Columbus Christian School Basketball

Today's Columbus Republic did a mid-season review of the local public high school basketball teams. Since there is no press given to the Columbus Christian School program, I thought it might be interesting to post my own mid-season review for the Crusaders.

First, the varsity roster. Pardon me if I made any errors - I'm creating this from memory.

# Name Yr Ht Pos 4 Andes, Nolan 10 5-8 G 45 Axsom, Nick 11 6-0 G/F 14 Binnion, Baxter 12 5-11 G 10 Harvey, Gavin 10 6-1 F 3 Harvey, Jacob 10 5-10 G 5 Mathis, Luke 10 5-8 G 24 Morrison, Alex 10 6-1 F 31 Roth, Derek 12 6-5 C/F 11 Roth, Kyle 10 5-11 G 20 Slabaugh, Christopher 11 6-6 C 32 Straub, Tyler 11 6-1 F 15 Sweet, Matthew 10 5-9 G 33 Sweet, Michael 11 6-0 F 25 White, Nathan 10 6-0 G 22 Wright, Caleb 9 5-11 F

The Crusaders are one game under .500 at mid-season, at 9 and 10. They use a small, quick lineup with a 3-guard and 2-forward offense. There are 7 players in the rotation, including starters Derek and Kyle Roth, Luke Mathis, Gavin Harvey, and Baxter Binnion. Coming off the bench are Nolan Andes and Alex Morrison. Among the rest of the roster, Tyler Schaub and Jacob Harvey see limited playing time, with the rest of the bench used rarely.

Luke Mathis is a quick, energetic player that is fun to watch and is the team's second leading scorer behind Derek Roth. Luke is often able to use his speed to create layup opportunities, force turnovers, and is the team's most prolific 3-point shooter.

Derek Roth is a powerful force in the post. When the team is able to feed him in the paint, Derek is able to score consistently, even against taller defenders.

Baxter Binnion and Kyle Roth are both quick ball-handling specialists who can both run the offense in a point guard role.

Gavin Harvey is energetic and enthusiastic, and is capable of hitting mid-range jump shots.

Alex Morrison and Nolan Andes both can provide a spark off the bench when needed. Alex has good defensive skills and can create shots in the paint, while Nolan is capable of disrupting the opponent on defense and can hit the occasional 3 point basket.

The team is close-knit and enthusiastic. They have a chance to improve their competitiveness, especially within their private school league, if they can develop some of these potentials:

• Outside Shooting: Luke has been the most consistent, and Jacob Harvey is reputed to be the best outside shooter in practice, but the emergence of a consistent shooter would be a great complement to Derek's inside offense.
• Defense: The team's defense is inconsistent. Good teams are able to dribble-penetrate, draw the defense, then find an open man for an easy score a bit too often. Work on defensive fundamentals, help defense, and improved defensive schemes could improve the win/loss percentage.
• Matchups: The player rotation could be changed to better fit the lineup of the other team. Rather than always using the same rotation regardless of the opponent, a big lineup could be used against bigger teams and the smaller lineup against smaller teams. Size and talent among younger albeit less experienced players on the bench is ignored at times when some of those players could make a positive impact in certain game situations.
• Mental Attitude: There have been some close games that were lost because the Crusaders lost focus or became discouraged. Sometimes the response to such challenges is overcompensation or individuals trying to carry the team by themselves; other times the energy level is deflated when the opponent makes a run to pull ahead. The entire team must ignore real or perceived bad calls or mistakes and keep playing their game to the best of their ability. It's the coach's job to make any adjustments to the game strategy, and players should focus their energy on playing hard and avoiding mistakes rather than trying to be the hero of the game.

Naturally as a father I have the opinion that #20 is a great potential asset to the team being squandered on the bench. Even though he's raw and still learning how to play, it seems any team with a 6-6 (now 6-7, I think) player would do whatever it takes to get him into the lineup at least for spot duty to help the team win. I'm biased, of course.

Best of luck to the CCS Crusaders for the rest of the season!