It would be easy to explain away the woeful 4-11 record of Elyria Catholic as a product of an imbalanced schedule and the result of a program that takes a back seat to football.
But in the end, these are just excuses, right? Not exactly.
Elyria Catholic dropped its fourth consecutive decision Tuesday. The Panthers were ripped by Lake Catholic, just as they were against Villa Angela-St. Joseph, Cleveland Central Catholic and St. Peter Chanel.
The North Coast League, of which Elyria Catholic is a member of its smaller-school White Division, is led by Holy Name, Archbishop Hoban, VASJ, CCC and Chanel.
When Elyria Catholic coach Alan Januzzi watches those teams, the differences between the programs is startling.
“It’s a challenge because they have kids that are basketball players — where that’s their primary sport,” said Januzzi. “Whereas with us, you could count the number of kids on one finger where it’s their primary sport. The good thing is that’s changing.”
What isn’t is the level of competition the Panthers play. Currently, Elyria Catholic faces NCL teams 13 times over the course of the year, including two games apiece against White Division rivals. Januzzi would like to see the Panthers face divisional foes just once, allowing for four more open dates against non-conference competition. He would suggest playing more Lorain County teams.
“All our non-conference games are against Lorain County teams and four more would be better because it puts more people in the stands, the travel is better and there’s extra motivation,” said Januzzi. “I don’t want to leave the league. I love the NCL.”
Elyria Catholic has — and perhaps always will be — a football school. The challenge is changing that culture to make basketball more than a secondary sport.
“You have to have success at the varsity level to motivate younger kids, but that’s hard with our schedule and the league we play in,” said Januzzi. “That, to me, is the most difficult part of trying to rebuild things around here.”
Comets coming
It might be time to start appreciating what’s happening in Amherst. Last week, the Comets posted a pair of Southwest Conference wins — knocking off Berea, then throttling Avon Lake.
Keep in mind a few things: Amherst lost 18 games a year ago; its leading scorer, Ryan Rua, didn’t even play competitive basketball last year; and, according to head coach Phil Schmook, not a single player on its roster clocks in taller than 6 feet.
“I might list them as bigger, but they’re not,” said Schmook, who in his first year has doubled the team’s win total from a year ago. “No one’s taller than me and I was a guard in my day. I’m 6-foot and I’m the big guy in the huddle.”
Lengthy layoff
When Oberlin takes the floor as the third seed in the Division IV district tournament in Strongsville next month, exactly 26 days will have passed since the Phoenix’s last game.
“(Us coaches) are scared to death,” said Phoenix coach Kurt Russell. “That’s a long way to go. We have to keep (our players) fresh and ready to go. But it will give us a chance to really focus on fundamentals before diving into postseason play.”
Final thoughts
With a career spanning more than 600 wins and two state titles, Bob Walsh is a local sports icon. He has a remarkable mind for the game of basketball and a gift for conveying its many nuances to young men. But his comments last Friday in response to a seemingly innocuous quote by North Ridgeville coach Bill Noggle were, at the very least, puzzling.
Noggle, a first-year coach for the Rangers, praised the work of his assistants after a recent win, noting, “I feel I have the best assistant coaches around.”
Walsh seemed to take umbrage with that, bristling after last Friday’s victory over Parma: “He said he had the best coaching staff in the country. I’d like to rebut that. I’d have to say mine is the best.”
If Walsh was trying to give his coaching staff credit for the success of this year’s team, there are more effective ways of doing it. More importantly, why should a coach of Walsh’s stature even care what another coach says?
Contact Pete Alpern at 329-7135 or at palpern@chroniclet.com.
 

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