Titans hoops tip off in new league

Same Titan teams, different league

Turn off the NBA on TNT—it’s time to head to mighty Mt. Olympus, the new mighty Mt. Olympus, and catch Titans hoops action.
There’s nothing more exciting than high school hoops and this year should be a good one for the Titans boys and girls teams.

For one thing, both teams have almost their entire line-ups returning from last season, which should make for a successful run. The only caveat, and it’s a big one, is that the Titans are moving from the Southern Peaks 1A to the Southern Peaks 2A league and therefore face larger programs.
Head coach for the boys, Robin Loyed, put it this way: “In 1A it was more feast or famine where we had four or five good teams and some that were not so good. I think every team in this league is going to be tough. It will be competitive from top to bottom.”

Titan boys
The Titans made the most of a “rebuilding” year last season, exceeding all expectations by reaching the district semifinals and finishing with a winning record.
“I thought 14-8 was a good year,” says Loyed.
This year things are looking even better with nine of their top 10 players from last season returning and a host of new talent both from out of town and from the middle school program.
“We’ve got a pretty experienced group back,” says Loyed.
Furthermore, with assistant coach Brandin Hamilton leaving to become head coach of the Lady Titans, Loyed called on Vic Dean as his assistant coach this season.
Extensive work by the team in the off-season should pan out as the season progresses. In addition to workouts two nights a week starting last March, the team took part in two summer team camps.
“We got in 20 games this past summer,” says Loyed.
The team officially started the 2010-2011 season on November 12 and played two scrimmages this past weekend, opening with Gunnison on Friday night.
The team opened against Gunnison somewhat shell shocked, struggling through the first half with the pressure Gunnison brought to the game.
Halftime allowed the team to refocus and they came out to play Gunnison even in the second half.
“We had way too many turnovers and lost our heads for a bit,” says Loyed. “I was pleased that we matched their intensity and hustle in the second half.”
 The Titans carried that same intensity into their scrimmage on Saturday and rolled over Cotopaxi, allowing Loyed plenty of opportunity to get the new Titans time on the floor.
Senior point guard Henry Linehan dished out a gaggle of assists, penetrating the lane and dishing, and the three big men—senior Jake Grogg, junior Anton Peck and sophomore Ryan Costello—pulled down a total of 16 rebounds against a tall Cotopaxi team.
One statistic that shined above all the rest for Loyed was free-throw shooting. Last year the team shot 60 percent on the season. This past weekend the team shot a combined 72 percent.
“That’s a lot of points you give up if you don’t shoot well,” says Loyed.
Overall, Loyed likes what he sees from the team and looks forward to the first two weeks of games with a tough schedule of seven non-league opponents lined up before league play starts.
“We’re a different team than we’ve been in the past,” explains Loyed. “We’ve got 12 outstanding players, not just two or three.”
They host their first home game in the new mighty Mt. Olympus on Tuesday, December 7 against Center. Hoops action starts at 4 p.m.
“It will be a great night to showcase the new gym,” says Loyed. “The more we can pack Mt. Olympus, the better.”
Lady Titans
Seasoned coach MaryMike Haley, who coached the Lady Titans to back-to-back Great Eight state tournament appearances, announced she would step down from the program last year, leaving the Lady Titans in flux.
Fortunately, the program had a viable candidate to take over the program in-house, as boys’ assistant coach Brandin Hamilton stepped in to the girls’ head coaching position.
Hamilton and athletic director Bob Piccaro then found Sarah Pernick to join the coaching staff, bringing some competitive basketball experience to the mix.
“She played point guard in Minnesota and played a similar style to what I coach,” says Hamilton. “We’re on the same page.”  
Hamilton had open gyms for the girls all last spring and through the summer as well as a team camp over the summer.
While attendance was sporadic during the off-season, the team showed up in force on opening day, November 12, as 22 players suited up ready to play.
The numbers are unprecedented and are a mix of classes from the four returning seniors down to the 10 freshmen ready to make the jump to the big time.
“We have some emerging leadership and we’re pretty deep,” says Hamilton. “It’s competitive. Things are going great right now and it’s really positive.”
Based on the talent pool he’s got this year, Hamilton has already put the work in to shake up the defense, moving more to a man-to-man style.
“Our base defense is going to be man-to-man,” explains Hamilton. “We’ve got more athletic, smaller players.”
As for the new league, Hamilton expects a tough road ahead for his team.
“I just expect a jump in talent across the board,” says Hamilton. “I already told them, we’re going to be underdogs all year long.”
While the team faced Cotopaxi in a scrimmage already, the game was so one-sided that Hamilton is still unsure of how good his team is.
“I didn’t learn a whole lot from that,” says Hamilton.
The team will get their first huge test as they head to Ft. Collins to play in the Falcon Invitational Tournament December 2-4 and will play Akron in the first game. Akron lost in the state finals last year by just three points.
“We’ll get a taste right off the bat of where we stand,” says Hamilton.
Their first home game at mighty Mt. Olympus will be on Tuesday, December 7 against Center. The action starts at 4 p.m.