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San Tan’s Brandon Ventour (23) goes up for the opening tip in last Tuesday’s season opener vs. Hayden. Kelli Luberda | Ledger
San Tan Foothills’ head coach Joe Galish looks on during the Sabercats’ season opening win against Hayden.
Southeast Valley Ledger
CurrentLedgerAthlete of the Week Nick Saults scored a game-high 24 points in the Sabercats’ 71 – 28 season-opening win against Hayden last Tuesday.
Saults, the Cats’ senior captain, scored all 24 points in a first half that was dominated by his team, which led at halftime, 51 – 16.
“I was a little nervous, at first,” Saults said after the game. “I thought we were a little unprepared, but we came out and completely surprised me and, I think, it surprised (my teammates) too. We found some rhythm and kept going with it.”
The Sabercats started the new season after the departure of a number of seniors off last year’s roster, including several starters. Saults is the only returning starter amongst a team full of first-time varsity players.
Personnel changes and inexperience have caused head coach Joe Galish to be a little more patient and adjust the style of play he coaches, at least initially, until it can transition to his customary up-and-down the court style.
Still, he was impressed with his team’s effort and performance against the Lobos.
“We really work hard on transition offense and defense in practice,” Galish said. “We recognize if we lack foot speed it’s an IQ-thing at some point and we have to realize how to get back quick or transition from defense to offense as quickly as possible.”
The newcomers looked anything but against the Lobos with sophomore guard Sebastian Penaflor finishing with 12 points, five rebounds and nine steals in his first-ever varsity game.
Junior Brandon Ventour, a transfer from New York, finished with 14 points and showed the type of athleticism that has Galish excited.
Ventour has not played much, if any, organized basketball but has very raw and natural ability not often seen at San Tan Foothills. If he can continue to develop, he has a chance to be a very good and potentially great player.
Saults and Jordan Figures are the lone seniors on the team. Their ability to lead and help the younger, less experienced players will go a long way in determining how successful the Cats can be this season.
It was clear in last week’s win that Saults is leading by example, even serving as a coach on the floor at times. This team will need that from him all season in addition to his scoring, rebounding and defense.
“We love Nick and we’re proud of him,” Galish said about his three-year varsity senior. “Leadership comes in a lot of different ways and Nick won’t be a huge, vocal-type leader, but he leads in many other ways.”
“He leads by example on the floor, both with the ball in his hand and he’ll talk to kids, coach them up,” Galish continued. “He’s very encouraging, too. You’ll never hear him say a negative word to these kids. I think that’s what this team needs and we’re lucky to have him, quite honestly.”
The Cats’ started their season off the right way, but Galish acknowledged there’s still plenty of work to be done and room for improvement as the season progress.
“We’re really trying to focus on our half-court defense,” he said. “We need consistency on half-court defense in man-to-man sets because a lot of our players have not played true man-to-man with help-side drops and switches. We’re really working hard in that area, our consistency, and patience on offense.”
Upcoming schedule: Dec. 9 vs Superior at 5:30 p.m., Dec. 10-12 in the Pepsi Holiday Tournament, game times TBA, and Dec. 15 at Odyssey Institute at 7 p.m.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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