This article will appear in the Skyline Horizon later this month but as the season is getting underway it is worth a look.
If you didn’t know, this Skyline Basketball team is fast. So fast they might zoom right into to the playoffs and deep into Febuary and early March. “This team has so much speed we can hurt opponents on the break if you make a mistake you’re done” Said Nick Pike. Pike will be out for the first month or so of the season after a blood clot landed him in the hospital a few weeks ago. Even from the bench though players up and down this roster rang the same bell about this offense, speed kills.
“The greatest thing about this offense is that we can all go off and put up points” said center Spencer Thornley. “I could go off one night and then all of the other guys could go off the next night. We run a four out offense which is great because we can get the big guys involved” Thornley makes a good point. Most high school teams play a zone defense and when you can draw that zone in you can kick it out to guard’s like captain Ben Knight and launch threes. “We are really good at sharing the ball” said Knight. “Our offense is really passive and by that I mean we pass the ball a lot and that’s a good thing because it opens up lanes to drive to the net and when you do that a defense collapses so you can shoot threes” says Nifai Tonga who plays small forward for the team. A team that’s too passive sounds like a good thing right? Not all the time sometimes this team passes up on open chances to find a better look. Self-doubt is one of this teams two greatest weaknesses. The second would be rebounding.
“Were a small team” Said Tonga, Thornley, and Knight. “It’s really hard to get rebounds because we are such a small team so that’s where we have to focus the most effort” says Thornley. How do you do that? If you have a 6-5 250-pound center and your 6-3 190 how do you get those rebounds? Again the answer lies in speed. “You have to cut around those guys and spin and maneuver in a way that gives you an advantage in the paint” said Thornley. Size is made up for in speed though according to Knight. “Our greatest strength as an offense is pushing the ball and by that I mean if we get a rebound or a block we already have three to four guys up the court looking for a pass and that leads to easy points”.
Size is also made up for in skill. “As a player I strive to be a guard in a Centers body” says Thornley. By that he means he wants to be able to handle the ball and drive to the basket. While Thornley struggles in the post he says his greatest attribute is the mid-range jump shot. “I think my greatest strength is the ability to get around defenders and kill them with the Jumper” This is important Thornley says because it draws players in to double team him so he can kick it to the guard’s. “The bigs are the most important part of this offense” says Tonga “When they come out of the paint the defenders have to respect them which opens up a lane to the basket for the guard’s.” So if you shut this offense down inside you better watch the outside.
Speed kills this team is no longer rebuilding they are ready to make a run. The players on the team all seem to love each other and believe in what the program is doing. No matter what you believe there are several facts: this team is fast, this team is high scoring, and this team is ready to make a run, this is there year, it needs to be.
The other side of the story
The other side of the story: Some (not myself) believe that the Skyline high school team is controlled by politics. “politics plays a huge role in the decisions made for the team, who plays, the way kids are treated ect.” Said an individual who did not make the team who wished to remain anonymous. However, that cannot be proven as we have no access the Skyline Basketball booster club finances. There is however that view among some of the student body and certain players who refused quote and asked to stay anonymous but still thought there was a problem.