Shaler gets comfortable in Niederberger’s system

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, November 21, 2018 | 10:57 PM

In Year 4 coaching the Shaler boys basketball team, Rob Niederberger sees a group that has broken from being stuck in its ways. Instead, the Titans have learned to balance his system with improvisation.

“I think we are more athletic than we’ve been,” Niederberger said. “When you first start teaching a system, guys can become robotic sometimes. You don’t want that, either. These guys are playing ball. They are reading and reacting quicker depending on what the defense gives them. That’s what you start seeing when you start running a system for a couple years. They become so used to doing it, they can do it in their sleep.”

Innovation will be helpful as the Titans, who open the season at 6 p.m. Dec. 7 against North Allegheny at the Penn-Trafford Tournament, face a Section 3-5A schedule filled with road bumps. While realignment dropped Shaler to a lower class, the Titans, who finished 8-13 last season, face an uphill battle to make the playoffs.

Two of Shaler’s new section foes, Mars and Franklin Regional, reached the WPIAL Class 5A final last season. The Planets, who won the district title, finished as state runners-up. Armstrong, Hampton, Indiana, Kiski Area and Plum fill out the slate, which will provide the Titans with plenty of time on the bus.

“We prepared the same way we always do,” Niederberger said. “We scout every team hard, and we’ll be ready. The travel will be crazy. We’re going to Indiana this year. People will talk to me about dropping down a class, but Mars is coming off a state championship (appearance).”

What will help Shaler is having a lot of experience returning in its starting rotation. Mekhi Reynolds, Matt Bendel, Luke Bebout, Justin De Sabato and Brennan Fugh were starters last season.

Colton Schott will serve as the sixth man, but Niederberger views him as another starter.

“I have four guys returning who started a lot of games,” Niederberger said. “This is the first group I’ve had for three years, and we’ve gotten after it a whole lot. They really know what they are doing and trying to do and how we attack people. This group is really tight.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shaler