Erie High basketball team has new identity: Fewer dunks but more ball movement
It was an eye-opening experience when Erie High senior guard Juelz Carruthers showed up for the first open gym over the summer.
“When I looked around all I saw was like five guys,” Carruthers said. “That let us know OK, it starts now and we need to get to work.”
After several years of having an experienced team back, the Royals found themselves starting completely over after massive graduation losses.
“We've always had the mentality to step up when someone goes down,” said Erie guard Andreas McCullum. “We just knew with those guys gone we had to work hard.”
The Royals won 19 games last during the 202-21 season, including the program's first District 10 championship and a run to the PIAA quarterfinals. The top seven scorers from that team are gone, including six lost to graduation and multisport standout Marquell Darnell electing to play for Keystone Academy this season.
Out of the 62 points per game Erie scored last year, players who combined for 58.4 points per game departed during the offseason.
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This season's Royals have taken on a new identity. Instead of high-flying dunks and working the ball inside to a 6-foot-8 forward, Erie is sharing the ball quickly for good shots, either short jumpers or easy layups as they constantly rotate in new players.
That style was evident in Erie's thrilling 58-55 win over General McLane on Friday night.
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“From top to bottom we have great guys in the program and even had a junior varsity player play some big minutes (Friday),” said Erie coach Tom Koval. “My big message to the guys is to have fun in these big games and enjoy it. It's fun.”
The Royals have had nine players play in double-digit games this year with three others playing in at least six games. The constant rotating of players keeps them fresh as Erie puts constant defensive pressure on its opponent.
Friday was a big example as the Royals improved to 8-5 overall and 2-0 in Region 6 by hanging on to a big road win at McLane. Erie raced to a double-digit lead and appeared to be on its way to cruise to the win.
McLane dug in and rallied to erase that lead in the fourth quarter, but Erie's quickness made every shot in the fourth quarter a tough one and the Lancers couldn't complete the comeback.
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“This group has been playing together since sophomore year and we're coming together as a family,” Carruthers said. “It's showing when one guy steps in for another guy that went down.”
Erie ran into some growing pains early on as they lost 56-50 to Harbor Creek and to Fairview 55-39 in the Fairview tip-off tournament. Since then, the Royals are 8-3 with wins over teams like Shady Side Academy, McDowell, State College and Farrell.
“After the Fairview tip-off, I told the guys those are good teams but we are going to get better every day,” Koval said. “After a few games, we can't use the excuse of being a new team anymore and we have to keep working hard.”
In addition to knowing the system, this year's team spent all of last year practicing against one of the best 6A teams in the state.
“It was nice for this group to see how well last year's team played, and it set a good precedent for success,” Koval said. “Practices were always a grind so it definitely helped coming into this year.”
“We learned a lot from those guys last year on how to command the team and be leaders,” Carruthers said. “We have some great guys back and we're missing Marquell but things happen. We're ready to go.”
Jay Smith leads the Royals with 11.3 points per game, while Layveon Gore is adding 10.2 ppg and McCullum is scoring 9 ppg. Kre Thompson is having another solid year with 7.2 points per game followed by Shaquawn Horton with 6.2 ppg, Denzel Driver (4.7), Tay Carr (4.3) and Carruthers (3.9).
McCullum led the Royals with 22 points Friday while Gore had 15 and Thompson added 10.
Erie will continue to be tested in and out of the region with two showdowns left against Cathedral Prep and Meadville and one with McDowell while also scheduling Mercyhurst Prep and two more games to make up.
“It was good to play a game like this. This young team hasn't seen a game like this yet and it's a great learning experience to carry over into the rest of our region games,” Koval said about Friday's game. “I think we have a long way to go, but I'm happy with the potential of this team.”
Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie High boys basketball team winning with new lineup, approach
