Scots guards to lead up-tempo game
By Tony Dondero
Enterprise reporter
Despite graduating five seniors off last year’s team including leading scorer Mark Golike, the Shorecrest boys basketball team expects to improve on a 9-16 record in 2007-08.
“We’re going to be able to take a step up,” fourth-year coach Brian Fischer said. “The guys coming up are really committed. They’re doing a great job filling shoes.”
Shorecrest finished second in a 16-team tournament at Roosevelt High School after losing to Bellevue in the final and went 5-2 in the regular season part of the Mountlake Terrace Summer League.
The Scots plan to play an up-tempo game and take advantage of their guards quickness to score points in transition.
“We got to keep the tempo up,” Fischer said. “We play well when the tempo is up.”
Team speed is a strength for Shorecrest.
“Our guards are a lot quicker this year,” he said. “Our strength in our guards is lot bigger. I got subs for the guys coming off.”
The starting backcourt is 5-11 junior-to-be Travis Hake at point guard and shooting guard; 5-11 junior-to-be Isiah Clevenger at point guard and 6-0 senior-to-be Richard Weinberg at shooting guard. The Scots also have 6-2 junior-to-be Jordan Diehl at shooting guard/small forward and 5-11 junior-to-be Michael Harris at point guard.
“He’s very quick,” Fischer said of Clevenger. “He’s got a very strong game. He’s improved a lot. He brings a lot of toughness to the team.”
At post, the Scots have 6-foot, 5-inch senior-to-be Ryan Dodge in the post along with 6-4 Randy Sullivan, but not much after those two starters.
“We lost a lot of our bigs,” said Hake, a co-captain along with Dodge. “Our size has gone down.”
Dodge, who had the winning basket against King’s in the opening round of the Mountlake Terrace summer league tournament, continues to improve and is a force inside the paint.
“Ryan is doing a really, really great job,” Fischer said.
“A lot of our scoring will be on Ryan, Isiah and me,” Hake said. “We have a lot of x-factor guys who come in a do a lot.”
The Scots, who also plan to apply full-court man-to-man pressure, have a deep bench to spell their guards.
“We’ll be good, we’ll be scrappy,” Hake said.
Senior-to-be Nick Bartlett, a 5-10 shooting guard, is back after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last year.
“We have a good supporting cast,” Fischer said.
Mariner and Jackson are expected to be among the teams to beat in the Western Conference South Division next year with key returning players.
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