December 18, 2009
Class in session for young Pats
Junior Andrea Innis will add point guard to her list of responsibilities this season.
Click Here for photos from Secaucus Scrimmage.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
SECAUCUS – The adjustment from middle school ball to high school isn’t an easy one for a freshman. With three freshmen in the Patriots’ rotation, head coach John Sterling has little choice but to sink or swim with a collection of youngsters.
“I always understand that there’s a factor of getting to learn the system and that they’re behind everybody physically in terms of strength and size,” Sterling said. “Right now that’s what I evaluated as the top players so that’s what I’m going with.”
For Sterling, the first few weeks have practice have acted as a crash course in “High School Basketball 101” for his three freshmen – Danielle Roesing, Lauren Guillen and Ariana Simon.
Despite the challenges that come with a team so lacking in experience, Sterling believes in his high-tempo system that has led to success at Secaucus and previous at Bogota.
“Our overall style hasn’t changed,” he said. “I always believe any group can be really good at running the fast break and putting full court pressure on in an up-tempo game.”
Guillen and Roesing will be in the starting lineup for the Patriots in the opener. Roesing has impressed with a maturity and toughness rarely seen by a rookie.
“What I like about her is her physical and mental toughness,” Sterling said. “Nothing seems to bother her at all. She’s not big height wise, but she gets a lot of rebounds. She’s tough inside and she’s a very good athlete with good instincts.”
Guillen’s speed and quickness makes her an ideal fit for Secaucus’ pressure defense. Simon, who will be the first player off the bench, provides some much needed size on a team is lacking it and has the potential to be a top-notch defender.
“As her instincts get better I think she’s going to be a person who can play great defense, rebound well and get a ton of steals,” Sterling said.
All three are asked to log heavy minutes for a team that might only play six players on a regular basis, but have yet to be overwhelmed by the responsibilities in front of them.
“For freshmen they’re not playing scared and that’s a good thing,” Andrea Innis said.
“When we started as freshmen,” teammate Shannon Waters added. “I was terrified.”
Innis and Waters would know about the pressure, having both started as freshmen on a Secaucus team that advanced to the North 2, Group I semifinal in 2008. Now, as juniors on a team that has no seniors, they are expected to carry a Patriot squad that went 21-7 last season.
“(Andrea) and Shannon both scored a ton for us last year already so we’re going to need them to hopefully score as much as they did last year or possibly even a little more,” h Sterling said. “We’re asking both her and Shannon to do a great deal.”
Innis and Waters are used to the pressure that comes with carrying an offense. On a team that averaged 59.1 points per game a year ago, they combined to average 38 points a contest.
More than just scorers, both Innis and Waters averaged more than nine rebounds, four steals and three assists apiece.
“(Shannon’s) got the speed and the strength,” Innis said. “I’ve got court vision. We complement each other really well. We work well together.”
“I get the feeling I can always see her on the court when we’re playing,” said Waters, noting that they’ve played together since second grade. “We always know where each other are on the court.”
Innis, who was primarily a forward before, will be asked to take on the responsibilities of a point guard this time around.
“Andrea’s going to play guard for us this year because she handles the ball as much or more than anyone on the floor,” Sterling said. “She’s the best ball-handler that we have.”
Watters remains at shooting guard for Secaucus and will often be matched up against the other team’s top scorer.
Sophomore Alyssa Lingholm is the only other starter with varsity experience and has impressed Sterling with her basketball IQ and ability to play within herself. Brittney and Danielle Mitchell (not related) as well as Kendyl Voli will also compete for playing time for the Patriots.
