SJV coach says his team is ready for big season
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer
The St. John Vianney High School boys basketball team struggled during its opening-night loss to Rumson-Fair Haven, but coach David Emery believes his Lancers will be in the thick of things once the state and Shore Conference tournaments get going.

"We've got some very talented and smart players; they're just very inexperienced at the varsity level and we don't have a lot of height," Emery said. "Our goal right now is to keep our heads above water, because I'm very confident that we'll be a much better team at the end of the season."

SJV's inexperience, perhaps combined with opening-game jitters, resulted in a 5- 35 showing from three-point range against Rumson-Fair Haven. To make matters worse, the Lancers committed 14 first-half turnovers and were behind by 10 at the half.

"Except for our shooting, I really didn't think we played that badly; it's just that we will live and die by the three-pointer this year," Emery said. "We kept Rumson's big men in check and we showed heart."

A year ago, the Lancers were able to push the ball inside to big Eric Johanneson, who graduated along with key starters Mike Spinelli and Billy Facchino in June. SJV went 17-10 and qualified for the NJSIAA Parochial A tourney, where they lost to CBA in the quarterfinals. Emery's squad also made the Shore Conference tourney, but were upset by Shore Regional in the opening round.

This season, Emery expects to employ a nine-man rotation. Senior guards Tony Ganter, Carl Duran and Pat Tynion are all expected to play key roles.

Junior Marc Teel, another guard with a good touch from the outside who can also play the point, and 6-foot-3 junior center Ellis Haroldson round out the starting five.

The remainder of the rotation includes juniors Joe Badru, a forward, and Pat Christopher, a guard. Sophomore Craig Ganter will see time in the backcourt as well, and promising freshman Michael Balkovic, a 6-foot-5 center, will give the Lancers additional size in the forecourt.

"I do have high expectations, but I want to be realistic," Emery said. "I think we're going to feel our way in the early going; we just have to hang in there. I really do think that we'll be clicking toward the end of the season and that we'll make some noise in the tournaments."

Emery's team was scheduled to visit Red Bank Catholic on Monday and returned home to play Manasquan today. During the school break, the Lancers will again host the Bayshore Holiday Tournament, which SJV has won each of the past two seasons and three out of the past four years.