Girls basketball cruises into GMCs at 12-5

 

All it takes is a quick start for a team to play at a high level for an extended period of time. Sometimes, that quick start makes a coach salivate over postseason aspirations. Other times, it can force them to step back and realize fundamental flaws before they become more costly.

 

The Highland Park High School basketball teams and instructors have both been through this learning experience during the 2009-2010 campaign. It’s now time to catch you up on the season-to-date for each program.

Born to Run

First-year head coach Erin Washington knew her HPHS girls basketball team very well before they ever stepped on the court for a game in December. She realized their best basketball was played in transition and that she had the athletes to create a system to that end. A 12-5 sprint out of the gate as of Feb. 7 as well as a 7-3 mark in Blue Division play hasn’t always followed the script she envisioned but confidence is slowly being instilled.

 

 

“Obviously it’s very important that we’re not only winning, but we’re winning close games,” Washington said. “I’m hoping it can carry over to crunch time in the playoffs and later in the season. They know they can win close games, hold on or come back and make a push. We’ve been down a few times heading into fourth quarters but we’ve locked down on defense, pushed the basketball and capped off wins.”

While a Blue Division title is no longer a viable goal due to a streaking Spotswood squad, Highland Park sits in an outstanding position for county tournament and Central Jersey Group I playoff seeding. The Owls’ only three losses in conference were suffered to Spotswood (twice) and Middlesex.

Juniors Jocelyn Summers and Ariel Brown lead the way offensively for HP, routinely posting a large percentage of the points in a given night for a squad that is beginning to develop greater balance.

"They work well together,” Washington said. “As teams started trying to take them out after we started 5-2, we won seven games in a row. Jocelyn’s job is to make her teammates better even if she isn’t scoring in bunches in a game. We’re definitely not a two-person team and our opponents are starting to see that.”

The uncertainty of where that complementary production would come from troubled Washington before the season—but that is no longer an issue heading into the last two weeks of the regular season.

“Outside production comes from kids having confidence and chipping in game-in and game-out,” Washington said. “Leah Salkin is our shutdown defender, one of the best in county at that but she is getting confidence going to basket, and her jump shot is coming along. Melanie Smith had a couple big games with some key shots for us and so did Niasha (Southerland) and Vicki Valenta. If we have balanced scoring, I really don’t think a lot of teams can beat us and that makes us dangerous.”

Where should fans expect the Owls come late February and March?

“I definitely would like to get us a couple wins in the counties,” Washington said. “When they come to play, they can compete with anybody. And heading toward states, you want to play best competition to get ready for it, and then all you can do is play the matchup put in front of you.”

Finding an Identity

 

The rebuilding of Highland Park’s boys basketball program must start with the community’s youth and teaching aspiring athletes the correct, rudimentary elements of the game. That is the message of third-year head coach Derek Nobles with his team playing some of the best basketball of his tenure—sitting at 5-10 through the end of January.

 

“I've learned quite a bit in my time as the Highland Park basketball coach,” Nobles said. “It's been a huge learning experience to say the least. In order for us to get back on track as a program, we need to start teaching our kids the basic fundamentals of the game at an earlier age because that's where our kids lose ground against other opponents.”

The Owls leaped out to a few, early-season wins to get their feet wet in the Blue Division—including a half-court, three-point buzzer beater in overtime by David Webb at JFK-Iselin. However, fatigue and injuries due to multiple back-to-back games caught up to a HPHS team that doesn’t have a true star player in the coach’s eyes.

“To be honest there isn't really any one breakout player on the team,” Nobles said. “It's been a mixture of different players stepping it up on any given night. David Webb leads us in scoring and Frank Husslein leads us in rebounds but their teammates have helped their totals each game.”

Nobles pointed out how comfortable his team has been against man-to-man defenses this season due to a tendency to run, which is a style HP basketball fans are accustomed to seeing from both programs.

“We've always been a team that likes to play an up-tempo game and man-to-man allows us to exploit our advantages with our team speed,” Nobles said. “Of course, zone defenses slow down the tempo and force you to play a half-court game whereas, we like to get out and run.”

With a large football influence in boys basketball, physicality usually plays into HP’s favor. This year, Nobles is concerned that it hasn’t been as big of a factor.

 

“Believe it or not, it really hasn’t had that much of an impact to my surprise,” Nobles said. “The teams we play aren't easily intimidated and it shows with each game. Every team we play is just as physical as we are and in some cases, more.”

 

With the restructuring of the NJSIAA state tournaments, the Owls are not out of the running for a spot in the bracket, but the head man says he’s more interested in long-term goals.

“Truthfully, the state tournament is the furthest thing from my mind,” Nobles said. “I'm more concerned about building a stronger and more efficient program here at Highland Park and getting back to the winning ways that our school has been used to in the past. It's not going to happen overnight, but it will come in time.”

Stay tuned for coverage of both HPHS basketball programs as postseason play begins.