The following article is sponsored on behalf of the Central Bucks West boys’ basketball team by Bohler Engineering. To visit their web site, please click on the following link: http://www.bohlerengineering.com/
By Mary Jane Souder
This was supposed to be a rebuilding year, a year when Central Bucks West would regroup after graduating six key seniors from last year’s squad that advanced to the state playoffs.
The players had other ideas, and the Bucks have surprised just about everyone but themselves with a regular season run that finds them in second place in the highly competitive SOL Continental Conference standing with two league games remaining.
“Beforehand, everyone was saying we were going to have a letdown season losing six seniors, but we’ve surprised everyone and have a better record than they did last year,” senior co-captain Jimmy McCusker said. “We stayed together, and we thought we would have a great year.
“It’s a good feeling. No one really expected it, and we’re just doing what we have to do.”
Co-captain Nico Munari was the lone senior who saw significant playing time last year as a key reserve off the bench.
“We lost a lot of good players, obviously,” he said. “I knew coming into this season that we had a challenge in front of us, but I felt like while we lost some talent, we gained by working hard, and we gained a lot of good basketball players overall, so we were able to adapt and come together.”
The groundwork was laid during the offseason.
“Even a week or two after our state playoff run, we started workouts, and we had workouts anywhere from two to three times a week,” Munari said. “That involves lifting and practicing, and we played in a lot of tournaments.”
The Bucks also competed in spring and summer leagues.
“This year we’ve been focusing more on the defensive end because we have good offensive players,” McCusker said. “When we play more of a defensive-minded game, we usually win. We’ve been trying to hold teams to a certain amount of points, and that’s usually our goal throughout the game.”
Coach Adam Sherman credits his four seniors – McCusker, Munari, Owen Cooney and Seamus Fox – for setting the tone.
“The seniors helped create an atmosphere on this team where there’s great chemistry, which has really allowed us to have a lot of success this year,” he said. “As far as varsity experience, we were a very inexperienced team coming into this season.
“We had to rely heavily on the senior leadership in order for us to be successful this year and to make sure we had good chemistry. The seniors did a great job not just during the season but throughout the offseason. They really led by example.”
The Bucks opened the season with five straight wins and then picked up a pair of big wins in the Capitol City Classic in Annapolis over the holiday break. It was an impressive December for a relatively inexperienced team.
“Of the seniors, Nico got decent minutes off the bench,” Sherman said. “The others, unfortunately, had seniors in front of them and had to wait for their turn.
“It started in the spring – they really bought in. They got excited by the success of last year’s team. I think it really helped motivate them to put the extra time in during the offseason.”
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Talk to Muneri, and it’s clear this year’s squad shares something special.
“Our team is full of guys that love to work hard and that love the game of basketball,” the senior co-captain said. “A lot of guys have played on the same team their whole lives.
“We just love the game, and we love playing it for each other, and that’s the secret.”
Like many of their senior counterparts around the league, this year’s seniors were part of the first class to not have the benefit of a freshman team.
“I actually think it was very beneficial getting into the West program earlier because they develop players here a lot better than they do at the middle school,” McCusker said. “You learned all the plays earlier, you got to be around older guys, better leaders at an earlier age, so you’re learning the whole time.”
The senior co-captain acknowledged there were some tough moments.
“But you always have to see light at the end of the tunnel,” McCusker said. “Everyone knew they’d get their opportunity one day, and I’m glad it’s all coming together for us.
“We have good chemistry as a team on and off the court. We have a brotherhood.”
All four seniors, according to Sherman, bring something unique to the team. Munari is the team’s leading rebounder.
“Nico really didn’t have a lot of basketball experience coming into high school, and he’s really blossomed into a special player for us,” the Bucks’ coach said. “He’s a post presence for us at 6-3. He’s a very strong player – more a lead-by-example guy than a verbal leader.”
McCusker gives the Bucks a boost off the bench but is in the game when it matters most.
“He’s typically in the end of the game situations because he’s a very smart player, a very good decision maker on the court and probably one of our better passers,” Sherman said.
Cooney, a regular in the starting lineup, can be counted on to deliver offense while Fox is a valued utility player off the bench.
“Owen Cooney shoots the ball extremely well,” Sherman said. “He’s a real nice scoring threat for us. He plays off guard for us, and he’s given us a nice offensive threat.
“Seamus (at 5-9) is the smallest kid on our team, and he’ll defend the center, the power forward, the point guard – he’ll defend all five spots on the floor for us. He’s our Energizer bunny – if we need energy, we go to Seamus.”
The Bucks – who would like to duplicate last year’s successful postseason run - will close out their regular season with a pair of home games against their sister schools. They will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday and Central Bucks South on Friday.
“It hit me this past Friday that there would only be a couple of more times being able to run out there in front of my friends and family and play for them,” Munari said. “It’s a good ride, and I’m looking forward to the next couple of games.”
“We went on a seven-game away stretch, and we came out 5-2,” McCusker added. “Our last two games are at home.
“It’s an awesome feeling – the two craziest games, and we get to play them on our home court to close out the regular season.”
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