Methacton still figuring out how to play inside-out after loss to Souderton
WORCESTER >> Methacton freshman center Jeff Woodward has rare physical tools. The big-man is already 6’8” tall and possesses the ability to shoot the short-to-mid-range jumper that often takes players his size a while to develop.
The trouble now for Methacton is figuring out the best way to use him, and it has taken some time to nail down.
Woodward understandably garners a lot of attention from the opponents’ defense, which leads to open shots all around, but they haven’t been falling consistently.
“We’re struggling offensively right now and the shots just aren’t falling,” Methacton head coach Jeff Derstine said. “There are going to be times when we’re really able to use Jeff (Woodward) inside and then times when we can’t. He brings a lot of positives to the team around the hoop but we still need to figure a lot of things out as a team and figure it out from an execution standpoint on offense.”
The Warriors have a myriad of shooters in Crandall Jones, Andrew Pisano, Brett Marberger and Kyle Vance just to name a few, but shots that were falling earlier in the season haven’t fallen for them in a few of their most recent games.
That cold streak was on display again Saturday against Souderton. The Warriors battled all game and even held a lead in the fourth quarter, but eventually fell 55-47 due to some missed offensive opportunities.
“We were getting open looks and we just couldn’t knock them down,” Marberger said. “We’ve been struggling hitting shots that we were hitting in the summer and earlier in the season and we need to just shoot out of this cold streak and get back on track.”
Another problem Souderton (3-2, 1-0 Suburban One League Continental) exposed in the Warriors is that when they are playing their “big” lineup, they have problems covering opponent’s centers that can stretch the floor and shoot from long range.
Souderton’s Noah Horas and DJ Landis found the weakness in Methacton’s matchup zone early on with Woodward on the floor and hit three 3s in the first quarter between the two of them, forcing Derstine to switch up the defense and sit his center for most of the second and third quarter.
Landis was a problem all afternoon for the Warriors (2-3, 1-0 PAC Liberty). The junior finished with a game-high 17 points, shooting over 50 percent from the field and impressing his coach.
“He was great and he kept his head which is huge for him,” Souderton head coach Tim Brown said. “Offensively we know what he can do. He’s a great scorer and he showed that today in a few ways. He did what he’s great at and kept his energy up.”
Not only did Landis fill up the scorebook, he did it while coming off the bench. He is still a somewhat raw talent, as he barely played JV basketball last year and is still getting acclimated to varsity, but he has been outstanding so far in his role as sixth man.
“He (Landis) is just getting accustomed to the game so far,” Brown said. “He’s been coming off the bench for us for the first few games and we just want to get him used to varsity minutes and varsity ball and he’s well on his way.”
When Methacton does manage to get out of the cold streak they’ll be a dangerous team. When Woodward is finishing around the hoop and the shots are falling they can give teams fits when trying to matchup and once they figure it all out, which they eventually will, they could surprise some people.
