Pioneers aiming for eighth-straight playoff berth
West Greene coach Jim Romanus watches his team play in a game at Falcon Fest on Dec. 2. Romanus is in his 12th year as Pioneers coach and 46th year of coaching basketball overall.
West Greene's Ian Van Dyne scores against Avella on Dec. 6.
West Greene's Kaden Shields throws a pass during a game at Falcon Fest on Dec. 2.
West Greene鈥檚 Jim Romanus would like to keep a streak going that some might not realize has continued now for seven years.
The Pioneers have qualified for the WPIAL Class A playoffs the last seven seasons.
The veteran Pioneers coach thinks the streak can be extended, but it is going to take some work and improvement.
If those things happen?
鈥淭hen we can make the playoffs,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淲e have to get better. We have to improve in areas, and we must play well.鈥�
Romanus said this edition of the Pioneers is a little more athletic than some recent West Greene teams.
鈥榃e should be able to get up and down the floor a little better and faster than in the past,鈥� said Romanus.
The Pioneers will play in Section 2-A with favorites Geibel Catholic and Monessen.
The other opponents are the ones Romanus figures to be competing with for the third- and fourth-place spots that would advance West Greene to the postseason tournament once again. That remaining group includes California, Jefferson-Morgan and Mapletown.
鈥淢onessen and Geibel are the top two teams,鈥� said Romanus. 鈥淭he last four will compete for those last two playoff spots. Honestly, we could finish third to last. We could finish in any one of those four spots.鈥�
Romanus will count on seniors Ian VanDyne (6-2), Kaden Shields (5-9) and guard Nathan Reed (5-9) to be part of the starting lineup. The Pioneers鈥� other top players are sophomore guards Lane Allison (6-0) and Patrick Durbin (5-10), and sophomore forward Patrick Burns (6-1).
鈥淚 hope as we get better, we become more competitive,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淎s we work to get better, there are just so many intangibles.
鈥淚 wish we had some juniors, some older players. We have some good younger players. They鈥檒l be good. But the difference is huge playing against older and experienced players.鈥�
West Greene鈥檚 freshmen are Markus Hanson (6-2), Darren Knight (5-7), Elihu McDonnel (5-5), Wil Shipman (5-7), Xavier Lucey (5-6), Matthew Wassil (6-5), Storm Headley (6-0), Logan Shields (5-5), and Gavin Cassidy (5-6).
鈥淥ur weakness is experienced players,鈥� said Romanus, who will be assisted by Beau Jackson. 鈥淲e have two seniors, no juniors, three sophomores and nine freshmen. The young ones must realize there鈥檚 a big difference between varsity basketball and middle school.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 rebound well. Our kids aren鈥檛 thick. We have to work on rebounding every day. We teach rebounding all the time. We must get better at it.鈥�
West Greene won one of its first three games this season, losing to Albert Gallatin, 87-31, and Brownsville, 68-35, in the Falcon Fest tournament, before defeating Avella, 54-51.
The Pioneers went 7-16 overall last year and 5-5 in section play for third place. West Greene lost to Leechburg, 84-30 in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.
West Greene鈥檚 non-section schedule includes McGuffey, Waynesburg Central, Propel Braddock Hills, Carmichaels and Bentworth.