The West Geauga Wolverines boys varsity team dominated two games last week.
First, the Wickliffe Blue Devils came to Chesterland to close out the year, and then the Wolverines traveled the long haul to Geneva to visit the Eagles to start off 2015.
The whole team contributed and cruised to back-to-back wins. West Geauga defeated Wickliffe 59-46 and Geneva 57-42. After an 11-0 run against Wickliffe, the Wolverines did not trail for a single minute of the week.
Senior Lee Diedrich had a breakout week. Tallying a team-high total of 25 points in both games, the senior and captain did not miss a single shot. He finished 11/11 from the field.
“Coach has been getting on me in practice for not shooting enough,” Diedrich said. “So I let it fly these last two games, and I guess it worked out.”
That coach, John Cardiero, knew all along that Lee had a nice jump shot.
“I tell him everyday in practice to shoot his open shots and be more aggressive, but he never does,” Cardiero said. “Now he showed everyone what I knew he could do.”
The rest of the team followed Lee’s lead, bringing more energy than the team’s previous six games.
Senior David Wolfhope set the pace. The point guard was pushing the ball, not allowing the defense to find their matchups and get set. Wolfhope finished the week with a total of 18 points.
Junior Chris Zannetti had two near double-doubles as his great season continues. Helping produce off the bench at the center position this week was fellow junior Mike Archiable, who scored 8 points, in addition to three rebounds, against Geneva.
The two big men are great friends off the court, and Archiable believes their friendship translates to playing well on the court.
“When we are out there together, we see things that other guys don’t see,” Archiable said. “We give each other perfect passes like we know they are coming.”
The defense really stepped up this week, too, holding Wickliffe to 31 percent shooting and Geneva to 40 percent. It’s hard to lose when your defense is forcing the opposition to miss that many shots.
West Geauga has been known for its man-to-man defense that demands high intensity. All five players work hard to make their opponent’s offense work for their shots.
Although West Geauga usually sticks with a man-to-man defense, Cardiero has started testing out a new defensive scheme to switch up from the normal principles of the Wolverines. His new 1-3-1 zone defense comes out when he feels the opposing team is starting to recognize how to beat the man-to-man. By having big man Chris Zannetti in the middle of the zone instead of under the basket, it leaves Wolfhope with the baseline responsibility.
With Wolfhope’s speed from sideline to sideline, it makes it difficult for offenses to make a quick move or get a shot off when the ball enters the corners.
Senior Tim Snyder led the team with eight assists against Wickliffe.
Cardiero brought up the assist numbers, saying, “It’s great when you can move the ball that much. Tim was finding the open guys, and they were making the shots. It’s perfect basketball when that happens.”
Eight assists is the highest for any player for the Wolverines this season.
Something that Cardiero has preached to his players this year is that they do not have one superstar. He told them they will need to work like a team and play for each other. This week showed that the Wolverines can do exactly that. Everybody on the roster benefitted.
Two games, two big wins this past week. West Geauga is floating right around the .500 mark now, as the two game win streak has them at 4-5.