Generals looking for consistency
It was a tough weekend for the Wooster High basketball team, but that doesn’t mean the Grinch is in the house for the rest of the season.A tough 79-50 loss to unbeaten Mansfield Senior (5-0, 2-0 Ohio Cardinal Conference) Friday night and a 60-52 setback to Wadsworth Saturday in the Steve Smith Classic dropped the Generals to 2-2 on the campaign and made for “a tough weekend,” according to WHS coach Craig Martin.
“I told the team that the basketball season is a marathon and we have to persevere and work hard to be consistent,” said the second-year coach, who watched his team drop to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the league. “We feel we have the experience and the depth to have a good year. We need to work on our consistency.
“In our first two games, we did a good job executing and getting up and down the floor in transition. In our last two, we needed to do a better job on the boards. We were outrebounded by both Senior and Wadsworth, and that negated our ability to get out and get easy baskets in transition. We’re going to continue to work hard to be successful.”
That will be critical. The Generals’ first post-Christmas game will be against Mansfield Madison, which was 4-1 and OCC co-leader with Senior coming into the game. Martin intended to use the break as a positive to get better.
“We always try to use film to our advantage and we had an opportunity to look at it (the following Monday),” he said. “We used it to refocus our effort. We have a nice break (before Madison) to get rested and work on a couple of things.”
Consistency, though, may be the main thing Martin is hoping his squad can find.
“Against West Holmes, Steve Stefanik stepped up and played well,” said Martin. “Against Wadsworth, Mack Spittle had a big game … with five 3-pointers. Alex LaLonde had a good game against Cloverleaf and Duke Price has been a steady floor leader.
“We’ve had different person each game play well, but we need to get that consistent effort and everybody in each and every game,” he added.
Wooster hosted Madison Tuesday, Dec. 29, before traveling to Dover Jan. 2.