Shimkin’s return aids Panthers

Boys’ hoops wins sixth straight

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
  Mike Shimkin spent a year away from the Princeton Day School boys’ basketball program. But now he’s back, and he couldn’t be any happier.
   ”Last year I wanted to lift for baseball and football,” said Shimkin, a three-sport standout for the Panthers. “I know I’m not a scorer on this team, but I want to contribute wherever I can. Joe (Rogers) and Kenny (Holzhammer) are the guys who put it in the basket. But if I get open looks when they’re getting double-teamed I’ll try to knock it down.”
   Shimkin made the most of his opportunities on Wednesday, scoring 11 points to help the Panthers to a 63-47 win over Allentown. The win was the sixth straight to start the season for PDS, which won only three games last year.
   ”It’s great,” Shimkin said of the 6-0 start. “Last year I think we only had three wins all season. Joe’s been huge this year. C.J. (Martino) had a great game today. Kenny is knocking down threes.
   ”We have to keep it going. We don’t want to stop now. We just go out and take it one game at a time and we’ll see where it goes.”
   Shimkin had scored just five points in the Panthers’ first five games. He’s not in the lineup as a scorer, but he came through in a big way on Wednesday, helping to offset the loss of Antoine Hoppenot, who was not in the lineup.
   ”That’s kind of my role on this team, to be a sixth man,” Shimkin said. “On defense I put pressure on the guy I’m guarding. And if I get fast-break layups I’ll try to put it in.
   ”It’s my senior year. I’m trying to play football and baseball in college, I’m not trying to play basketball. But I thought it would be fun to come back and play with my friends.”
   PDS coach Paris McLean is happy to have Shimkin back on the court after a year away. Once McLean was named the head coach, he started trying to get Shimkin back.
   ”We have a really good relationship from football,” McLean said. “When I got the position, I asked him if he was thinking about coming back out because we could use some bodies. Usually, he’s more defensive minded. But he really stepped up offensively today.
   ”With Hoppenot out, he just replaced him. You can’t really replace the creativity of Hoppenot, but the intensity on the defensive end helped.”
   Offense has not been a problem for the Panthers, who have averaged 70 points a game, this season. They started slowly, scoring just seven points in the first quarter against Allentown. But they lit up the scoreboard for 24 points in the second quarter to get the offense going.
   ”We were a little cold from the outside,” said McLean, whose team was scheduled to face Oratory Prep on Thursday. “We had been knocking down shots. I think it showed a lot about us that we were able to weather that storm and down the stretch make some shots and get some good looks.”
   Holzhammer led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points. Martino had 16, while Rogers added 15 for the Panthers. Being perfect through six games is all McLean could ask for at this point. He knew his team had the ability to start like this, but they had to learn to win first.
   ”I knew we had the potential to win some games,” the first-year coach said. “But any time you start off 6-0, especially coming off a 3-18 season, it’s unbelievable. The difference is, the kids have faith. They understand it’s OK to win. It’s OK to get excited.”
   With the way they’ve played the first few weeks of the season, there is plenty to get excited about.