PW historical season ends

HOLLAND ->>Early this season, Plymouth Whitemarsh High boys basketball head coach Jim Donofrio, in an attempt to motivate his young team, gave them a history lesson.
“I took out the records of all of the teams I’ve coached here and let them know they were only the 17th best team I’ve ever been a part of,” Donofrio said. “I showed them what team finished where and why.
“And I told them, ‘I have you guys at No. 17.”
Donofrio admitted he was trying to light a fire under them, but the Colonials took it personally.
After Tuesday night’s 64-45 loss to Roman Catholic in the PIAA Class AAAA Semifinals, Donofrio said the team had come further than anyone had the right to expect.
And while he wasn’t about to give his final grade for his team, it’s safe to say they should finish north of 17th.
“I’ll have to reevaluate,” Donofrio said with a knowing smile. “But this is a special group.
“There are so many different cliques, so many of the guys have different interests than the others, but somehow they learned to be a team and work together.”’
Plymouth Whitemarsh senior center Mike Lotito has dreams of becoming a doctor, so it’s safe to say he doesn’t have much in common with some of his teammates who are only looking for a college degree.
But Lotito remembers his coach’s history lesson, and he remembers the team responding positively.
“Any time you’re spending 18 hours a week with the same guys, you get close,” he said. “You really get to know each other.
“It was interesting because (the Donofrio history lesson) came early in the year. I think we were 12- or 13-0 at the time. I think he was trying to humble us, telling us we had to leave our mark.”
The team, while young and inexperienced in comparison to the Roman team that defeated them, responded positively.
And while their lack of court experience was probably the biggest factor in their lopsided loss Tuesday night, the coach said it will bode well for the future.
“(Roman) was too big and too talented,” Donofrio said. “They play calmly.
“They knew what to do in certain situations, and they didn’t have to be told the same things over and over like young teams do.”
But give (PW) another year, and we’ll be doing some of the same things.”
As it is, Donofrio said the Cahillites were not about to be beaten by a team that jus t hasn’t quite arrived.
“Roman kind of reminded me of our 2010 team,” the coach said. “That team could play anyway you needed them to.
“This year’s Roman team is much more experienced. They’re a special group.”
As Donofrio said, this PW team may be there in the near future.
And while Lotito said the team was told by Donofrio that they hadn’t gotten into his all-time top five, they were a very special team in their own right.
“I think he knows we were better than what he told us we were at the beginning of the year,” Lotito said. “And tonight ,he told us we were.”