Trojans compete in Riverside-Brookfield summer league.
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
The Scott Plaisier era is officially underway at Timothy Christian.
Plaisier, the Trojans’ new boys basketball coach, directed his team through its summer season in June with positive results.
“The summer went well,” he said. “We had a lot of growth and we learned a lot. We still have a lot to learn but that’s normal when you are putting in a new system, new expectations and new philosophies. The kids responded well the and are learning the things we want to do with them. I’m happy with the progress.”
Timothy played in the Riverside-Brookfield summer league. “We were competitive there,” said Plaisier. “We were battling a few injuries in the summer, but I thought we did some good things in that league.”
The Trojans also played in shootouts at Stagg, Braidwood and Willowbrook.
“We saw some good competition,” said Plaisier. “For us to play against a lot of really good teams and players is not only fun for the kids, but it helps us to see how we stack up against those good teams in the area.”
Plaisier saw a team that was committed to getting better in the summer. “Their work ethic is the thing that has been really promising,” he said. “They also have a good ability to learn. On the floor, we share the basketball, which also is very promising. We preach scoring via the pass instead of scoring via the dribble. I was very pleased to see that. I loved seeing the joy they got when the pass they made to a teammate resulted in a scored bucket. Instead of playing for themselves, they are playing for each other, which is extremely encouraging.”
Plaisier said wins and losses have zero weight during the summer. “I tell them we don’t measure success on wins and losses in the summer,” he said. “We measure it by the quality of basketball we are playing out there. We’re looking at getting more consistent with how we defend and how consistently we are scoring it. We’re also measuring it by how hard we play and how well we play together.”
On the individual front, returning starter Brandon Orange had a strong summer. “Brandon played really well,” said Plaisier. “He had a really nice junior year and now he’s had a nice summer. He’s continuing to develop into a good offensive player and a good defender.”
Another returner who stood out was Ty Merrick. “Ty also had a nice summer,” the coach said. “He does a lot of intangible things that make teams good. He talks well out there and he leads well and handles the ball. He’s solid in a lot of areas.”
Michael Thomas and Justin Baez also took steps forward. “Michael Thomas gives us a good kind of combination,” said Plaisier. “He’s good at playing the point and we can put him in a position to score it for us. Justin is a junior who had a nice summer for us.”
Plaisier sees the summer progress as a good springboard into the upcoming season.
“Coach (Jack) LeGrand (Timothy’s athletic director and former coach) did such a great job preparing these guys to play basketball the right way,” said Plaisier. “Some things to these kids are second nature. We changed some things on offense and defense. They have bought into wanting to get better. With a new coach, things take time. The summer was a good introduction to it. Our goal is to keep improving in order to be competitive in late February and March.”
