy, had a rocky start to the 2006-2007 season. But that was also the case last year, when the team rallied to make their first postseason appearance in more than 40 years. "We have had some people out, but now we have everybody back, so we are trying to get the players to gel and come together," said Rick Perez, head coach.
Right now, Perez is sticking close to the team philosophy of one game at at ime. "We can't overlook anybody," he said. "We just have to continue putting two halves of basketball together, playing complete es from beginning to end."
          At Galveston O'Connell Consolidated, Larry Zeringue says his young team has seen "some up and down times" during their pre-district schedule, but the Lady Bucs should be right in the thick of TAPPS 4-4A contention.
"I have seven,freshmen, so I am trying to figure out where they are going to fit in with the three girls I got back from the previous year," Zeringue said. "I am starting to get a rotation working now, and we are doing well. We are pretty close to (finding the right mix)."
          A sophomore transfer from Oklahoma, Madison Hudek is among those making a positive impact with O'connell. "She is about 6 ft. and she is starting to figure out what we are doing," Zeringue said.
          Zeringue, O'Connell's athletic director, says the school's boys team has performed well since players from the football team joined Coach Melvin Williams squad. The Bucs had only four non-football players practicing before the season.
          O'Connell's TAPPS 4-4A rival, Mt. Carmel, is hoping to go on a productive run to finish the season to improve their position in the district tournament, a first this year.
          Coach Darrell Lockridge has tried to prepare Mt. Carmel for the big tourney. "Our three rock solid starters of Jonathan Joseph, Tim Jones and Sean Lockridge are keeping us tough, but the extraordinary lack of depth is really taking its toll on us," he said.
          Strake Jesuit is 2-2 in the competitive UIL 17 -5A, Coach Wayne Jones believes the Crusaders can find a way to march into postseason. "We are competing in one of the toughest districts in the state of Texas and our guys will have to stand up to the test. Our success in district play will consist of three finishing plays, defensive intensity, and playing as a unit," he explained. "When we do those on a nightly basis, we can be a very tough team to play against."
          Jones' top contributors have been Sei Paye, Trent Rogers ,Austin Claunch, Joey Brooks, Steven Rogers and Tim Frazier. "I am not surprised that our guys are playing well because we put in a tremendous amount of hard work on a daily basis in practice. These guys compete everyday in practice and that has followed them into game situations."
          A TAPPS 6A state runner-up last year, St. Thomas looks to be right on course for a return to the big dance. With a tough slate of opposition this season, Coach Neil Laminack told his team not to expect the 29-win record of last year, but the Eagles themselves with 25 wins just a few days into January. "I am very excited. I never would have thought that we would have won, or had a chance to win as many gmes as we did last year," Laminack said, Now I think  we are looking at a possibility of not just winning as many, but far surpassing that with a little luck and good fortune when the playoffs hit."
          He credits the team's success to the Eagles simply getting better throughout the season. "They just really, really improved individually and we had such good chemistry last year.

 When each individual part improves so much, it is just going to make the whole even better."
          Laminack has kept the Eagles busy with games since the start of the season. Participating in several public school tournaments has also tested the mettle of St. Thomas, early and often, according to Laminack.
          "The only way you are going find out how good reallv are is to go against the best that you can find.  I felt that we will always be competitive in our district and our league, but the way Texas is divided, if you want recognition and respect across the state, you have to play everybody," he said. "You can win 10 TAPPS state titles and that is not I going to raise some eyebrows with certain groups. You have to beat everybody."
          The Eagles boast a very strong starting five, but have gotten a nice boost from the bench when needed, including contributions from sophomore CodyHill and senior Garrett Auzenne. "I knew (Cody) was very sound and skilled, but he has been putting up some numbers and doing some things against teams that I didn't think he would be doing," Laminack said.
          Auzenne, an all-state football player, hasn't played basketball for the Eagles since his sophomore year. "He is getting into the groove of things," Laminack said. "I am really pleased with what he has given us off of the bench."
          With district play slowing down the Eagles from their breakneck schedule, Laminack is approaching key stretch with caution and with a sense of urgency ."That is a concern I have, that we are going to lose a little bit of edge because the games aren't coming as fast as they were. And I don't want us to hit a kind of downward spiral because of that," the coach said. "I told the guys at the beginning of the season that there is only one team that can keep us from achieving all of the things that we want to achieve this year, and that's us. Because I don't feel like there is a single team on the schedule that we cannot beat. It doesn't mean we are going to win every game, but I don't think there is a team better than us.
          "Wearen't measuring ourselves against other teams, we are measuring ourselves against us. That is going to hold true even when we get into the playoffs. If the team is better than us, we just have to do what we have always done; overachieve and find a way to win."