Palisades head boys basketball coach Phil Ham is confident his team – with their uptempo offense – can exchange baskets with any team in the Colonial League.
His team’s problem is preventing baskets.
The Pirates’ latest outcome, a 57-23 loss to Southern Lehigh Monday, left them with an overall 3-8 record. They have averaged just over 50 points per game, while allowing just over 60 per contest.
“I don’t have any doubt that we can score,” said the third-year head coach. “Offensively, I think we can play with any team in the league. Our issue has been on the other end.
“We need to stop teams defensively.”
The Pirates have a number of players who are seeing varsity action for the first time.
“We had a lot of young guys who came up,” Ham noted. “Those guys got a lot of JV minutes last year, and they have been adjusting.
“But it does leave us in good shape for the future.”
Senior point guard Liam Carey is the Pirates’ floor general on both sides of the ball. He averaged 15 points last year, and is averaging just above 20 points and six rebounds this season. He is among the leading scorers in the Lehigh Valley.
Carey has made a commitment to play for Division II Friends University in Wichita, Kan., next winter. He had 28 points in a recent win over Northern Lehigh that snapped a four-game losing streak before their current setback.
He knows his team has strived for consistency.
“I think we have had some ups and downs so far,” said Carey. “We are very young without a lot of varsity experience. Our record is not what we want it to be, but I think we have made some improvements in our game as a team so far.
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