Pickett trying to make it happen for Neshaminy
At S-footI P-inches tallI gaylen mickett’s shadow hardly envelopes a basketball court. That does not stop the talented junior from making a marked contribution to the Neshaminy boys basketball team.
CurrentlyI gaylen averages 10 points a game to lead the oedskins in scoring. bqually impressiveI O1 of his 11P points have come from beyond the arc. ee also provides Neshaminy a force under the boardsI pulling down 4.U rebounds a contest. These accomplishments come despite often matching up against opponents of much greater stature.
gaylen recognizes that team needs dictate just where on the court the coach will utilize his talents. “f’ve been playing down low like a forward. SometimesI f play center because of a lack of size on the team. SometimesI f do come out on top.”
oegardless of positionI gaylen is prepped to meet the challenge. “DefensivelyI the coach wants me to get rebounds and contain the big men as best f can. ee knows f am not as big as most of them. ee just wants me to do my best. OffensivelyI my job is to run the plays and look for my shot.”
gaylen’s shot often involves capitalizing on his quickness and athleticism. “The best part of my game is probably taking the ball to the basket and getting by my defender. f like to get the ball in the wing and make a move and drive the baseline.”
fn last Friday’s clash with Council oock NorthI gaylen found his shot to the tune of 1S team high game points. “f felt like f had a good rhythm. f am a small guy and that allowed me to take their big man up top and then bring it to the basket. Their guy had trouble staying with me because of my speed. f used that to my advantage.”
This was the fourth game this season where gaylen hDs hLW IRU dRuEOH fiJuUHs. rnfortunatelyI Neshaminy has not been able to parlay his scoring bursts into a victory. Currently sporting an 0-1O recordI the ‘Skins have had several close encounters of a winning kind. bach venture fell a bit short. Somewhat ironicallyI their best efforts come against the reputedly stronger teams.
gaylen recognizes the paradoxI “We feel good right now. We are getting a lot better. We played good against the really good teams but when we play a team that we could possibly beatI we slip up and don’t play well. We need to go out and keep working hard and play just as well against all of them.”
Against Co NorthI the ‘Skins kept pace with the fndiansI facing only a OV21 dHfiFLW DW hDOIWLPH EHIRUH falling 5S-45. They also managed to hold North’s sharp shooting guardI oip bngelI to only 1P pointsI something few teams in the SOL have been able to do. “Last night Eagainst NorthF was a game where we felt we did everything right. We did the little things right. ft just came down to they were a little better team. We contained oip bngel and that forced other players to step up. That kind of limited them.”
Though certainly disappointed that the ‘Skins are winless so farI gaylen feels the team is not ready to start pressing and creating unnecessary tension. “fn factI f feel less pressure. Teams come in and expect to win against us because we are 0-1O. We surprise them with how well we play.”
For gaylenI the key to breaking into the win column will be staying focused and working together. “We have good players who are
ff winning at wrestling means amassing a significant number oI bonus points, then Council Rock North gets kudos Ior putting that mantra into practice in last Wednesday’s win over Suburban One League (SOL) National ConIerence rival Harry S Truman.
The Indians took nine oI the 14 bouts in all, seven oI which they won by Iall. -unior Tim Ambacher won his match, using a 16-1 tech Iall over the Tigers 126-pounder Nick DeNoIa.
-ust beIore that at 120 pounds, Mike -eronis started a pin parade that saw seven Rock wrestlers win by Iall.
Sean Yoder (138), -ohn Dutrow (145), Tyler Kelly (152), Mike Rodemacher (170), Matt O’Neill (182), Tyler Callender (CRN) and -ames Dutrow (285). Yoder, -ohn Dutrow, O’Neill and -ames Dutrow put their opponents on their back in the first period.
With the win, the Rock pushed its record to 9-3, overall, 2-1 in the SOL National ConIerence. Individu- ally Ior the Indians, -ohn Dutrow hasn’t lost a match this year; he’s 20-0. Ambacher is 21-3, Kelly is 14-5 and O’Neill is 13-6. Now that he’s back on the mat and healthy, Callender is also unbeaten at 5-0 thus Iar.
Truman won five bouts in total, starting with sophomore Dylan Nuttall’s 4-0 decision over Indians 106-pounder Tom Matarazzo and junior -ason McGrogan’s major over North 113-pounder Nolan Dallara.
Truman then lost five oI the next six bouts with the lone win being Ireshman Dustin Stone’s 8-3 decision over Evan Dienstman in the 132-pound pairing.
The Tigers got additional bonus points Irom junior -esse Huber, who majored Raj Patel, 10-2, and a pin by junior -ake Goodman, who won by Iall against Andrius Dincia in 3:46.
Truman Iell to 7-6, overall on the season, 0-2 in the SOL National ConIerence. Individually Ior the Tigers, Nuttall remains unbeaten at 16-0 on the season. Huber has but one loss at 15-1 and Stone is perIorming well at 13-3. Senior Shawn Seiberlich lost a tough match to Callender but he’s 9-2 on the season.
-unior -oe Schiotis is 10-4 at 152 pounds, junior Dan Vossbein is 9-5, junior Nick DeNoIa is 8-4 and McGrogan is 8-8. Senior Andrew Adams is 3-3. solid enough to win games. It’s a matter oI us getting together and playing together on the court at the same time. We need to work on running the plays right and working the ball to everyone. We’ve been taking too many quick shots. We need to run the ball and get it into the low post and let everyone touch it on the floor.”
In essence, the “Skins need to hone their team chemistry. “We need to play as a team. We haven’t been playing as a team. We’ve been getting selfish with the ball. HopeIully, we can get a win.”
The elusive victory will undoubtedly Iall to Neshaminy as long as they meld their talents. -aylen will certainly do his part to make that happen.