Lake Orion varsity basketball head coach Jim Manzo said the fact that his team is moving from OAA II to Division III this year doesn’t come with guaranteed victories, but he hopes using a ‘we before me? approach to the season will help his team on the court.
‘There’s been lots of movement (in the OAA) this season,? he said. ‘Ferndale moves from Division I to Division III, and you’d think they’d have to be the early favorite.?
Also, Stoney Creek comes up to OAA III from OAA IV, with Farmington Hills Harrison.
‘Last year we finished tied for last place with Waterford Mott in seventh place in OAA II,? Manzo said. ‘We lost one starter from last year, Tom Miszewski.?
The Dragons return four starters, as well as a few others kids who started some games.
‘We return a lot of experience,? said Manzo. ‘More than we’ve every had. We had a rough year last year, but we learned a lot. We want to be known as a tough school. We get no nights off.?
Seven seniors return: Chris O’Dea, Neil Medchill, Justin Smith, Brad Neary, Rodney Eaton, Kojo Asiedu and Shane Drozdowski.
Sophomore Ross Tonyan also returns.
Rounding out this year’s varsity are juniors Marc Thompson, Justin Diesbourg and Jon Krause; and sophomore Joe Barnes.
‘With a lot of familiar faces back, we know how we operate,? Manzo said. ‘We want to be a tough team to play against.?
Manzo said so far, he is liking what he’s seeing in practice.
‘Day one practice was competitive,? he said. ‘It got heated, and I think that’s because we’re deeper this year. We have a lot of team chemistry, this group gets along very well.?
Manzo said his challenge will be to keep his players thinking ‘we before me.?
‘If you want a role, do your job,? he said. ‘To be successful, we need to get everyone to contribute. We expect our seniors to lead on and off the court.
‘These are solid kids,? Manzo added.
The team will change their style this season to try to play more aggressively.
‘We’ll try to push the ball more this year,? Manzo said. ‘We want a more up tempo game, quicker style.
‘We’ll extend defense for full-court pressing,? he said. ‘We want to be a team you’d rather not play. It will take some time…but we’re a year older, and stronger and faster.
‘We’ll change our mindset and attack more.?
Manzo said experience will show to be the ‘overriding factor? for the team’s success.
‘Our practices will be harder than our games,? he said. ‘We have a lot of versatility. We have kids that can play a lot of different positions, which we couldn’t do as much last year.?