Nazareth pulling from its bench

Blue Eagles peaking at right time with help from assistant coach

When the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference boys basketball tournament begins Friday night, Bethlehem Catholic, Emmaus and possibly Pocono Mountain East — all division champs — will be considered the favorites.

But the most dangerous team might be fourth-seeded Nazareth.

The Blue Eagles finished the regular season with five wins in their last six games and recently bought into the defensive philosophy Joe Arndt wanted when he brought longtime area head coach Jim Hutnik aboard before the start of the season as the team's unofficial defensive coordinator.

Hutnik, who won championships at Bethlehem Catholic and Easton in his 20-year high school coaching career, has always been old-school when it comes to working hard, especially on the defensive end.

He has delivered what Arndt, who was a Becahi assistant when Hutnik was in charge, wanted.

“It took the kids awhile to buy into what Coach Hutnik was trying to instill,” Ardnt said. “But the last couple of games, they're really buying in and the kids know they have to get stops to win games.”

Arndt appreciates the knowledge he picks up from Hutnik whether it's at practice,

at halftime, during a timeout or even as he’s pacing in the coaching box.

“During a game, he’ll tell me we need to do this or that and we’ll switch it up,” Arndt said. “We have a good time. He’s a great character and fun to be around. The kids get a kick out of him.”

Hutnik, who went 157-56 record in five seasons and won the 2007 District 11 4A championship and the 2008 Lehigh Valley Conference crown while at Easton, said it was an adjustment being an assistant after so many years calling the shots.

He helped his son Kyle coach at Pen Argyl the past five seasons, but was away from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

“It’s nice to be back in the mix, but it has been a huge adjustment,” he said. “Like every head coach, you do things certain ways. I talked to my friend Jim Filipovits [an assistant at Moravian Academy] and early on he told me that sometimes you have to bite your tongue when you’re an assistant. It’s Joe’s decision and I have to respect that and it’s worked out really well.”

Hutnik said patience is required because he didn’t coach the Nazareth kids at the lower levels and there has been a lot of teaching on the fly.

“You always want things to click right away,” he said. “And that’s not always going to happen.” He knows that the game and the mindset of kids has changed since he played at Easton for legendary coach Stan Sutphen in the early 1970s or even from his days at Becahi when he led the Golden Hawks to a 222-111 record over 12 seasons and won two District 11 3A titles and the first Lehigh Valley Conference crown in 2003.

“The game has changed,” he said. “It’s tougher to get kids to play hard-nosed defense. There is so much of the AAU stuff that has crept into the high school game where it’s the mentality of just outscoring the other team.

“But we try to convince kids that there are games where we are not going to shoot the ball well. We have great shooters, but there were games where we didn’t shoot well and in those games you have to play good defense to have a chance.”

Hutnik is enjoying his return to the bench and is excited about what’s to come.

“You play for the postseason,” he said. “You play for titles. You win a title and they never take it away from you. You come back into the gym years later, you look up, and that year is right there. It’s always special to win one and it never leaves you. I talked to the seniors about that. I think we’re capable of doing something special here.”

Did you know?

Emmaus senior Zach Sabol enters the postseason with 987 career points and 966 rebounds.

Matt Greene, who played at Whitehall, had the EPC/LVC career record for 3-pointers with 240. That mark has been shattered by Becahi’s Justin Paz, who has 246.

Who’s hot

Southern Lehigh has won six straight and 10 of 11.

Northern Lehigh’s Preston Kemery has 20 or more points in six straight games, including 27 against Wilson and 30 against Palmerton.

Earlier this week, the Bulldogs’ Brandon Hess went over the 1,000-point mark. He has been a starter for four years and has improved along with the program, going from one win as a freshman to seven as a sophomore and 11 last year. The Bulldogs enter the postseason 15-7.