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The varsity boys played their best basketball so far in the recently ended Polly Wilhelmsen Invitational tournament. A Pirate starting five with two sophomores, two juniors and one senior were able to stop reputed Central Section teams as Lemoore and Delano, showing fighting spirit and resilience. The bench helped in an awesome way. Seniors Hector Rodriguez, Emerson Balallo, Steven Tacy and junior Marcus Cano showed that they can complete this squad and help them to be a force when League starts January 19. Reedley would not have come so far when the coaching staff was not so capable. What Minami, Warmerdam and Delport are doing with this new team, that lost nine(!) seniors and became League and Valley Champion last year, is fantastic. With a series of zone and combination defenses, such as 1-3-1, 2-3 and triangle-and-two strong teams such as Mount Whitney, Delano and LeMoore were beaten. The only varsity team that had the talent to stop the Pirates was Tulare Western. This happened in the Final of the tournament, that had eluded Reedley for the last twenty years or so. Colin Hofer is the main scorer of the team, an excellent shooter with perfect balance and good range. He made rightfully so, the All Tournament Team, and so did Hector Rodriguez who provides solid rebounding and scoring from the bench; another excellent move from the coaches. Sophomores Chris Bolt and Dion Dekker, the MIP (Most Inspirational Player) of the tournament, showed that they can hold their own at this level. They played great defense in all four games and with some more experience and a few adjustments these two guys could contribute 6-10 points each game. The 6' 5'' junior twin towers Andrew Bush and Rich Garcia came through when the team needed it. Andrew with a solid inside game that will improve when his 12-footer starts to fall again and Rich with excellent rebounding and shot blocking. The team is fun to watch because the coaches continue the program from last year, just using different options in the UCLA offense, that was so effective when Lepp-Wallen-Dekker-Luca-Hofer won so many games. Minami is intelligent, uses his time-outs real well and substitutes very smartly. In addition, he knows and more important understands the character of his kids. First assistant Warmerdam has the experience and sharply calls the defense, and Delport uses his considerable player-skills to positively advise each kid. This coach combination is very balanced and many times we noticed that the opponent was out-coached during this tournament. Another point I would like to make. Practice players such as Cameron Wiggam and Martin Figueroa see very little playing time but are an integral part of this squad. They are the team-builders. Many times overlooked, however, they make all these players better. Look at it this way: if Cameron does not hound Colin Hofer in practice, how is Hofer going to make all those shots in the games? The Pirates are preparing now for two tough Friday night home games: January 7 against Clovis East and January 14 against Sunnyside. League games are on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 pm. Fun to watch!! We'll see you in the Pirate Pitt.
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