The San Lorenzo Valley varsity boys basketball team opened practice Monday night, Dec. 7, by running more than a dozen suicides — sprints from baseline to free-throw line, half court, the opposite free-throw line and the opposite baseline. In between suicides, the varsity team shot free throws.
Why the workout? In three games during last week’s Seascape Tournament, the team missed 37 free throws in three games. They lost two of three games — one to Gunn High School by two points, and one to Monte Vista Christian High School by one point.
Second-year head coach Matt Meisner thinks it was due to lack of focus at the free-throw line while his players were tired.
“SLV’s never had a good free-throw percentage,” senior captain Robert Mullins said. “But with Matt (Meisner), we’re finally getting that discipline.”
The team must knock down its free throws to win games after losing the tallest player on the team, 6-foot-4 inch junior Luke Roberts, to a sprained ankle, and 6-foot-2 junior guard Jared Payne to a broken foot during the tournament.
“We got really small, really quickly,” Meisner said. “We’re going to have to go small. We’ll approach it a little bit differently.”
But the team can still put up points.
“We have more options on the offensive end than last year,” Meisner said.
Mullins, a forward who led the team in scoring a season ago, should help the squad average more than 60 points per game when teamed with Roberts, senior co-captain Ryan Morse, sharpshooting junior co-captain Blake Bechtel and senior Zach Settles, Meisner said.
The coach said this year’s team can score faster and better than the 2008-09 Cougars, who posted a 6-20 record.
Mullins said he and his teammates have good team chemistry, and everyone offers something on the court.
“We have a bunch of good basketball players,” he said. “Each of us has a different talent that can help us win games.”
Mullins hopes the team can win at least half its games this season after finishing 2-10 in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League last season.
“It’s all going to come down to how we play against Harbor, St. Francis and Santa Cruz. Those are the powerhouses in the league,” Mullins said.
Meisner said that if the Cougars’ free-throw shooting and defense improves, the team could have a strong year — and even set a foundation for the future.
“We have a good group of younger players,” Meisner said. “The varsity team will start a good run for the next few years.”
