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Mikes hoping offense can catch up with defense

By Adam Brewer for The 3 min read
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Darnell Graham

Longtime Carmichaels head coach Don Williams directs his players during practice. Williams enters the season with 484 career wins.

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Darnell Graham

Carmichaels sophomore Matthew Barrish dribbles down the court during practice.

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Darnell Graham

Darnell Graham Carmichaels sophomore Garrett Ponick prepares to pass the ball to a teammate during practice at Carmichaels Area High School.

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Darnell Graham

Carmichaels head coach Don Williams and assistant coach Tim Jones discuss their plans for that day’s practice. Williams enters the season with 484 career wins.

The Carmichaels boys’ basketball squad has been one of the most successful programs around the area over the last two decades, and the Mikes are looking to continue that winning tradition this season.

The Mikes missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season in 2015-16 with an overall mark of 9-12 and just a 2-10 record in section action.

Veteran coach Don Williams is excited for this season with his experienced group.

“We have been working hard,” Williams said. “I like what I have seen so far. We are by no means a finished product yet, and we have a lot of things to work on. We are much improved from last year and the kids are understanding our offensive and defensive concepts better.”

Carmichaels was stingy on defense last year, only allowing 45.6 points per game (second lowest in Class AA), but did have its struggles on offense a year ago.

“I really liked our defense last year,” Williams said. “We were able to slow teams down and turn them over. Our half-court defense is good and I think we might trap a little more this season. Offensively, we were really inconsistent. We are going to try to push the ball more and run a lot on the court. We are hoping our trap will give us some easy buckets.”

The Mikes, who have qualified for the postseason in 13 of the last 19 years, remain in Class AA this season after realignment and will call Section 2 home.

Other teams within the section are Bentworth, California, Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry, Frazier and rival Jefferson-Morgan.

“It should be a fun and competitive year in the section for us,” said Williams who is assisted by Tim Jones. “We know that Cal, Char-Houston and Fort Cherry are quality teams. Even though we have played them in non-section the last two seasons, it’s good to have J-M back in our section. The kids for both teams really love that match-up and that rivalry is a lot of fun to be involved with.”

Carmichaels has 17 kids on its roster with four seniors in Liam Shea (5-10), Cody Brown (6-1), Joel Spishock (6-0) and William McAfee (5-10). Those four as well as sophomore Matthew Barrish (5-7) will be key components for the Mikes this season.

Williams, who enters the season with 484 careers wins, and the Mikes will kick off the 2016-17 campaign at home on Dec. 9 against non-section foe Avella. Carmichaels will begin section play at Fort Cherry on Dec. 20.

Carmichaels will once again host the Lions Club Christmas Tournament on Dec. 27-28 against Mapletown, Beth-Center and Geibel Catholic.

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