PHS, South boys qualify in hoops
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
As the calendar turned from December to January, both Bob Schurtz and Jason Carter had plenty of unanswered questions about their basketball teams.
As the calendar turns from January to February, a lot of those questions have been answered — and in a positive way.
Both Schurtz’ West Windsor-Plainsboro South team and Carter’s Princeton team clinched berths in the state tournament with wins on Tuesday night. WW-P South topped Allentown, 58-37, for its fifth straight win to improve to 9-6 on the season. Princeton earned its first state tournament berth since 2001 with a 67-63 overtime win over Hamilton. The win was the fifth straight for the Little Tigers.
”It’s great to be back in the state tournament,” said Schurtz, whose team has a game tonight against Lawrence and a game Saturday against Delaware Valley before the state cutoff date. “The guys have worked hard. It was tough early on and I think that made it better for us the rest of the year. We’re 7-2 in January and I think we needed some time to grow as a team and figure out each player’s role.”
Princeton was in a similar situation. Not only did the Little Tigers have a number of new players in the lineup, but they also have a new head coach in Carter.
”We started off hot,” said Carter, whose team won two of its first three games before losing three in a row. “What got us going at the beginning of the season was the guard play. We were shooting the ball well and playing good team defense. The problem was we weren’t sharing the ball the way we needed to.
”So when we started to play the tougher teams they exploited that. You have to move the ball and have all five guys be threats. I think when we lost those games, the guys started to realize how important that was.”
The Little Tigers have responded by winning six of nine games in January and will take an 8-6 record into tonight’s game against Ewing.
”We have been doing a real good job of spreading it around,” said Carter, who played for the PHS team that made the state tournament in 1995. “We had four players in double figures against Hamilton and DeQuan (Holman) had nine, so we almost had five in double figures. We’re sharing the ball and moving the ball well right now and that makes a big difference.
”One of our goals coming into the season was to create some excitement in the school about basketball. We’ve had games like the PDS game, Robbinsville and Hamilton where we’ve had great crowds. Our kids are able to walk the halls with their heads high, proud of what they have accomplished.”
As a first-year head coach, Carter knows there is still a lot for him to learn. But he also knows his players have worked hard and deserve to see their efforts pay off.
”With this group, I knew they were special when I had them on the freshman team two years ago,” said Carter, who made the move from freshman coach to varsity this season. “We had the right people. A 6-foot-8 center in A.J (Dowers). Brian Dunlap can handle the ball. DeQuan can pretty much do it all. And then you add guys like Josh (Gordon), Skye (Ettin) and all the other players who bring different facets to the game and we have a lot of good athletes that can help us be a good team.”
And Carter doesn’t take lightly the impact of a senior class that had suffered through some tough seasons. There may not be a big scorer in the group, but those players have made a difference.
”I’m proud of the way the seniors have stepped up,” Carter said. “The seniors that have stayed bring a lot of character to the team. We had kids who quit and transferred and that could have affected the guys still here. But the leadership we have had from the seniors and the way they have helped the younger players and helped me as a coach has been amazing. It’s nice for them because I know how hard they have worked.
”We still have a long way to go and a lot of the season left. But it’s nice to make the states. This was one of our goals. Hopefully it is only the beginning.”
Schurtz’s team reached the state tournament a year ago, but with a different looking lineup. With most of the key players from a year ago gone, the Pirates needed some time to come together. They did that in January, winning seven of nine games and five in a row.
”Austin (Witter) has picked up his game with his defense and his blocked shots,” Schurtz said. “Andy (McKeever) and Mike (Iacouzze), my two seniors, have been phenomenal of late. Andy had the toughest job going from a shooting guard last year to running our offense with the regular sets. And Mike has been doing a great job of getting to the rim.
”You can tell by the way we’re moving the ball on offense and getting pressure up top on defense that they have more of a trust in each other and that has made us a better team. I’ve coached a lot of different teams and sports at all age levels. And it doesn’t matter what age or level, if the athletes have confidence in themselves and in their teammates, it is amazing what they can achieve.”
Both South and Princeton have already achieved plenty this year. And there is still a lot of basketball to be played.