Archive
Subscribe
Weather
 |
|
 |
Bucks
eye another
state tournament
appearance |
St. Paul loses several players to graduation,
but remains a team that can't win |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Just
because the St. Paul High School boys basketball team lost two of its best players last
year due to graduation, don’t think the Buckaroos will be in for a rebuilding
year.
St. Paul, a team that finished third at the state tournament last year with a
64-47 victory over McKenzie, suffered the loss of all-around player Damian Wylie and post
Steve Sammons.
“You don’t replace players like that and I knew that when the
season ended that I had coached some pretty special players,” said St. Paul coach
Buell Gonzales Jr.
The top returner for the Bucks, ranked No. 7 in a preseason poll by
Northwesthoops.com, is senior Levi Shull, a 6-3 guard who averaged 12.5 points per game
last season.
“(Shull) is going to be the same mismatch he was last year,”
Gonzales said. “He’s tall, he can shoot the ball, he handles the ball well, he
penetrates well. If anything, being a year older has been good to him. He’s gained
size, strength and football has helped him tremendously, especially the physicality of
it.”
Shull’s outside shooting will be key for the Bucks, but Gonzales said
he’s looking for more consistency from the senior, as well.
“Twelve points (per game) would be fine, but I would like more
(rebounds) and more of a defensive presence ... ,” he said. “With the absence of
(Wylie) and (Sammons) we need a big guy who can play good defense.”
The Bucks also return Anthony Barrera. The starting guard ended up being one
of the best 3-point shooters at the state tournament when he broke a record for best
3-point field goal percentage by hitting 6-11 in three games. But in March he was in a car
accident. He didn’t play on this past season’s football team and is still
rehabiliting his wrists.
“He’s just trying to get back into the groove,” Gonzales said.
The newest addition to the Bucks is senior point guard Chris Holsberry, a
transfer student from Sherwood. The 5-10 guard gives a lift to the team, Gonzales said.
“He adds a dimension to us,” he said. “He’s a quick point
guard who is able to score off the dribble and that’s something we haven’t had
for awhile. So having (Holsberry) adds a whole new dimension to what we can do.”
Holsberry is the prototypical point guard Gonzales likes.
“He thinks pass before shoot, he’s able to create his own shot, he
creates shots for other people, he’s an excellent ball handler who pushes the ball up
the court well and he’s a great compliment to (Shull) and to (Barrera),” he
said.
The Bucks will also have a height advantage over most teams. Senior Jeff
Wilson, a 6-5 post, will clog the middle for St. Paul.
“He’s a very good fundamental, back-to-the-basket player,”
Gonzales said. “He passes well and he was the point guard on (the junior varsity
team) last year because he was the best ballhandler. So his ability to handle the ball and
pass is going to be an asset.”
St. Paul also has a new assistant coach, Trevor Flaherty, who was an
all-state player at Sheldon High School before playing on the Western Oregon University
team with Gonzales. Flaherty, a teacher at Wilsonville High School, assisted the West Linn
basketball team last season.
Gonzales said the addition of the 6-9 Flaherty will help the taller players
on the team learn the intricacies of how to play the post position.
“He gives us another dimension at practice,” he said. “He gives us
another basketball mind out there.”
Gonzales also looks for contributions from senior Kyle Anderson and junior
Pat Charron this season.
“We’re not as quick or deep as we were last year, but we have more
basketball players, for sure,” Gonzales said.
Columbia Christian, a team that finished second in the state last season, is
not in St. Paul’s half of the Casco League but will be one of the top teams in the
state. In fact, Columbia Christian is ranked No. 3 in the state by Northwesthoops.com.
“They’re the team to beat,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales also picks Perrydale, Life Christian and Jewell as teams to contend
with in St. Paul’s half of the league. Regardless of the competition, though,
Gonzales is confident of his team’s abilities.
“I think we’ll play for the district championship,” he said. “I
think we’re one of the top teams in the district. We’ve got a lot of work to do,
though.”
If St. Paul is to get to the district championship game, it will have a tough
non-conference schedule to play first. Number 1-ranked McKenzie and St. Paul will square
off Jan. 31. Number 2-ranked Mohawk visits on Feb. 7. St. Paul will also travel to
Portland to play in the Rose Garden against Dufur, a perennially tough program, on Dec.
22.
“We have a very good schedule,” Gonzales said. “Jay Phillips,
our athletic director, did a great job making the schedule.”
With all of the tough games scheduled, St. Paul’s three-and-a-half year
home win streak could come under fire, Gonzales said.
“That’ll be tough, especially with North Clackamas Christian on
Dec. 2,” he said. “That’s by no means a gimme game. They’ve been
practicing just as long as we have ... They’ve always played us tough.” |
|
From Nov. 22,
2003, Newberg Graphic
Click Here to Subscribe |
|
|
|
 |
|
