On the Slate: Men's Basketball
Basketball second chance for Cardinals' freshman standout
By Brandon Smith
Last Updated:6:09 PM EST 1/27/10 Section: Sports
Roles have reversed for this key conference contest between the men's teams of St. John Fisher and Stevens Institute.
At the beginning of Jan. it was Fisher that made the long trip to Hoboken, NJ looking for a victory. That was the third of seven games in 12 days and the first one away from home.
This time around, however, Stevens will make the trek to Pittsford, New York for the contest with Fisher on Jan. 29th.
Fisher won the first game, 63-50.
"We just jumped on them early, and we played very well," head coach Rob Kornaker said.
Fisher jumped out to a commanding lead and held on for the rest of the game. They even withstood a run from Stevens that saw a 30 point lead disintegrate to eight points.
Nonetheless, Fisher held on to win their first league game after Christmas break.
"It was a very physical game," Kornaker said.
This time both teams will be better prepared for the physicality as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each other.
Each team will look to incorporate a game plan that will expose opposing weaknesses. For Fisher, the game plan will be the same as every other game, play good defense that will lead to good offense.
Stevens will look to its physicality in controlling the boards and making timely shots.
"Stevens plays hard, they keep coming and they rebound well because their inside guys are strong," Kornaker said.
"They can also knock down threes, so we have to limit open looks."
A point reiterated by junior Will Cornett, "the key against Stevens will be to not let their three point shooters get open shots."
In fact, Stevens point guard and floor general George Greko is capable of racking up points in bunches if he gets hot, something known all too well by the Fisher coaching staff and players.
That fact coupled with Stevens ability to rebound with big, athletic forwards makes this a challenging contest.
"They also have some athletic forwards that we need to box out so they don't get extra offensive possessions," Cornett said.
When asked what the game plan would be Cornett said, "contain their shooters and rebound the basketball, which will allow us to get easy transition buckets which get our team off to fast starts."
The Cardinals perform best when the team gets out in transition, resulting in easy layups after a good defensive possession.
"Defense triggers our offense" Kornaker said. "It allows us to get out and run and knock down shots."
Fisher has spent time in practice this week working on their half-court offense in the event that Stevens forces them to play at their pace.
"Our half court game killed us against U of R in the Wendy's Classic," Kornaker said. "We need better half court offensive execution."
St. John Fisher vs. Stevens Institute, let round two begin.
bes01060@sjfc.edu
At the beginning of Jan. it was Fisher that made the long trip to Hoboken, NJ looking for a victory. That was the third of seven games in 12 days and the first one away from home.
This time around, however, Stevens will make the trek to Pittsford, New York for the contest with Fisher on Jan. 29th.
Fisher won the first game, 63-50.
"We just jumped on them early, and we played very well," head coach Rob Kornaker said.
Fisher jumped out to a commanding lead and held on for the rest of the game. They even withstood a run from Stevens that saw a 30 point lead disintegrate to eight points.
Nonetheless, Fisher held on to win their first league game after Christmas break.
"It was a very physical game," Kornaker said.
This time both teams will be better prepared for the physicality as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each other.
Each team will look to incorporate a game plan that will expose opposing weaknesses. For Fisher, the game plan will be the same as every other game, play good defense that will lead to good offense.
Stevens will look to its physicality in controlling the boards and making timely shots.
"Stevens plays hard, they keep coming and they rebound well because their inside guys are strong," Kornaker said.
"They can also knock down threes, so we have to limit open looks."
A point reiterated by junior Will Cornett, "the key against Stevens will be to not let their three point shooters get open shots."
In fact, Stevens point guard and floor general George Greko is capable of racking up points in bunches if he gets hot, something known all too well by the Fisher coaching staff and players.
That fact coupled with Stevens ability to rebound with big, athletic forwards makes this a challenging contest.
"They also have some athletic forwards that we need to box out so they don't get extra offensive possessions," Cornett said.
When asked what the game plan would be Cornett said, "contain their shooters and rebound the basketball, which will allow us to get easy transition buckets which get our team off to fast starts."
The Cardinals perform best when the team gets out in transition, resulting in easy layups after a good defensive possession.
"Defense triggers our offense" Kornaker said. "It allows us to get out and run and knock down shots."
Fisher has spent time in practice this week working on their half-court offense in the event that Stevens forces them to play at their pace.
"Our half court game killed us against U of R in the Wendy's Classic," Kornaker said. "We need better half court offensive execution."
St. John Fisher vs. Stevens Institute, let round two begin.
bes01060@sjfc.edu
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