Gryphons quell Storm
The Greater Fort Erie Gryphons would love Kyle Barrett to get down.
The 18-year-old, Grade 12B student measures 6-foot-5 and would be a huge asset in the post in addition to his work from the perimeter.
Barrett led all scorers with 22 points as the Gryphons defeated the Smithville Christian Storm 43-33 Monday at Eden in one of eight opening-round games at the 59th Annual Standard Kully’s Boys High School Basketball Tournament.
“We’re working on that,” Fort Erie coach Dave Adamek said, when asked about Barrett posting up more. “We don’t have any real traditional post players.”
Barrett scored the majority of his points from outside Monday.
“He can do everything,” Adamek said. “He can handle the ball and shoot. He can break the press, run the offence and create his own shot.”
Barrett has played in the paint in the past with the Pelham Panthers.
“I’ve kind of always trained to be an outside player, to be a guard,” Barrett said. “Last year, I kind of played post for Pelham.
“I’m just getting used to playing the perimeter by practising a lot, twice a day.”
Barrett admitted being a guard or small forward presents its own set of challenges.
“It’s definitely cardio,” he said. “Playing the perimeter, it’s hard on your legs. You’re always constantly moving where in the post you’re just standing.”
Adamek feels it’s vital the Gryphons find a way to get the ball down low more.
“One of the things we talked about the last few days is we still have to get it inside off the dribble,” he said. “We need to open lanes and pass the ball low and make it easier to get it in because we have to get it inside for higher percentage shots. Period. I wish we could just shoot 80 per cent from three.”
The Gryphons led 20-18 at the half and 28-26 after three before putting the game away in the final eight minutes.
“Second half I thought was very good,” Adamek said. “First half we had some good moments, some poor moments. We struggled to get the ball to drop in a few times but some good, some bad. We’re going to meet up at lunch tomorrow and go over some things. Trending in the right direction. I’m not ecstatic but they work hard, they hustle but we’ve got some areas to improve on surely though.”
Adamek feels the Gryphons are far from a finished product.
“We’ve been working on a lot of stuff. We’ve been working on our team stuff, our offence, passing the ball. I want them to pressure the ball on defence and I want to work on our rotation and trapping and we have to pass better,” Adamek said. “Our shot selection has been questionable the last couple of weeks. We’ve played a few games so far so we’re really focusing on the team game. Finding the best shot and not rushing.
Storm coach Patrick Ghaly indicated his club has yet to practice this season.
“We didn’t have any plays. We taught them a couple of things but aside from the lack of practise, it was inexperience and we fell apart a little bit,” he said. “I was impressed with the boys. We have a lot of improve but we have some solid guys and I think the next game will be a lot better.”
Gryphons 43 Storm 33
Kully’s Players of the Game: Greater Fort Erie’s Kyle Barrett and Smithville’s Matthew Mafa.
For the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons: Kyle Barrett 22; Isaiah Vernon 10; Noah Gmoser 4; Nate Jones 3; Noah Dad0 2; Aaron Akharoh 2.
For the Smithville Storm: Matthew Mafa 12; Jeremy Talsma 15; Joseph Attia 4; Reuben deBoer 2.
Reds 52 Golden Eagles 33
Three players hit double digits in scoring as the Denis Morris Reds topped the Thorold Golden Eagles.
Kully’s Players of the Game: Owen Miller for DM and Issac Walker for Thorold.
For the Denis Morris Reds: Owen Millar 11; Cam Hastings 10; Josh Kauffman 10; Nate Sansaet 9; Michael Ukiomogbe 7; Mac Barnowski 3; Will Hastings 2.
For the Thorold Golden Eagles: Isaac Walker 18; Nathan Miller 6; Nick Wuhlar 3; Spencer Fluellon 2; Ryan Kelly 2; Hayden Salino 2.
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