Youthful Trojans trying to build under Baker
Now in his second year as the California boys basketball coach, Brent Baker sees that things are moving in the right direction, although his team is still on the youthful end.
“We are still very, very young,” he said. “Last year, we had a good group of seniors that they laid the foundation.
“They were a blessing.”
Baker took over last offseason and went back to basics.
“When I played, we had three hours of fundamentals and conditioning and there was a demand of learning the game,” he said. “It is different times now. Last year, the team showed energy and effort that was phenomenal.
“It showed what the California basketball culture is going to be.”
Last year, the Trojans had two juniors and no sophomores.
“That group laid the example for where the energy was for this program,” Baker said. “Three or four freshmen last year were getting quality time by the end of the year.”
When asked about this year’s roster, Baker smiled before answering.
“We have one senior, four juniors who attended games last year (as fans) and played football,” he said. “We have sophomores who got experience as freshmen, and we have freshmen who were in middle school.
“We are farther ahead but so young,” he said while still laughing. “The guys who have logged the most minutes are sophomores. It was interesting but the competition was great.
“There is an expectation now, and the kids know this isn’t gym class. We had open gyms all summer.”
Baker is counting on Hunter Brown, the lone senior.
“Hunter leads by example,” Baker said. “He is quiet, yet intense and he shows people his intensity.”
Other players Baker mentioned were juniors Weston Monticelli, Colton Lowden, and Chase Shemansky as well as sophomores Alan Dennis, Ben Ziolecki, and Devin Galloway.
Baker touched again on some of the juniors who came out this year after not playing last season.
“Them coming out shows us that something we are doing with the culture, and as a staff, is keeping the kids interested,” he said. “It was good to get them out.”
Baker added a few freshmen could also push for varsity time, before transitioning back to comparing this team to last year’s.
“The freshmen this year are in a better position to get minutes than last year’s freshmen,” he said. “The mindset has to be give me a role so I can work on it and get better.
“We are ahead of where we were last year, but we are still very young. Years three and four, when we are junior and senior heavy, then we can critique the job we are doing.”
The Trojans are in Section 1-AA with Bentworth, Clairton, Frazier, Greensburg Central Catholic, Jeannette, Riverview, and Springdale.
“It is ranked one of the top power conferences in PA,” Baker said. “We play tough non-conference games to get ready for Jeannette, GCC, and Clairton.”
Baker didn’t hesitate when asked about the projected top teams in the section.
“GCC lost a few upper classmen but reloaded,” he said. “Jeannette is one of the most athletic groups of kids that are basketball players. They are a polished group of athletes who are basketball players and smooth.
“Clairton uses its athleticism to make it ugly and win.”
Baker spoke about other teams in the conference.
“Springdale is so well-coached, as are Bentworth and Frazier,” he said. “It is a playoff game every night in our conference.”
The foundation has been set, and while there may be a few bumps along the way, Baker and his staff are looking to build the program from the ground up.