First-year Saratoga Springs varsity boys basketball coach Jack Brock watches a preseason scrimmage against Schuylerville Nov. 19 in Saratoga Springs. Photo by Erica Miller
SARATOGA SPRINGS ? For a team that?s faced tests on and off the court during the final weeks of the season, the one Saratoga Springs? boys basketball team has at 7 p.m. Tuesday night may the biggest of all. That?s when the Blue Streaks travel to Troy High School to take on the Flying Horses in the first round of the Section II Class AA playoffs.
Saratoga Springs (8-10) may benefit from the return of coach Jack Brock. The first-year coach was suspended for the final four games of the regular season after violating the district?s coaching handbook by using ?inappropriate language? with the team.
?We had a bad incident, an unfortunate incident, and we?re just going to go forward from here,? Brock said. ?Everyone was very welcoming when I came back and accepting the fact that we?re all human beings. We all make mistakes and we do what men do and then accept the responsibility.?
The team?s play during the four regular season games Brock missed is indicative of the type of season the Blue Streaks have had. Saratoga Springs went 1-1 in games against Shenendehowa and Shaker, the top two teams in the Suburban Council North, then proceeded to go 1-1 against Ballston Spa and Niskayuna, two teams that were below them in the standings at the time.
Even so, Brock was impressed with the team?s tenacity in the two victories ? 70-65 over rival Shenendehowa and a triple overtime win against Niskayuna on senior night.
?They were great,? Brock said. ?It?s just marvelous to see under any kind of conditions this team can pull things together and do well. They?re just a great bunch of kids.?
Troy, however, may be their toughest opponent yet.
The Flying Horses (14-3) finished second place in the Big 10 and have three players averaging 13 points per game or higher. Troy?s losses this season have come to fellow Big 10 powers Christian Brothers Academy and La Salle, and out-of-section opponent Long Island Lutheran.
The Blue Streaks will also be at a size disadvantage inside against the Flying Horses? 6-foot-9 Javion Ogunyemi (17 points-per-game) and 6-foot-7 Jerrell Reid (15 points-per-game). The back-line of Saratoga?s starting 2-3 zone defense features two 6-foot-3 players, Jesse Alexander and Jon Rach, and 6-foot-2 Nick Smith.
?We know that we?ll be at a height disadvantage so we?re probably going to stay more with our zone than we would,? Brock said. ?Probably a little less running so we can slow things down a bit.? Continued...
According to Brock, who returned to practice Feb. 13, the Blue Streaks are preparing for the No. 16 state-ranked Flying Horses the same way they do for any good team ? by focusing on what they do well.
?We?ve got to take care of what we do best which is move the ball, play solid defense and control our turnovers,? Brock said ?We didn?t spend a lot of time with how good they were or anything else other than what we?re good at.?
The Blue Streaks have been at their most effective when their 2-3 zone causes turnovers that lead to easy baskets going the other way. It?s no surprise junior Noah Arciero and sophomore Chris Byno, the players at the top of the zone, are the team?s leading scorers. While the 6-foot-4 Arciero (15 points per game) uses his long arms to get into passing lanes, Byno (just under 10 points per game) uses his quickness to force steals.
In wins against top teams like, Guilderland and Shenendehowa, an active zone was critical to Saratoga Springs? success, but so was its attitude Brock said.
?The big thing with those is just the confidence level,? Brock said. ?The kids were real confident going into those games. We?re good at playing defense and when we want to we?re good at taking care of the basketball.?
The Blue Streaks will have to show a similar level of confidence Tuesday.
?We?ve got nothing to lose, we?ve got everything to gain,? Brock said. ?We?ve got a practice planned for Wednesday so hopefully we?ll be back in the gym.?
For a complete look at all Section II boys basketball brackets click here.
Source: http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2013/02/18/sports/doc5122ac56377fd251461638.txt
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