Phil Ham describes this year’s boys basketball squad as the most “athletic team” that he has coached since taking the helm of the Palisades program.
“They get after it,” said Ham about his current group. “They play very well defensively, and are better than the other teams.
“They can run the floor well, and get into positions. We just need to finish better, and we’ll pick up some more wins. I believe we can do well.”
Hustle and determination aside, the Pirates have stumbled through a 2-5 start to begin the season. They played in the Wilson tournament beginning Wednesday night (results unavailable at press time), facing the home team whom they dropped a 74-46 decision in their season opener.
The Pirates lost eight seniors from last year’s squad that went 5-17 last season; one was leading scorer and current Friends University player Liam Carey. They have returned players with varsity experience, some who saw more meaningful minutes than others.
Leading the way is senior guard/forward Kai Stiansen, who is the team’s second leading scorer and returning starter, averaging 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Junior guard Riley Sessinger is leading the Pirates at a 15.6-point clip. Junior point guard Tyler Bonelli has averaged eight points per contest.
“He (Stiansen) is one of the best defensive players in the league and a leader,” said Ham. “He wants to be great at every aspect of the game to help his team win. Riley learned a lot from last year, and he has stepped up his game.”
Stiansen is confident his team can turn the corner on a positive note.
“We have picked up a couple of wins, and we started slow,” said Stiansen. “We play well with each other out there, and we have a group of juniors who are helping everyone mesh together.
“We just needed some time to play together.”
He sees taking control of a game early as a key to success in the second half.
“In the games we have won, we have come out strong and taken control of games,” added Stiansen. “We came out sluggish in the games we lost.
“We’re certainly capable of doing better. We have some younger guys who will help us. We have to be able to come out strong at the beginning of games and the beginning of the second half.”
Other Pirates who figure to be consistent contributors this season are 6-foot-3 senior center Sheadon Carr, senior guard Gianluca LeBlanc, 6-foot-5 sophomore center Will Anderson, and 6-foot-2 freshman forward Blake Oglialoro.
“Sheadon Carr is the heart and soul of our locker room and on the court,” added Ham. “LeBlanc brings his experience to the court. Anderson is getting a lot of time and learning on the fly, and Oglialoro is a soccer player who came out, and he can help us.”
Ham remains optimistic his team can turn their strengths into wins down the road.
“We’re still on track,” stressed Ham. “We want our guys to leave it on the court, and their hard work will pay off. We need to keep playing good defense, need to keep making our shots, and need to keep playing together.”
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