Richland Basketball

[Crimson's Ghost]

Westmont will have four starters back next year and they have a talented group of players in junior high right now. I think Westmont should have some good years ahead.

[theprophet]

In all honesty how often do these good jr high teams translate into good varsity teams? If coaches are making decisions like that it explains a lot about lack of consistent success Westmont has had or should I say lack there of.

[Crimson's Ghost]

High School isn't like college so we don't see a lot of turnover and 'big-name' hires all that often and coaches going from jobs within their own leagues, at least around here anyway. So I don't think any coach really bases decisions off of that to be honest. I was just saying I think Westmont has a chance to have some good seasons in the coming years.

[Crimson's Ghost]

But on another topic, your first question about junior high teams is a good one and an interesting one. I think that would be a good study to have to see how good junior high teams end up faring in high school.

I think every sport is a little different in terms of projecting, but I'd say in basketball you have a pretty good idea if you have a good group around 8th grade, maybe 7th.

In baseball, at least locally, for years in Johnstown if a kid played for the Boilers in the pony league a good bit of them ended up being good high school baseball players. So that's also about 8th grade.

Football....yea that's a total crapshoot in terms of trying to project what players will be in high school.

[theprophet]

I think I’m basketball what I see is a 6’2 8th grader and kids who’s athleticism and who have matured faster then others, then everyone catches up and that kid who is 6’2 is now 6’2 post player with no guard skill and poof your dominate jr high team is now an unskilled average athletic team. Show me kids that have skill and I’ll show you a projection that translates. I think the group that just graduated from BM was a dominant Jr High team and they won less then 10 games as a Sr group. Just what I have noticed over the years

[Manfred]

I have to reluctantly agree with 'theprophet'. Dom Vescovi's very first season @ FH Jr. Hi, he may have been undefeated with Adam Cecere who was just coming into his own, Ryan Richardson, Josh Schrock, Mitch Chunta, Jake Shope and a couple others. Then Dom took over the Varsity job, and these same kids who were his first team, had grown up with his system, etc. now had some modest success by the time they graduated, but the other local teams had 'caught up' with them.

[Crimson's Ghost]

But they were still a good team at the varsity level. They made it to the second round of the state playoffs, so it’s not like they came out of nowhere or fell off the map either. They were a good group from junior high that still were good as seniors.


Going back to when I played basketball growing up, the same two players that were the best around in middle school and junior high ended up playing in college, so I don’t think it was a major surprise.

Obviously a lot of things can happen between 7th and 12th grade, I’m not saying that doesn’t happen, but the team that goes 18-2 in junior high versus the team that goes 5-15 is likely going to be better in varsity.

[Manfred]

I agree with what you say, but you still have to admit that kids' growth spurts play a lot into their physical maturity and playing summer ball and going to camps all help those Jr. Hi stars into staying atop the heap as Varsity. I never said FH kids weren't good when they hit Varsity, they just weren't going undefeated or 18-2 or whatever. The other kids caught up with them, and there were a few games when the stars were MIA.

[theprophet]

Let’s do a study, last year who had the best Jr High team in the LHAC? If that team is not BG or Johnstown I bet when they are Seniors they don’t win the LHAC.

[Crimson's Ghost]

I’m not equating junior high championships to varsity championships. I’m just saying you can definitely tell in a lot of cases when you have a good group or a good player or two at the junior high level.