When basketball fans talk about building a team from scratch, Jackson Liberty High School boys coach Mark Lax is a case in point.
The Lions not only have built a team around three veterans from a squad that produced only one victory last season and many players new to the varsity, but some of them like senior forwards Tyler Sousa and Tom Gallaro have never played organized basketball before. Both had played football.
“I saw football players who are good athletes play basketball in gym class,” said Lax. “It was tough for us making shots last year when we played hard, but could not compete in the Shore Conference unless we had bigger size.”
Lax also convinced 6-1 senior Anthony Ferullo, who sat out his junior year to concentrate on preparing for his senior year in football, to play basketball this winter.
As the 2010-11 season got under way, Jackson Liberty rebounded from a 25- point pounding by crosstown rival Jackson Memorial High School on Dec. 17 by beating Ranney Prep, 69-34, on Dec. 18 as freshman James Sofield led the way with 17 points.
After a Dec. 21 game against Wall High School, Jackson Liberty will have a holiday break before hosting the Jackson Liberty Boys Basketball Festival on Dec. 27 and Dec. 29.
The Lions will play Calvary Academy at 10 a.m. and West Deptford will take on the Wardlaw-Hartridge School of Edison at noon in the first round on Dec. 27. The winners will return for the championship game on Dec. 29 at noon after a 10 a.m. consolation game that day.
The only game-tested players are co-captains Ahmed Shalabi, a junior point guard, and Frank Mendes, a senior shooting guard, along with junior guard Bob Brown. Mendes scored 12 points against Ranney Prep.
If his team rebounds better than last year, Lax believes good things can happen.
“We’re actually looking to qualify for the state tournament,” Lax said.
Shalabi is fully recovered from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the last month of the football season and Lax said, “as he goes, we go. He brings everything to our team and we feed off that.”
Lax calls Mendes the team’s best all-around player. Mendes got to the foul line 21 times against Jackson Memorial.
The coach said Brown “worked a lot on his game in the offseason. He’s put a lot of effort into basketball.”
The players will need to maximize their efforts for the Lions, who are new to the Shore Conference C Central Division, to compete against division foes Lakewood, Point Pleasant Beach, Manasquan, Monsignor Donovan and Wall.
“We have to outwork these teams,” said Lax, who relies on a man-to-man defense. “On offense, we have to try to slow it down and grind it out.”
Other players like senior guards Dylan Bardhardt and Mike Parnas, and junior guard Dan Johnson are looking to do their part for the Lions this winter.