SANBORN —
After being burned by ineligibility the past two seasons, Billy Beilein made some notable changes in the way he crafted his roster earlier this fall.
“We focused a little bit more on academics and keeping guys around and interested, so when guys do fail out we still have 14 or 15 guys to turn to,” the third-year Niagara County Community College men’s basketball coach said this past week.
In year one, Beilein had eight players after winter break and last season he finished the year with nine on his roster. In 2012, Beilein has the luxury of 14 players in the fold as the Thunderwolves return to action with a non-conference tilt at Pitt-Titusville today.
Despite losing talented players such as Tremmel Fisher, John Black, Andre McRae and Daz Knight, Beilein is excited to watch his sophomore class continue to develop as NCCC looks toward Western New York Athletic Conference play.
Sophomore Vince Kazmierczak (St. Mary’s) averages 16 points, six rebounds and three assists per night. Classmate Lorenzo Joseph (Niagara Catholic) is right behind with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Transfers Connor Vandegriff (Nichols via Roy-Hart) and Mouse Matthews (Niagara Catholic) have also turned into key contributors.
“We’re going to count on those sophomores a lot,” Beilein said. “They’ve put in a lot of work and really honed in on what we’re doing.”
Beilein is also expecting big things down the stretch from freshman point guard Isaiah Johnson and local first-year players Jake Hughes (Niagara-Wheatfield) and Marc Morreale (Lewiston-Porter).
“They’re getting much more confident,” Beilein said of his freshman.
Beilein, meanwhile, is shifting his coaching focus to the defensive end of the floor as the T-Wolves prepare to face some of the most high-octane offenses in the country in Region III powers Erie CC, Monroe CC and Mercyhurst-NorthEast.
“We need to make the defense a strength,” he said. “We need to be able to hold our ground, take the ball and bring it up court without turnovers. I think we know our schemes, so we can be more aggressive and speed things up.”
Beilein said the team’s goal for the remainder of the season is simple. “We’d like to be the hottest team at the end of the season and take that into regionals,” he said.
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