Inexperienced Owen J. Roberts managing growing pains
BUCKTOWN >> Bill Detweiler had a good inclination what he was getting into when he took over as head coach of the Owen J. Roberts boys basketball team this season.
Detweiler, who won two Pioneer Athletic Conference titles at Phoenixville in the early 2000s, was taking over a team that returned just one player with significant varsity experience, meaning there would be a whole lot of learning along the way during the 2019-20 campaign.
After three wins in their first five games, including a victory over Liberty Division foe Perkiomen Valley, the inexperienced group has now dropped seven in a row, falling 60-49 in a non-league loss to Sun Valley on Saturday.
Despite the struggles, Detweiler has continued to preach patience and perseverance to his team.
“This is my last rodeo,” Detweiler said. “I’m not 21. I saw it as a great opportunity to build it…I knew this was going to be a rebuild, and it was going to take time.”
“The bottom line with us is we just gotta keep improving and fighting,” he added. “The thing I want to see the most is us to keep fighting, keep grinding and keep improving.”
Junior Jalen Lucas averaged 6.1 points per game off the bench as a sophomore last season, while seniors Gus Coroniti, Will Hurlock and Tom McLean all saw limited minutes.
Lucas, who led OJR with 13 points Saturday, and McLean were joined in the starting lineup by juniors forward Chase Johnson and Brody Bolyn and junior guard Zach Fryer, all making the jump from JV to varsity level this season. Bolyn added 10 and Johnson nine Saturday.
Other new faces in the Owen J. Roberts (1-3 Liberty, 1-5 PAC, 3-9) rotation this season include junior Sam Cerimele (currently out with an injury), junior Christian Grossi and freshman Nick Fanucci.
“With this youth and inexperience, it’s so hard because they haven’t played at this level before,” Detweiler said. “They just don’t understand what it takes.”
Jalen Lucas gets the bucket plus the foul. 23-22 OJR with 2:52 left in first half. pic.twitter.com/JhmDAb9ik8
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) January 4, 2020
There have been moments this year when OJR has shown that its best basketball is still ahead. Take for example a strong first half Saturday, when the Wildcats traded buckets with Sun Valley before a buzzer beater three by Dom Valente, who scored 16 of his 17 in the first half, sent the Vanguards into halftime with a 28-27 lead.
Billy Fisher scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter as Sun Valley used a 14-2 run to close the period up 44-31. The Vanguards extended that advantage to 50-33 in the fourth, but OJR once again showed this group has some promise.
Brody Bolyn knocks down his third basket of the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/fVc59p3pE6
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) January 4, 2020
After suffering their largest deficit of the game, the Wildcats went on an 11-0 run. Freshman Nick Fanucci and junior Christian Grossi knocked down threes. Lucas converted an and-one to cap the run and make it a 50-44 game with 2:40 left before Sun Valley big man Nick GianKopolis responded with an and-one of his own to help the Vanguards quell the comeback bid.
“We definitely have flashes of ourselves looking better and more experienced, but we just gotta put it together for 32 minutes every night,” Lucas said.
Detweiler hopes this team will continue to grow enough to knock off a few more squads this season. They’ll finish off the first half of their Liberty slate Tuesday against Methacton before getting a chance at the division again and crossover contests against Pope John Paul II, Phoenixville, Pottsgrove and Upper Perkiomen.
What will be the most important aspect for the Wildcats to right the ship?
“Toughness,” Lucas said. “We need to be tough. We have to grow up fast. We can’t expect to go out there soft and expect to win games.”
“We just gotta keep fighting and grinding and not be discouraged, stay positive,” Detweiler said. “If we do that I think we’ll be OK.”
