Exciting Warriors taking aim
THE SCOOP: District 5 championships have been few and far between for Everett boys basketball, but this is one of the more promising times for the program.
The small but deep, balanced and lightning-fast Warriors have really begun clicking in the last month. They should win the District 5 Class 3A title. But can they turn into giant killers against Pittsburgh City League force Westinghouse in the subregional.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: First year for tournament
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Everett sr. G Steven Sheaffer, Everett so. G Jared College, Chestnut Ridge jr. G Noah Dillow, Westinghouse sr. G Koran Fleming, Westinghouse jr. C James Ellis
MOST INTRIGUING POSSIBLE MATCHUPS: Westinghouse vs. Everett in the subregional championship
SLEEPER: None
MIRROR’S TEAM TO BEAT: Westinghouse
NUMBER OF TEAMS ADVANCING: One
WHO THEY’LL PLAY IN INTERDISTRICTS: 5-1/8-1 vs. 7-5
ANALYSIS: With Sheaffer, Colledge, Devin Weaver and Elijah Treece, Everett has four 5-foot-9 players with similar styles who form a potent group. The Warriors’ quickness makes them devastating on defense and in transition, and, if you get behind them, chasing all those waterbug guards around the floor is enough to send opposing teams into a tizzy.
Everett’s essentially been crushing teams since January, and the exclamation point was a 33-point win over Chestnut Ridge last week that certainly should have sent a message after the Lions stayed within five earlier in the year.
After a very good start to the season, Ridge has struggled mightily since the calendar turned, and most of its losses have been by double figures. If the Lions can recapture the chemistry of December, or if Everett gets complacent after last week’s win, Ridge could remain competitive, but it will take a lot of cards falling just right.
Awaiting the winner of the District 5 title game portion of the District 5-8 subregional will be Westinghouse. Recently a hoops cellar-dweller in the City League, the program was reinvigorated when the closing of Wilkinsburg brought a number of talented athletes to the team. The Bulldogs, who snapped Allderdice’s long City League win streak in January, are quick, but what figures to give a team like Everett the biggest problem is Ellis, who stands 6-10.
COMMENTS