MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It would be more than understandable if Preston High boys’ basketball coach Paul Koontz felt like he had things pretty much under control heading into Year 3 of his rebuilding plan. He had a strong senior leader in third-team all-state power forward Nick Smith, and plenty of height with a pair of lengthy juniors, 6-foot-8, 275-pound center Caleb Sypolt and 6-foot-4 swing man Brier Gamble.
“We worked very hard over the summer to become a strong inside-out offense and a difficult team to attack the rim against on defense. But, sometimes, things happen,” Koontz said.
Indeed, the best laid plans of Knights.
First, Sypolt broke a bone in his foot, and shortly after, Gamble blew out his knee, both lost for the season.
But there is an entire Knights team and an entire PHS season left to play, so Koontz had to deliver a message — the right message. He took a page from the basic coach manual regarding injuries, then put his own spin on it.
“I told them to think about it like this: That our big guys are in foul trouble, and that we had to deal with it,” he said. “It’s really the same thing, those players being unavailable to us. A team has to find a way to deal with adversity, find a way to compensate and pick up the slack. We can’t let these injuries define us and we won’t. We will find a way to continue on, and learn how to be competitive. And all of our goals are still on the table for this year and beyond. Besides, there is varsity experience to be gained for some young players, right?”
Absolutely correct, according to Smith, who had a similar opportunity presented to him as a sophomore.
“We had players out that year, so I got a lot more minutes than I might’ve normally have gotten,” Smith said. “It made a huge difference in my development. I wouldn’t be the player I am now without that chance. There’s nothing that can replace varsity experience, both in practice and especially in games. And I’ve let the young guys know that they need to take advantage of their chances.”
Of course, it might be easy for a clear scoring leader to try to do too much, but Smith believes he knows what he and his team need to do to stay on track.
“We have to learn and know our jobs and stay within what we’re capable of doing,” he said. “Playing within ourselves, trusting each other to do the right thing and working hard for four quarters — that’s the key. Support each other 100%, and we can get Preston basketball where it belongs.”
Despite the misfortune, Koontz remains more than optimistic.
“I’m still learning my team and how to best use our talent,” he said. “And I know we’ll have to work harder on rebounding, and we’re installing some different offensive and defensive wrinkles, as well. But these guys have a great attitude, and they’re very coachable. We’re a deep, solid group, we don’t anticipate a big drop-off, and we’re looking forward to seeing which young kids will step up and respond. We’ll be competitive, and we hope to continue our journey to resetting our culture back to a winning one. That’s our goal.”
