Recharged, rested and ready for the second half, the New Westminster Hyacks senior boys basketball team had a couple of weeks to savour a strong start.
Now, the work gets real.
In mapping out a route for a strong playoff run, head coach Arno Richter took a lesson from last year and made sure the players had some R & R before the calendar flipped to ease back onto the court with more practice after December’s gauntlet of games.
It’s intended to get their batteries recharged and to allow the squad to focus on fine tuning as league play takes over the spotlight.
“We had 13 games like in 16 days, something crazy like that, and only a couple of practices,” said Richter of last month’s road map. “I’ve got more practices in January so that we can work on some little things, hone our game a bit. We should go into February hopefully with everything dialed in.”
New West still is an underdog on the Lower Mainland scene and has not received a sniff from those ranking the Quad-A circuit – despite a 12-3 record.
While their wins have come against likeminded and unranked rivals, those three losses came against Quad-A No. 7-ranked Handsworth, Triple-A No. 6-rated Argyle, and formerly ranked Heritage Woods.
The Hyacks aim to see if they can make amends on one of those scores with an exhibition match tonight (Thursday, 6:45 p.m.) against Argyle in New West’s Pearson gym.
Argyle prevailed 95-56 in that last encounter nearly a month ago, but it seems a tall ask to make up 39 points. It’s certainly not impossible, however.
“We know we can compete against some of the better teams, like Handsworth. We competed against them and lost but it gave my guys a glimpse into what you need to do,” Richter said. “I don’t think the gap this year between the top and the middle-of-the-pack is as big as in past years.”
In the team’s final game of 2017 (on Dec. 21), New West showcased its shooting game and speed in racking up an eight-point lead on West Vancouver deep into the fourth quarter. But the visiting Highlanders regained their composure and replied with a barrage of three-point shots, connecting on three to make it a harrowing final minute.
The Hyacks went 10-for-10 from the free throw line to squeak out a thrilling 69-68 victory in the squad’s tournament final, played before a packed gym.
“It was one of the craziest games I’ve seen. It was pretty cool, the last day of school and the gym was packed. You couldn’t have asked for a more dramatic finish,” said Richter.
It followed after a solid 80-54 victory over Sardis, while a handful of days earlier the Hyacks knocked off Dr. Charles Best 83-57 and Centennial 69-54.
All those games came without starting No. 1-guard Ramadan Ali, out since the start of December with a lower body injury.
“We’ve played the last 11 games without him, and it’s kind of one of those not good-good situations,” said Richter, who hopes to have Ali back in the lineup by the end of the month. “It means other players have had to step up, and they have.”
Starting-two guard Klyde Macahilo has slid into the one-guard spot, while Simon Cruz and E.J. Colita have had a bump in their responsibilities.
“We’ve had other guards get these minutes and played really well for us,” the coach noted. That’s where depth has been a real asset, he said.
The only area where the team continues to have concerns is on the rebounding front, mainly because his tallest players – son Paul at 6-foot-3 and Luka Cuk and Hardeep Purba at 6-foot-2 each – are often lining up against guys in the 6-foot-6 and up range.
“As deep as we are on the back (court), we’re super thin on front,” said Richter. “Rebounding is a real issue for us, and in our game last month, Argyle really killed us on the boards. It’s an area we’re working at improving, but you can’t make guys taller.”
League play takes over the schedule beginning next Wednesday when New West hosts 2-1 Burnaby North, then visits Burnaby South on Jan. 15. Like Burnaby South and Byrne Creek, the Hyacks are a perfect 2-0 to start the season – meaning none of the three have met yet.
Richter feels it’s in those games, as well as against Triple-A No. 1-ranked Byrne Creek on Jan. 24, where the team will get a good read on how far they’ve progressed.
“Last year we were close, so close to beating South, but their juniors won the (2017) provincials, so they’ve got some good players from that team. (Burnaby South) has some huge players, too, so it’s kind of a litmus test.”
