Green honors boys basketball coach Mark Kinsley before game, then Bulldogs rout Lake
GREEN — As his former players kept spilling onto the floor Friday night, an emotional Mark Kinsley had to compose himself.
"It's been a number of years since I saw some of those guys," Kinsley said of a pregame ceremony honoring him for his 25th season as the Green High School boys basketball coach. "That was really cool."
The school honored him before the game.
His current team honored him with its play during the game.
Green took control in the second quarter and rolled to a 50-33 Federal League win against visiting Lake.
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The victory is the 390th of Kinsley's career, which includes three years as Ravenna's head coach before Green, and keeps the Bulldogs (12-4, 6-3) squarely in the league race. They are tied for second with GlenOak, a game back of first-place Jackson.
Asked what makes Kinsley the coach he is, Brady Rollyson stressed attention to detail — mistakes never go unaddressed with Kinsley — and preparation.
"Coach's awareness of what the defense is going to run and the scouting reports are awesome," said Rollyson, a 6-foot-4 junior in his third year on varsity. "We're so ready for the game and I think that's what makes him a good coach."
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The 57-year-old Kinsley, a 1984 Green grad, was ready for Lake on Friday, but not ready for the spotlight on him.
He knew nothing of the plans to honor him (including a plaque presented by athletic director Erich Muzi) but got a feeling something was up when he noticed numerous former players during the JV game.
Green basketball has gone to another level in recent years, with three league championships and two district titles. Kinsley has an explanation for the rise.
"It's a credit to the kids where the program's gone," he said. "I'm going to do this as long as the kids keep working. They do what we ask. We've had really good kids. Now we have really good kids that are really talented. That makes for a lot of fun coaching."
It looked fun Friday.
The Bulldogs assisted on 16 of their 20 field goals while holding Lake to a season-low 33 points.
Rollyson, Green's leading scorer, dished off six assists to go with 10 points and nine rebounds. Nikola Bundalo, a 6-8 sophomore, scored 16 points, while 6-5 junior Jarrett Taylor added nine points, 12 rebounds and three assists.
"When they're focused on guarding you, you have to find other ways to contribute," said Rollyson, an Ohio State baseball recruit, who received a lot of defensive attention from Lake. "You've got to look for your teammates. They can't guard me, Jarrett and Nik at the same time, so I'm looking for them and they did a great job knocking down shots."
Senior Mark Danner made a pair of 3-pointers and scored 10 points for Green.
The game was tied 8-8 after one quarter. Then Green senior Luke Ickes hit a 3 to start the second quarter, followed by one from Bundalo. Lake never got closer than six the rest of the night.
"That was a big shot," Kinsley said of the Ickes 3. "Early in the year it was kind of the Brady Rollyson-Jarrett Taylor show. Now we're getting more contributions and that's a big thing for us."
Bundalo scored seven straight points in the second quarter as Green's lead stretched to double digits for the first time. It was 26-12 at the half. The big, multi-skilled lefty continues to make an impression after missing time early in the season because of a team suspension.
"Their size and their length was impressive," Lake head coach Tom McBride said. "They didn't have Bundalo the first time we played them. He's an impact player in this league."
Green held Lake to 11-for-40 shooting from the floor. Taylor and junior Lucas Bitong drew the defensive assignment to face guard Lake's Chance Casenhiser and they helped limit the area's leading scorer to 11 points.
"It was an unbelievable job by Lucas and Jarrett to hold Casenhiser down," Rollyson said.
The Blue Streaks suddenly have dropped three straight games to fall to 8-9 overall and 5-5 in the league.
"I just don't feel like we played real well together tonight," McBride said. "That's not to take anything away from Green. They had a great patience in their game. They found the open man. I think they're a great passing team. But, I don't know, it seems we get a little individual at times. Until we get that collective feeling of playing as a team, we tend to have these ugly outings."
After the pregame ceremony, McBride greeted Kinsley with a handshake and said, "We're the two dinosaurs out here."
It seemed appropriate to honor Kinsley with McBride (in his 24th season as Lake's head coach) in the house. The two have shared the court for many great battles, including a 2015 district final won by Lake.
"That's a great tribute to him," McBride said. "You just don't see it much anymore at places. It's a tough profession. I think we've had some lumps over the years or some adversity ourselves as coaches and always bounced back. I've got the greatest respect for Mark and what he's done here at Green. It's a very deserving night for him with the award that was given by his athletic department."
Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @jweirREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Green Bulldogs boys basketball honors coach Mark Kinsley, routs Lake
