Pilgrims making Grindle’s playing-time decisions difficult
PLYMOUTH — It’s been a long dry spell for Plymouth basketball but head coach Joel Grindle hopes that will start to change in the coming season.
“You put in all sorts of time in the offseason and you get to see all the work that the kids put in and hopefully you get to see some of the fruits of your labor,” he said. “This is a very exciting season for us.”
It became exciting because of the effort of his team in the off-season.
“We had a great summer of being together and playing a lot of games,” said Grindle. “I was excited about what we did in the summer. Every Tuesday or Thursday night we were playing somebody and then we spent three or four days together at D1 team camp and we were very pleased about how we looked in the summer.”
“It’s important for players,” said Grindle. “You are getting evaluated, you are getting an opportunity to show what you are capable of doing for the varsity season. You get your chance to see what you can do.”
“Your kids have to be dedicated in order to improve. Especially the guys who have been around and know what’s expected.”
It wasn’t an easy summer.
“We were very interested in putting our kids against some high-level competition,” said Grindle. “We played teams that if you look in the newspaper they are the ones that are rated every week. We felt like we held our own.”
“We saw some toughness we had some kids step up to where they haven’t been before and we had some kids take advantage of the chances they got.”
A very solid core of starters returning is another reason for Grindle’s optimism.
It starts with two four-year starters in Davis Wray and Easton Strain.
“One would hope that (Wray) would be a key,” said Grindle. “He’s our second leading scorer last year. He couldn’t do a lot of the things we did (in the summer) because he was in rehab for knee surgery but he was there every day and did everything that he could.”
“Easton Strain is going to be the first guy on anybody’s scouting report,” said Grindle. “He had a really nice summer and he is one that ought to feel confident he can play at a high level. He is out there looking like he’s the best player on the floor at all times. We really expect that from him. He’s a four-year varsity starter. He’s an inside/outside kid and the player from the past he reminds me most of is Nick Wise in the things he does.”
“(Point guard) Trey (Hall) is a kid that started on the JV a year ago and most people don’t remember that but he does,” said Grindle. “He got his opportunity and I’m not sure he was ever off the floor again after Christmas. He is that quintessential program guy. He is the first one asking to coach the kids at the younger levels because he loves the program, he always takes the charge on the floor, he will do anything you ask him to do and he’s put in a lot of effort in the weight room.”
“Michael Sheely worked hard,” said Grindle. “He’s lived in the weight room and he’s dying for some success, and he’s putting in the time and the effort to make that happen.”
“Our guys have worked really hard to put themselves in a position where they can contribute. I have some kids that are going to make my divvying up playing time very difficult. That’s a good problem to have.”