McConnellsburg's Dominick Reed adjusts to varsity well
Dominick Reed took a few games to adjust to playing varsity basketball for McConnellsburg, but he has come on strong lately.
During the first four games of his varsity basketball career, the 6-foot-2 sophomore averaged just under three points per game; however, he has really stepped it up lately, averaging more than 14 points the last four games.
"It really helps to be playing as a team and getting more opportunities," Reed said. "I've also been shooting the ball more than I was."
While McConnellsburg is led by Chase Novak, who is averaging nearly 17 points per game, it has enough other players doing a good job to make the Spartans a deep team.
"We have a solid group of seven players who can go in there and they can all score," McConnellsburg coach Drew Washabaugh said. "Certainly Dominick has been one of those guys who has been good for us, especially lately."
Rebounding has also been something Reed has worked on and excelled at. At 6-2, he is one of the taller players on the team, and therefore finds himself underneath the basket a lot. He picked up seven more boards in the Spartans' 58-39 win over Fannett-Metal on Friday night.
"I've definitely focused on boxing out more and that's something we as a team are usually working on," Reed said.
However, going forward Reed believes there are still things that he and the team need to work on.
"There's always areas we can improve in, and I myself can improve upon," he said. "In our game tonight we probably gave up a few too many offensive rebounds, so that's something we all have to get better at."
Washabaugh said, "I thought him and the rest of the guys did a good job of not turning the ball over and playing smart. But I think we gave up seven offensive rebounds in the first half, so that'll be an area to improve upon."
Overall, Reed has been a model for improvement and hopes that trend continues for the rest of the season.
"If all of us just keep doing what we are doing, then I think the rest of the year should be pretty good," Reed said.