For Jeannette girls basketball, ‘It starts with believing’

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, November 24, 2019 | 6:15 PM

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Jeannette girls basketball coach Jonathan Bass has high expectations for his team.

Even though Jeannette finished 4-17 last season and graduated its best player, Dymond Crawford, Bass feels the team has a chance to contend for a playoff spot in Section 2-2A.

The reason for Bass’s optimism is he expects seniors Jada Bass, Asia Mack and Arionna Clark and junior Hannah Nichols will form a nucleus to make up the difference.

“I expect them to replace what Dymond did,” coach Bass said. “She’s a big loss, but I felt the players deferred to Dymond too much. She was a ball-dominant player, and she was a great player.

“Everybody’s talent didn’t get utilized. This year we want to utilize everybody’s talent, and they’ve been showing great teamwork in practice.”

Bass said the team must believe. He was encouraged by how it played in the McKeesport and Seton Hill leagues.

“They gained a lot of experience in those leagues,” Bass said. “We haven’t won here for a while. They haven’t seen a winner, and they haven’t been around a winner.

“It was good to see them get out there and excel and believe in themselves. It starts with believing. They have the talent.”

Bass wants them to go out and play to their potential.

“We want them to play hard and be in your face on defense,” Bass said.

He wants them to be aggressive and play Jeannette basketball, something that has been missing the past few seasons.

“I’m looking for big things from my seniors, specifically Jada, Asia and Arionna,” Bass said. “Arionna is one of the best shooters I’ve seen on the girls level. She just has to believe in herself.

“Asia is so quick to the basket, she’s hard to stop, and Jada, my daughter, can do it all. There is nothing on the court she can’t do, and she does everything pretty well. She’s not flashy, but she gets the job done.”

Another player Bass is excited about is Nichols, who played as a freshman and decided to return to the team.

“She’s a good player, and we’re looking forward to seeing her perform,” Bass said. “We were in a lot of games last year, but we couldn’t bring it home. We have to develop a winning culture.”

Bass said he expects Serra to be the team to beat. He also likes Brentwood and Winchester Thurston.

“I feel we can sneak in there,” Bass said. “My expectations are to play hard and see what happens.”

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

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