Exciting Devil boys’ hardcourt style will return
No playoffs, but a good time had by all.
By a hair’s breadth, the Davis High boys were forced to watch this winter’s Sac-Joaquin Section basketball championships from the stands.
The high-scoring Blue Devils’ 14-12 record was undermined by a weak Delta Valley Conference power rating — and a so-so 5-5 league mark by the locals.
In the end, once ranked as high at 13th, DHS whiffed in its final two contests and missed the 16-school tournament field.
So, does Devil coach Dan Gonzalez have the run-and-gun style — called The System — on his radar for next fall?
“Absolutely,” the veteran mentor told The Enterprise. “I thought it brought some good, positive energy to the program — energy from our players, coaches … the fans. You could feel it.”
Davis averaged 82 points a night. Only Valley Christian of Roseville (84.2 ppg) — which also runs The System — scored more in California.
Four times the Blue Devils went over 100 points (actually losing a game, 109-101 to Grant), and looked like world beaters with a late four-game win streak until final-week setbacks to Franklin and Elk Grove ended their season.
Gonzalez has no regrets about introducing the new style to his team just 3½ weeks before the start of the season.
“There was new energy, even when we were still in the middle of growing with it,” Gonzalez thought. “I felt like I was just learning the game as we went through it. Sometimes changing things is refreshing. Drills were different. It was a whole new way of playing the game, and everybody seemed to enjoy it.”
Indeed. DHS erased a four-year-old, single-night attendance mark when a 71-68 win over Laguna Creek drew 1,123 fans to the North Gym. On three other occasions, more than 700 people packed the local facility.
Despite the take-no-prisoners tempo and gaudy point totals, DHS’ individual scoring was spread among an 18-player roster. In fact, the locals got three players — senior Tyler Sousa and juniors Hayden Russell and Kevin Sorensen — on the all-conference first team, with seniors Ilanko Nataraajan and Elvis Bikoba earning All-DVC honorable mention.
Russell — one of the league’s top defenders as well — hit for 13 ppg, with Sorensen (12.6 ppg) and Sousa (12.1 ppg) right behind. Bikoba, a long-range shooting guard, and Brandon Strong, a 3-point specialist and a midseason call-up from JV, averaged just under 10 points a game. Strong is a sophomore.
Gonzalez praised the inside play of Sorensen, saying “he really came on in the second half of the season,” adding that there is a solid nucleus of returning juniors whom the coach believes will develop further during the off-season. They include Grant Dickerson, Daniel Bonetti, James Kilkenny, Tommy Slabaugh, Conor Brehm and Harrison Allen-Sutter.
Asked to look back at what the seniors meant to Devilville, Gonzalez sighed wistfully before answering …
“We had toughness. We had shooters. Versatility — Ilanko could play four positions, Tyler could post up if we needed to … and he was a great shooter. And Elvis was a shooter who played very well. We’re losing (a cast) that was committed to team, team, team.”
In addition to that trio, DHS will lose to graduation Jack Yoder, Arnell Rusanganwa, Matthias Wilken, Patrick Barrientes, Bryan Hensley and Kris Mackewicz.
“These were mature young men and they’ll be missed,” Gonzalez added. “Hats off to them for being able to adjust so quickly after three years in (the old read-and-react) system.”
But now it’s onward and, hopefully, upward as Davis gets involved in a spring league and assorted summer tournaments.
Gonzalez admits that he and The System guru, assistant Gary Smith, soon will have long discussions about tweaking the fire-drill style to perhaps bolster defense and find a way to keep key players on the floor longer than in 50- to 75-second shifts.
“If we go full-bore with shifts longer than we did, coach Smith told me, ‘You’ll run their legs off and they won’t recover in time for the next shift.’ ”
Smith used The System at the University of Redlands, where he was a Hall of Fame coach.
Notes: Gonzalez pointed to a talented group of junior varsity players who he sees as possible replacements for some of the departing seniors. The coach likes the way C.K. Hicks plays defense and “can be a force inside and shoot.” Logan Davis, Brett Bloomfield, Ben Crook, Matt Michael and Drew Gnos also were mentioned as Gonzalez thought about the Blue Devils’ future. … Gonzalez will be meeting with Smith and assistant George Sousa to see if they can return next year. Sousa’s son Tyler and daughter Sara (a Lady Blue Devil guard) are both headed for college in the fall. … Gonzalez thanked fans and sponsors, too: “The community really stepped up. Parents and fans were great. We had a lot of good sponsors. Those crowds made a difference at home. I can’t thank Davis enough. Being a one-high-school town … it’s just special.” … The DHS basketball banquet will take place March 4 at El Macero Country Club (5 p.m.).
— Reach Bruce Gallaudet at bgallaudet@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8047.
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=140430
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Posted by Bruce Gallaudet
on Feb 22 2012.
Last Login: Tue 22 May 2012 11:46:20 PM PDT
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