What we learned from Day 1 of Frankin Co. boys hoops
Boys basketball season is officially underway after the first day of the Franklin County Tip-Off Tournament.
Every team uses its season-opener as a way to test the waters, and here's one thing we learned about each of the area teams from Day 1.
Chambersburg
How important will the Trojans' well-rounded offense be moving forward?
In Friday's season-opening win against Greencastle-Antrim, Chambersburg utilized 10 players, and all but three of them scored at least four points.
ByShawn Mincie led the attack with 12 points; Cade Whitfield and Joel Torres each added eight, and Cole Christian was right behind with seven points. Three others scored four points apiece.
"That's what we've been focusing on all summer - adding pieces and sharing the ball together," Whitfield said. "I thought we did really well with that today. There wasn't one dominant scorer. It was kind of spread out, and we think that will take us pretty far."
Moving forward, Chambersburg hopes to get even more players involved.
"I feel really good about the amount of depth we can put out there," Trojan coach Shawn Shreffler said. "We were tight at times tonight, so I think there are even other guys that will show up on the stat sheet perhaps more than they did tonight. Every game is different, and every situation is different, so everyone has to be ready to play their role as best as they can."
Greencastle-Antrim
Can the Blue Devils make up for their lack of size?
It's no secret that Greencastle-Antrim had a distinct size disadvantage in its season-opening loss to Chambersburg.
But when first-year head coach Rick Lewis took over for the Blue Devils, he said it would be important not to get killed on the boards. On Friday, Greencastle got killed on the boards.
The Trojans out-rebounded G-A, 39-17 and converted six offensive putbacks.
Moving forward, Greencastle will have to get better at using the height it does have. Ben Freeman and Bryan Gembe both stand at 6-foot-3, while Casey Hoover, Ian Gelsinger and Bryson Robinson are all above 6-0.
"We just gotta keep working at it," Lewis said. "There's no magical formula to it; we don't have anybody that is going to get 15 to 18 rebounds every single game. We have to team rebound like crazy, pursue the basketball and keep working at it."
James Buchanan
How can the Rockets find a consistent scoring threat?
One of James Buchanan's biggest problems in its 58-34 loss to Waynesboro on Friday evening was its poor shooting percentage.
The Rockets attempted 48 field goals and made just 13 of them, for a shooting percentage of 27.1 percent. The biggest point contributor was Jared Pine, who finished with 10, but no one else scored more than six.
"You need other guys that are going to step up with somebody; that's a key," JB coach Larry Strawoet said. "If you don't have those other guys surrounding him, it's tough for anyone. We don't have any exceptional players on our team; we just have a bunch of guys who have to play together as a team."
A big key for James Buchanan this season will be ball movement. On Friday, the Indians forced JB into a hurried offense, and it hurt the Rockets big time.
"We need patience on the offensive side of the ball," Strawoet said. "One pass and chuck, and other guys were watching the ball go off the rim. We need to move the basketball, reverse it, put in situations where we can get some rebound coverage in there. We lived and died off the three today, and that's not us."
Waynesboro
Could the Indians compete for the Colonial Division title?
After one game, no one wants to get ahead of themselves. But Waynesboro looked like a well-oiled machine in its first-round win over James Buchanan.
The Indians distributed the ball well, getting 11 different guys on the scoring sheet. They forced 18 turnovers, including eight steals, and were a force on the boards.
It looks like a recipe for success.
"There is a little bit of a similar feel to our group three years ago," Hoffman said. "Last year, we had such a bad start, but once they figured it out, there were shades of thinking this could be a pretty nice group. I mean, you hate to go there yet, but the pieces are there."
'Boro senior Cameron Keck said, "I think with the seniors we have and our young guys, we definitely have a chance to compete for it. Greencastle is definitely a tough team, and so is Shippensburg. Not to discredit any other teams, but those are the big two in the league. If we keep playing fast like we played tonight, we'll see where the season goes."