While we're working on getting caught up we're going to put a wrap on the WHS Basketball Season with some final info and opinions. We tried to cover as many games as we could and as time permitted.
The Lady Tigers had a rough season but with beating McDonald in the first round of the play-offs they finished on a high note. Unfortunately the Wellsville ladies got eliminated with a 3 point loss in the second round of Sectionals. They finished the season with 10&12 record but with only losing one senior to graduation we think next year will be a different story. They will have some very talented Seniors next year with Rilee Lavolsi, Irene Kiser and Mikyla Tipton.
Lavolsi is a no non-sense defensive player and usually plays low post. She is exciting to watch, especially when she blocks those shots using that volleyball kill smack. Although Kiser had an off year she can still break the heart of opposing teams with her shooting talent hitting those 3-pointers. With her ability beyond the arch and Meika Dalrymple also capable of hitting those threes the sky is the limit. Then there is Tipton. We don't want to be a cause of giving her a “big head” but she is a coach's dream with her unselfish play making and scoring talent. She'll just as soon dish it off if she spots a team mate open instead of taking the shot herself. If no one is open she'll drive it home with a spot of day light. By our count Tipton finished the season with 1,132 career points. She averaged 16.5 points per game this year. At that pace she should take the #3 spot on WHS all time scoring leaders list. Jasmine Richardson holds the record with 1,498 total points, set in 2007. With a little increase Tipton could top that.
In addition to these ladies there is some promising upcoming talent waiting in the wings to fill any voids. The 2011/2012 freshman ladies are bringing a lot of promising talent to the Tiger's Den next year too. With the proper desire and working together as a team the next few years look very promising for the Lady Tigers Basketball Team.
The guys finished the season with 17&7 record. Three of those losses came at the hands of McDonald, a team loaded with seniors. McDonald had two back-to-back undefeated regular seasons in the last two years but enough about them.
The Wellsville men had a very exciting and talented team to watch this year. Lead by the “Dynamic Duo” of Michael Johnston & Jalen DeSarro we fans came to expect a win in every game. In addition to these two they had Junior Josh Carter coming on, proving to be a big help underneath. Early in the season they found a freshman with remarkable shooting talent outside the arch in young Nate Scott. These four generally made the starting team and the fifth spot was a toss up with three other seniors vying for the spot. They were Christian Kapp, Sean Hudson and Mike Miller and all three were more than capable of being a regular starter. It had to be a tough call for Coach Thompson to make each game.
Johnston and DeSarro were this year's leaders and that's why the newspapers named them the “Dynamic Duo”. Johnston was the All Area Scoring Leader. He finished the season with 1,258 career points by our count. The Morning Journal said he finished with 1,289. Whichever is correct it was a remarkable high school career. Either way he moved into the #5 spot for all time career scorers at WHS. He came in behind Tom Wilson with a 1,385 total. Wilson is #4 and the top three are Richardson at #1, Toni Pappas at #2 and Vicki Pullie at #3. If opposing teams were foolish enough to give Johnston the shot he would nail it no matter where he was on the floor. In additional to his scoring talent he was a play maker and wasn't afraid to mix it up when the going got tough.
Speaking of mixing it up...our man Jalen DeSarro was a sports fan's joy to watch. He's a big and strong player loaded with talent. With Carter coming in helping underneath DeSarro was freed up to show off some of that talent all over the floor. He proved very capable of filling in at point guard in the games Johnston was sitting out with injuries. He usually put a double-double on the books with scoring and rebounds. Even when he was hurting himself he played all out and he was a terror underneath. DeSarro played the game at 100% every time and in our opinion well deserves to be part of the duo.
We noticed at the recent Awards Ceremony there wasn't a MVP named and with the all around talent we saw this year we can understand why. If the Tigers were in the game they couldn't be beat. With the talent we have seen with the underclassmen it's going to be “Wellsville basketball” for a few years.
The Freshman Team went undefeated on the year, right up to their tournament championship final where they got robbed. About midway through that final game a leak in the gym ceiling developed. Instead of postponing the game the refs called the game and awarded the championship to the opposing team, with a slight lead. We didn't get to see that game but was told by people who were there that the Wellsville Frosh were coming on to retake the lead when they stopped the game. We hope they can put that behind them and come back next year with that winning attitude.
Before closing we want to mention a couple of things that bothered us while watching the games we attended. Number one among them is teams intentionally taking the feet out from underneath a player going in for lay-ups. We saw it more than once this year. Two teams from up north were especially flagrant that even we could spot it. We saw it done to Michael Johnston after he drove the lane and went up for his lay-up. The defender just ran underneath him while he was up in the air taking his legs parallel to floor. That's the night he hurt his shoulder landing on it and that's probably what happened when he got a concussion earlier in the season. We can honestly say we never saw the Tigers trying that move. It's dirty sports and something that the OHSAA should look in to.
The second thing we want to complain about is opposing team's cheerleaders yelling “miss it” at the top of their lungs when someone is shooting foul shots. It's called a free throw and trying such a cheap tactic to distract the shooter doesn't say much about their leadership and sense of good sportsmanship. We never saw the Wellsville girls do that and they and Coach Carissa Wilcox should be congratulated.
Now that we got that off our chest we would like to add our congratulations to all the players for a very good season. Each and everyone of you made Wellsville proud. Also thanks to all the coaches, school officials and especially to High School Athletic Director Don Elliott and Daw Middle School A.D. Darlene Allison. Your cooperation and encouragement is very much appreciated.
Now it's on to Spring Sports. Sure hope it warms up next week...
ole nib
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