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CHS boys looking to capitalize on fruits of labor

Posted November 14, 2015 10:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

Chester coach Brad Norman called the past few seasons "building years."

With Jordan Berner, Austin Welge and Tyler Redeker choosing to sit out their senior seasons, the Yellow Jackets will look to senior point guard Jason Schwartz and a talented junior class to guide the ship in 2015-16.

"This year feels different than last year and maybe the year before that," Norman said in the Herald Tribune's preseason video interview. "The kids are enthusiastic, they're ready to play and that's usually the case at the beginning of every season, but I feel we have a couple of different types of leaders this year."

Schwartz was named to the Black Diamond Conference West Division All-Conference Second Team as a junior after averaging a team-high 11.8 points and 2.7 assists per game.

He was the lone Yellow Jacket to earn an all-conference selection in 2014-15.

"We have had leadership that's been there, but we really haven't had people who have taken the initiative to leading our team," Norman said. "Guys like Jason Schwartz, who have been through the battles the last couple of years and know what to expect.

"Jack Weir has really stepped up and we're hoping for big things."

As a sophomore, Weir averaged 11.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest for the Yellow Jackets, while appearing in all 30 games. Chester finished 18-12 last season, falling to Gibault Catholic, 73-43, in the semifinals of its own regional.

"It's going to rely on our experienced guys," Norman said on his team's keys to the season. "It's going to come down to our core guys at the varsity level, those who have that experience like Jason Schwartz, Jack, Demontae (Martin)'s going to be a big part, Jacob Golding will be a big part of our offense and defense, as well as Savion (Smith) when he gets healthy."

Smith suffered a fractured pelvis during football season and has been rehabbing the injury. Norman told the Herald Tribune that he hopes to have the junior guard available by the start of the post-Thanksgiving Trico Pioneer Invitational.

"I think the last couple of years have been building years," Norman said. "We've used those guys to get them as much experience as possible. Hopefully this year that will pay off."

Defensively, Norman feels the team will be "fast" and will rely on its athleticism on both ends of the floor.

"We're not going to have a whole lot of size, so we're going to have to rely on being scrappy, tough in the paint and defensively, we're going to have to lock down," Norman said. "We'll probably play a lot of man-to-man - there may be times when we throw a zone at people - but for the most part, I think we'll be able to lock down defenders at every spot of the floor."

In regard to the season-opening Trico Pioneer Invitational (Nov. 30 to Dec. 5), Norman noted it could be a competitive tournament.

"We expect to be competitive," Norman said. "I think Sparta's going to put a good team together, they usually do early in the year. I think Red Bud's going to have a couple of scrappy ballplayers and I think we should be there.

"I think we should be the talk of the tournament as well."

Conference-wise, Norman - who is one win shy of tying for second place in career wins at CHS with 66 - said Christopher is an early favorite and returns nearly everybody from its regional semifinal team from a year ago.

"Christopher will be really tough," he said. "They're super fast. They're going to be a lot like us. They're going to be really good."

Norman is also looking to Goreville and Sesser-Valier as contenders for the Black Diamond Conference title, in addition to the Yellow Jackets.

On Friday, the Yellow Jackets will have a "Gatorade Scrimmage" at Chester Grade School starting at 6:30 p.m. Entry is a bottle of Gatorade (or another sports drink) or $1.

"I think with the gym capacity there at the grade school, hopefully it will draw a few more younger students and athletes and that's kinda what we want to do," Norman said. "We want to continue to build that fire starting from the ground up."

The CHS cheerleaders and band will also be performing, with several orange/black scrimmages being planned.

"It will be a lot like Midnight Madness," Norman said. "We're going to play a lot of games, we're going to get a lot of crowd involvement.

"We'll have a JV scrimmage and then we'll have a Orange vs. Black scrimmage and hopefully put a good product on the floor."

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