Bishop Canevin boys basketball looks to reload after graduation losses

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 25, 2017 | 2:30 AM

The Bishop Canevin boys basketball team is coming off a 22-win season that included trips to the WPIAL and PIAA Class AA semifinals. Both times, its run was derailed by Sewickley Academy.

Those Crusaders were led by a large, talented senior class. Now, as with any program that leans on a big group of seniors, the 2017-18 Crusaders will be the proverbial work in progress.

In addition to the graduation losses, junior Gene Goodwin, who figured to be a big part of coach Kevin Trost's plans, transferred.

Half of Trost's 16 players are freshmen.

“I think it's going to be a process, and there's going to be a big learning curve,” Trost said. “We've got only four players who have been here at least two years. There's going to be a lot of inexperience, and there's a lot to learn at this point.”

Though this year's class isn't nearly as big, Trost will count on his seniors to provide guidance. Richie Bochiccio and brothers Donavin and Bryce Meriweather will try to take this green group on their shoulders.

But if there's an upside to having such a young roster, it is energy. With so many voids to fill, the underclassmen will be eager to hustle to try to win Trost's trust. Trost said he has been impressed with their effort in the early stages of practice.

“I think our freshman group, I've been very happy with,” Trost said. “There are some kids who are freshmen who will play a lot for us this year.

“There's a lot of pride in this program, and we've been successful. They don't want it to fall off on their watch.”

Trost said he always tries to emphasize defense, but it might be more pertinent this season, particularly in the early going until the younger players get comfortable in the offense. And even once they know the offense, it might take still more time for them to be confident enough to step up and take a big shot.

In a perfect world, the Crusaders alleviate the growing pains through the early part of the season and get up to speed by the time section competition begins. Trost, however, is keeping the team's goals in perspective.

For a while, at least, they will measure their season in little victories before setting their sights on bigger things.

“I'd like to think our goals are the same,” he said, “but we're going into the season rather than looking at the big picture, we have a goal to get better every day. Because we're so inexperienced, we just want to keep improving.”

Chuck Curti is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at ccurti@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CCurti_Trib.

Tags: Bishop Canevin