LH boys have experience returning
Laurel Highlands boys' head basketball coach Rick Hauger walks the sidelines at practice.
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
Laurel Highlands boys’ head basketball coach Rick Hauger talks to his team at practice.
Laurel Highlands' Jake Swartz drills free throws in the gymnasium during practice.
The Laurel Highlands boys' basketball team practices in the gymnasium on November 25, 2015.
Laurel Highlands' Jake Swartz.
Laurel Highlands boys’ head basketball coach Rick Hauger talks to his team at practice during the 2015-16 season.
Laurel Highlands boys basketball coach Rick Hauger lost four starters from last year’s team to graduation, but returns three underclassmen who have a good amount of varsity experience under their belts for the 2015-16 season.
“We lost four starters, David Rusko, Tyler Eadie, Patrick Mahoney and Andrew Cavinee and we lost a couple guys who came off the bench, little Christian Lee,” Hauger said. “We lost a lot of guys, but we have some good guys back.
“Jake Swartz (6-4 forward) was our leading scorer last year. Hudson Novak (6-2), who is a forward primarily, started some last year, but got hurt. Bryce Laskey (6-2 guard), who is only a sophomore. We have these three underclassmen who will play a lot, plus four seniors Daniel Cavinee, a 5-11 guard, Cameron Holt, a 5-11 forward, Chayton Burchick, who is a 6-0 center and J.J. Holbert who is a 6-0 forward.”
Juniors Will Deichart, a 6-2 guard, and David Runco, a 5-11 guard and sophomore Elijah Guynn, a 6-2 forward, all are expected to see playing time.
“We’ve got about 10 guys who will get to play, maybe not every game, but they’ll get to play some,” Hauger said.
With that kind of talent returning, you’d think the Mustangs may be favored to win the Section 4-AAA title this season.
“I would think West Mifflin or Steel Valley is the favorite in our section,” Hauger said. “I don’t see a bad team in our section. Of course, us included in that, but I don’t see a bad team in our section. The competition’s going to be very tough.”
“Thomas Jefferson, they are going to be good. Uniontown, they lost a good bit, but they are still very athletic and capable. Belle Vernon, they just run about 10 guys at you the whole game. They run a bit of a different style than the rest of them. E-F and Ringgold are two teams that I am not very familiar with. But anybody in that section can beat you for sure. From what I remember, Steel Valley and West Mifflin are the two teams to beat, but TJ and Belle Vernon and Uniontown, they’re going to be in there, too.”
It appears the Mustangs will be a fairly typical LH team. Not too big, not too small. Full of hustlers and strong on defense.
“We’re not overly big,” Hauger said. “But we’re fairly athletic. We’re not speed burners, but we’re not slow. I think that they are competitors. Defense is certainly what we stress first. Offensively, I think we have some good shooters. I think we’ve got to become better ball handlers as a team and I think we can get some points inside and outside. We can be versatile on offense. And we’ve got to develop some chemistry, that’s not where I would want it to be right now.”
Part of that chemistry development is choosing starters who mesh with one another.
“We have six starters in my mind,” Hauger said. “Swartz, Novak and Laskey, plus Cavinee, Holt and Burchick. I know you can only play five at a time, but depending on the situation, we can go more interior or more exterior, so it gives us some flexibility.”
Hauger believes his team has the talent to compete for a section title and make a run deep into the playoffs, but realizes it won’t be easy.
“We just have to play defense and rebound,” Hauger said. “We have to get tough on the boards and we have to play good tough D and make them take tough shots all of the time. Pressure the ball. Try to keep other team’s offenses in areas where we want them to go, rather than where they want to go.
“We’re athletic enough to do it, so it’s a matter of us putting it all into practice and doing it and not letting up.”
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