Defense fuels Jeannette’s turnaround
Adrian Batts is no stranger to coaching basketball, but he found himself in uncharted territory early on this season.
For the first time in his 11 years as Jeannette’s head coach, the Jayhawks lost six of their first seven games. Despite having a deep roster filled with experienced players, Jeannette seemed destined for a down year — at least by the program’s lofty standards.
“I’ve never been in that situation as a coach,” Batts said. “I’ve never been 1-6 since I’ve been the head coach at Jeannette, and I started thinking about things like, ‘Oh my gosh, did I forget how to coach? Am I not getting to the guys? Is it not resonating with those guys?’”
Instead, what seemed like a lost season could turn out to be a legendary one.
The Jayhawks won 14 of their last 15 games after their 1-6 start, steamrolling virtually every opponent they faced with a suffocating defensive mindset. The team entered the week with the No. 1 scoring defense in Class 2A and No. 4 scoring defense in the WPIAL at an average of 47.9 points allowed per game.
“In our win streak, we were only giving up 40-some points [per game],” Batts said. “We were defending without fouling, and that gave us an opportunity to play. Those early games, we were fouling like crazy. Teams were in the bonus early.
“Guys just had to settle down and figure out how to play without fouling, and we’ve been doing well ever since.”
A team from Jeannette dominating with defense — sound familiar? It should. The Jayhawks’ football team gave up the secondfewest points in the WPIAL last season, and most of the players on the court this winter were also key contributors on the gridiron.
Senior Jackson Pruitt, who will play football at Youngstown State next year, leads the way with an average of about 16 points per game. But Jeannette has three other players averaging double figures — Keith Rockmore, Anton Good and Toby Kline. Meanwhile, football standouts James and Imani Sanders have been providing a much-needed spark off the bench whenever the Jayhawks need it.
“Our guys kind of trust each other with scoring the ball,” Batts said. “I haven’t heard anybody say anything about, ‘I had this many,’ or, ‘He had that many.’ We haven’t had those issues, and I don’t think we will, because the ultimate goal is to win a title.”
A veteran of the sidelines who also enjoyed a successful playing career at Steel Valley and Edinboro, Batts knows what it takes to reach the pinnacle of high school basketball. He was in his second year as an assistant at Jeannette when Terrelle Pryor led the Jayhawks to WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2008.
Batts also knows the importance of a tough non-section schedule to prepare a team for section and postseason play. That’s why he had Jeannette open the season against top Class 4A and Class 5A opponents Belle Vernon and McKeesport — two games the Jayhawks lost handily.
Jeannette followed those games up with two-point losses vs. Greensburg Central Catholic and section-rival Brentwood, and just like that, the Jayhawks were 0-4. Then came their first win, against Burrell, before two more losses vs. Steel Valley and Norwin dropped them to 1-6.
“I’m sure in the beginning people were [doubting us], but they knew we were playing a little out of our class,” Batts said. “But the pride we have — there were a couple of those games we gave away, but there were some games we felt we could have won, but we didn’t.”
From that point on, Jeannette rattled off 10 wins in a row, a streak sparked by a 107-47 beatdown against Bentworth on Dec. 20. The Jayhawks’ only loss in their past 15 games was a 64-43 defeat vs. Class 6A opponent Penn-Trafford on Jan. 26.
With his team winning its final 11 section games to clinch an outright section title, Batts believes Jeannette is peaking at the right time in order to make a return trip to the WPIAL championship game. It has been five years since the Jayhawks lost to Monessen in the 2015 title game, and 12 years since they hung their last championship banner.
“If we do what we’re supposed to do and we get there, it would be great,” Batts said. “Me personally, I don’t worry about records. I don’t think you can define a coach by how many titles they’ve won. I think we’re one of the best programs in the WPIAL, obviously, with tradition and things like that.
“That’s my job to keep that up, and if we’re fortunate enough to get a title, that’s our goal every year is to get to the WPIAL championship.”