Shaler boys basketball still has goals

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, February 4, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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Entering the final week of the season, the WPIAL playoffs were out of the picture for Shaler's boys basketball team. Titans coach Rob Niederberger knew there still were reasons to play.

With a victory over nonconference opponent Cambridge Springs or Section 1-6A foe Pine-Richland, the Titans would finish with their most wins since the 2011-12 season.

Shaler (8-12, 2-9) fell out of the race after several tight losses. The Titans, who lost six of their past seven entering Wednesday's game with Cambridge Springs, suffered close losses to Central Catholic (58-49), Seneca Valley (41-39) and North Hills (66-57).

“We've had a string of bad luck,” Niederberger said. “Against Central Catholic, we played without Kiki (Agbale). The North Hills game was a five-point game that free throws turned into nine.”

Inconsistency has been a problem. North Hills used a 2-3 zone, and the Titans struggled, shooting 20 percent (7 of 35) from beyond the 3-point line.

What Niederberger expects to see moving forward is some resolve. Shaler, whose last win was against Carrick on Jan. 24, put too much time in over the summer to go quietly.

“They aren't going to stop now,” Niederberger said. “We are headed in the right direction, and I expect us to finish strong. There's a lot of pride developed with the players. Inside the community, we've had packed houses, and it's great. We are definitely headed in the right direction. Anything less than battling is unacceptable.”

That's one thing Niederberger wants to carry forward, a willingness to handle adversity. Last offseason, Shaler played more than 50 summer league games. With the group returning next year, the Titans will continue to pursue a playoff run.

Shaler wants to keep building from the foundation already in place.

“Every year is different, I thought group we had this year needed to play a lot games,” Niederberger said. “We were going three days a week in the spring and three days a week in the fall. The group coming back need skill work. I think that will take them to the next level. Every offseason, I think, ‘OK, what do they need?' That's what you have to do as a coach. What are we? Jesse Tavella developed into a skilled basketball player. He needed to play. I think this coming season, they need to develop their ball-handling and shooting, other things will take care of itself. You want to adapt to what your team needs, what do we need?”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shaler