Inexperienced Plum boys basketball finds its way

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, February 5, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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Making adjustments is something coaches universally agree is part of their job, whether it's in-game strategy or learning about players on the team and changing the approach to produce better results.

For first-year Plum boys basketball coach Hart Coleman, this season has been about learning what each player does best and how that coincides with a style of play that gets the best out of the team as a whole.

Plum (6-13, 1-11 through Friday) has taken some lumps in Section 3-6A play against some of the top teams in the classification — all of which returned veteran experience. Coleman isn't concerned, even though his team had one player, Lamar Whiting, who returned from last season.

“It is part of the learning curve when you're a new coaching staff, and you have basically a whole new varsity basketball team,” Coleman said. “We've been changing our mindset as coaches, and instead of the guys fitting to what we had in mind offensively, we're moving the offense to fit into their skill set. We realize that we're a small team. We initially thought we could play in the post a little bit more, but we're able to get guys out on the wings to get shots. Even though we're a little smaller, we're a quick team. Our goal at the beginning of the season was to score 60 points a game, and we've been able to accomplish that most nights by getting out on transition on offense and getting quick points that way.”

Whiting, Plum's leading scorer, has taken the reins. He's put up some impressive point totals, including a career-best 36 in a nonsection win over Armstrong. Coleman said the junior, has gained confidence as a leader, which has helped him succeed.

“Lamar was basically the only returning varsity player that we had coming back, so basically we told him we were going to give him the keys to the car and let him know as he goes, we go,” Coleman said. “He's had some nights where he has had some pretty significant point totals, but at the same time what he's also realizing is that even when he scores he needs other guys to go with him. There's times where he's been passing the ball more. As the guys grow, continue to learn to play together, and learn one another's skill set it has opened up where some of the younger guys like Connor Moss and Chase Fink have had a few breakout games, as well.”

Moss and Fink stood out in Plum's lone section win, 56-49 over Penn-Trafford on Jan. 26. Moss finished with a game-high 22 points, and Fink scored 12. Whiting was not in double figures but helped contribute to the success.

“One of the key things that helped us in that game was getting off to a quick start,” Coleman said. “That's something that we have talked about all season, and it's something that we've struggled with. We basically had the lead throughout the game, and we were able to sustain the lead. A lot of times, we have had to fight uphill and we'd get close then fall back down again because we used so much energy and ran out of gas.”

In the final few games of the season the goal is to continue to make progress, gain experience and grind out some victories before they go into the offseason.

“We remain confident as we approach every game, because we understand we have a whole new team,” Coleman said. “We have taken our bumps and bruises like men. Some of the scores became out of hand, but we take (them) in stride because we feel we can be on the other side of that next year. Most of these teams we have faced have played together for a very long time, and next year we can say we have at least a year of experience under our belt. We also have a lot of young players in a very good freshman class that we feel can come in and contribute next year, as well.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Plum