In second stint, Fox hopes to guide Apollo-Ridge boys team into playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, November 19, 2018 | 7:48 PM

Previous Next

Previous Next

When Greg Fox began his second stint as Apollo-Ridge’s boys basketball coach in May, he felt he inhertited a team with a lot of talent that can make waves in and out of section play.

Three sophomores who cut their teeth as varsity starters last year — guards Keighton Reese, Jake Fello and Klay Fitzroy — return, and several others hope to round out a starting five and reserve rotation that can turn around a challenging stretch.

“The kids are hungry,” said Fox, who scored 1,300 career points during his Apollo-Ridge playing career and coached the Vikings from 1996-2009. “There’s been progress every day. They are very coachable kids. They work hard and want to get better. If we can continue to get better day to day and do the little things we are stressing, the wins will come.

“One of the things that struck me when I started to work with them is how unselfish each one is. You would think that with one ball, they all would want to take their shots and get their points. They have no trouble giving someone else the ball for a better shot. It’s been great to see.”

Fox took over for Damon Andring, the Vikings coach the past two seasons. Apollo-Ridge suffered several close losses last year and endured a nine-game losing streak to close a 5-15 (1-9 Section 3-3A) season.

“Everyone is pretty positive and anxious to start the season,” Klay Fitzroy said. “We have a lot of skill. Our defense has improved, and we can run an up-tempo offense. We just have to put it all together and go play.”

Summer basketball leagues already started when Fox took over, and with a majority of the players also on the football team, football workouts were plentiful leading up the start of the season in August. That meant limited time to get the ball rolling with the full team.

Fox said fall workouts were well attended by those who didn’t play football. After a week off at the end of the football season, all of the players dove right into the new offensive and defensive systems.

“Practices are pretty intense with all the drills and all the plays we’ve been putting in,” Fello said. “Everyone is excited to see what this team can become.”

Fox said recent workouts and the first series of official practices have been a reboot of sorts.

“We weren’t able to put anything in over the summer,” he said. “It’s a learning process for them with the new offense and defense. We’re a little behind where we need to be. We want to take the time and get a lot of stuff done without overdoing it or overwhelming them. But they’ve been receptive to how we want to lay the groundwork. They understand we can’t do everything at once.”

Before the team moved forward, it had to say goodbye to a pair of starters in graduates Kyle Fitzroy and Maison Brunner, both forwards.

Kyle Fitzroy, at 6-foot-5 with muscle to move the opposition in the post, led the team in scoring and rebounding last year. He often was the subject of double and triple teams by opposing defenses.

Fox said senior guard/forward Bobby Mangan is a leading candidate to take one of the vacant starting jobs.

Returning varsity players — senior guard Brad Milko and sophomore guard Dom Reiter — will join the likes of newcomer Zander Garrone, a 6-2 sophomore guard/forward, in challenging for starting and playing time.

“I’m not sure how much depth we will have, but there has been some really good competition in practice,” Fox said. “The guys are really battling for playing time. We are evaluating the kids every day, and they know it.”

When the rotation is set, Fox expects the team to find success. Apollo-Ridge is hoping to make the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2015.

“If we play defense and rebound, we should be OK,” Fox said. “There are a lot of good scorers on this team. There is a lot of athleticism.”

Apollo-Ridge dropped to 2A and will go up against an new set of opponents in Section 1. The Vikings faced new section foe Winchester Thurston twice last year, and the teams will meet Dec. 7 on the opening night of the annual Leechburg Tip-Off Tournament.

The section is revamped from last year, and Apollo-Ridge also will face Northgate, Propel Braddock Hills, Riverview, Springdale, Sto-Rox and Summit Academy.

Springdale and Winchester Thurston are the only teams in the section to make the playoffs last year.

“The section should be competitive, and I think we can be right there in every game,” Fox said.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge