Defence comes first for Murdaca
The defence rests with Nick Murdaca.
The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student at A.N. Myer is a solid rebounder with a good scoring touch, but it is at the other end of the court where he stands out the most.
Murdaca collected 10 points and seven rebounds to help Zone 3 past Zone 4 105-93 at the Third Annual Niagara Region Basketball Showcase Tuesday at the Niagara College Welland Campus Athletic Centre.
Murdaca didn’t get as much opportunity as usual to buckle down on defence — after all, it was an all-star game — but that is where he earns his keep.
“Defence is the big thing they ask me to do,” said Murdaca, who also plays badminton and volleyball for Myer. “It’s very hard work. You have to get out there and put a hand up and do the best you can.
“I’ve always been more of an energetic player I feel which translates to the defence side. Shutting a guy down and taking a charge, I love it. It’s the most fun part.”
Murdaca also enjoys taking charge.
“I also try to be a leader on the team. Being a Grade 12 and having a lot of new players coming up from Grade 10, that’s the role.”
Myer coach Dave Shaw raves about Murdaca’s impact on the Marauders.
“He has tremendous athleticism that he uses to set the tone for our team,” Shaw said. “He has a strong sense of how to help his team by leading by example.
“He is a tremendous rebounder on both the offensive and defensive ends and uses his hustle to create his own scoring opportunities with second and third chance efforts.”
Shaw perhaps appreciates Murdaca’s attention to detail on defence the most.
“He is able to play both sides of the ball and is asked to be a lockdown defender and can guard a variety of players from guards to post players,” he said.
Murdaca found out from Shaw earlier this week he had been named to the team.
“My coach asked me about two days before and I was ecstatic. I was excited to play in this. It’s a great opportunity.”
Murdaca was amazed at the talent on the court.
“It’s definitely difficult. The quality they have over there is insane,” he said. “It’s just a pleasure for me to be here.”
Murdaca, who plays at the travel level for Hamilton United and has applied to Western, has high hopes he can finish his career at Myer with a SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) title.
“We’re doing great. We’re undefeated in our regular season and we just finished a tournament in Hamilton where we made it to the semis,” he said. “That’s where we suffered our first loss against a real tough team but, I thought we really played well.”
Stats Pack
Mick and Angelo’s/Johnny Rocco’s Stars of the Game: Jacob Labonte of Jean Vanier with 14 points and 3 rebounds for Zone 3; Clayton Thomas-Harris of St. Catharines Collegiate with 11 points and 3 rebounds for Zone 4.
Zone 3: Labonte, 14 points, 3 rebounds; Reese Radobenko, Centennial 7 points, 3 rebounds; Nick Yioldassis, Centennial 4 points, 2 rebounds; David Jones, Notre Dame 14 points, 3 rebounds; Shamar Campbell, Notre Dame 9 points, 9 rebounds; Jerwyn Tutanes, St. Paul 15 points, 3 rebounds; Neil Maharai, Stamford; 3 points; Abdul Sheik-Ali, Westlane 4 points, 4 rebounds; Jason Carter, E.L. Crossley 7 points, 2 rebounds; Austin Ladoucer, Greater Fort Erie 4 points, 2 rebounds; Nick Murdaca, A.N. Myer 10 points, 7 rebounds; Neil Wangler, Niagara Christian 2 points, 1 rebound; Cormac McMahon 11 points, 9 rebounds.
Zone 4: Thomas-Harris 11 points, 3 rebounds; Adrian Waszak, Holy Cross 8 points, 5 rebounds; Igor M’Baya, St. Francis 5 points, 2 rebounds; Noah Honsberger, Denis Morris 8 points, 5 rebounds; Tykree Llewellyn, St. Catharines Collegiate 9 points, 10 rebounds; Colton Spencer, Thorold 7 points, 6 rebounds; Darren Johnston, Governor Simcoe 10 points, 5 rebounds; Charlie Edgar, Eden 8 points, 2 rebounds; Josh Enns, Blessed Trinity 8 points, 4 rebounds; Mason MacEachern, Governor Simcoe 4 points; Also playing were Calvin Bultje, Heritage Christian, Zubeer Liban, Denis Morris and Noah Garnace, Sir Winston Churchill.
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