North boys’ hoops tops South
By: Bob Nuse
John Byrnes is not your typical "big man" in the basketball sense.
But then again, this year’s West Windsor-Plainsboro North boys’ basketball team isn’t your typical team in any sense either.
The Knights have just one starter who stands 6-foot-2 or taller. But they have certainly made up for their lack of size with an incredible ability to play as a team. And even with the 6-foot Byrnes playing an inside role, the Knights have been tough to stop.
Tuesday night, Byrnes scored 15 points and Conor Hayes led the way with 17 as WW-P North improved to 5-1 with a 61-53 win at rival WW-P South.
"We’re not going to be able to go out and guard people who are 6-8 or whatever, but we’re going to try to play our game," said Byrnes, who is averaging just under 15 points a game this season. "We’re smaller, but we’re quick. We’ll try to use that our advantage.
"We played a lot together this summer and right now we’re playing pretty well. We’re all unselfish and that’s been a key with us. No one care about their own points. Everyone just wants to win."
And the Knights have been doing that this season. Last year they won just six games. This year, they’re already within a win of that total.
"This was a solid win for us," said North coach Eric Becker, whose team is at Phillipsburg on Saturday. "We knew South was going to come out and play hard. It was a conference game and a good win for us. It’s a great atmosphere for basketball and it’s great for the school district. We play them later on in the season and that will be another big game."
Byrnes and Knights’ center Jerome Leslie certainly held their own inside against a bigger WW-P South front line. And while it might be better for Byrnes’ own personal game to get to play more on the outside, he doesn’t mind playing inside in order to help the team.
"I really don’t care," Byrnes said. "It’s more about the win and whatever we have to do to win. Corey (Collins) was on the floor diving after a loose ball. We just don’t care. Whatever we have to do to get it done, that’s what we do. We have some of the best shooters in the conference. On any given night, pretty much everybody can score.
"It doesn’t matter to us who the guy is who has the most points. We just want to win. We’re confident that we’ll be able to put the points up, and play the defense also. We’re also responding better to pressure now. This is a pressure packed kind of game and we responded. We’re getting up for the challenge. I think everybody lives for that and we’re getting used to it."
Byrnes has been able to help the Knights as an inside player, joining Leslie. Meanwhile, Hayes, Collins and Brian Smith get the job done outside.
"Byrnes has big-man skills," Becker said. "He has good footwork, he moves well, he plays defense and he can handle the ball. When he gets the ball in the middle he knows what to do with it. He’s very smart with his decisions. That’s just from playing basketball.
"The balance was great. That’s about being selfless. I like our enthusiasm. I like our spunk on defense. Jerome Leslie did a very good job fronting Matt Howell all night. He got him in a little foul trouble."
Smith finished with nine points, Collins had eight and Leslie added seven for the Knights, who jumped out to a 20-10 lead after the first quarter and never let the Pirates get closer than eight points the rest of the night.
"We had a good first half," Becker said. "Coming out in the third quarter we wanted to keep the pressure on. We didn’t want them to get right back in the game and I think we accomplished that. That was a big goal for us. Basketball is a game of runs. They made their run and we responded to it. That was good for us."
For WW-P South, the loss dropped its record to 0-4. But first-year coach Bob Schurtz is confident his team will eventually come around. Right now, they’re trying to adjust to a new coach and several new players.
"We have one returning starter," said Schurtz, whose team was scheduled to play at Warren Hills on Thursday and will host Allentown tonight. "So it really is a new program. Not just with a new coach, but with new players as well. We have a lot of young players with not a lot of experience. We just need to get better at protecting the ball. North is a smart team. They work the ball well, pressure you at the right times. They’re very basketball smart. They make the right decisions, both offensively and defensively."
Matt Howell, the lone returning starter, led the Pirates with 16 points. Derek Lester chipped in with nine points and Jarrett Austin added seven.
"We have a bunch of good athletes and we can do athletic things in spurts," Schurtz said. "Unfortunately, being good athletes doesn’t make you good basketball players. That’s what we have to work on, making better decisions as basketball players. We have to make better choices passing the ball and shooting the ball. That’s what is going to help us win games."