The Rochester boys' basketball team is off to its best start in school history, and coach Paul Long said his players are excited to make their mark on the program.

The Rams (20-1, 11-0) are in the midst of only their first 20-win season since 1996, when they finished 22-6, losing in the WPIAL title game.

Rochester's only loss this season was a 64-62 defeat against Quaker Valley, one of the best WPIAL Class AA teams, in December.

Rochester, the Post-Gazette's No. 3-ranked team in WPIAL Class AA, has already secured a Class AA Section 2 championship, its first section title since 1996.

Most discussions of Rochester as a WPIAL powerhouse are reserved for the football team.

The boys' basketball team is relatively inexperienced in the postseason. While the Rams have made the playoffs seven times since 2000, they have just three playoff wins.

The Rams won their only WPIAL championship in 1983 and lost in the title game in '96 -- their only trips to the title game.

Rochester has never advanced past the PIAA semifinals in five trips to the state tournament.

Rochester's basketball team is full of football players.

Nine of the Rams' 16 players on the roster also were on the football team, which won a conference championship and advanced to the WPIAL title game, including starting quarterback Jasson Adamson and star running back Trey Johnson.

"I used to play football myself and I just think football players fit in so well on a basketball team because you need those tough kids," Long said.

When football season ended and those players joined the basketball team, Long said he sat each one down and asked them to take on a role on the basketball team.

Adamson and Johnson are two of the best defenders on the team, Long said, and several other football players have become excellent at blocking shots and providing energy off the bench.

-- By Michael Sanserino

The Rams are the highest scoring team in WPIAL Class AA, averaging 73.6 points per game.

Rochester is led in scoring by 6-foot-3 junior E.J. Blackwell, who averages 19 points.

"He's definitely one of the kids who can shoot and drive to the hoop," Long said. "He's a scorer. He's real good at what he does."

The Rams' second leading scorer, 6-3 junior Giovanni Ellis, also is one of the team's best shot-blockers.

Four players average 12 points or better, and a fifth averages nine.

But Long said he tries to teach his players that small plays, like blocked shots and turnovers, are just as crucial to the team's effort as points.

"You have to make sure they know they're important," he said. "Scoring's not everything."

Sophomore Alente Johnson was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis a few years ago, and he is supposed to have surgery soon to address the disease.

But he postponed the surgery so he could play basketball with his brother, Trey, who will graduate this year.

"I know his brother keeps an eye on him," Long said of Trey Johnson. "He won't admit it, but I know he does."

Though Alente Johnson does not see much playing time, Long said he never complains and never misses a practice.

"He's a fighter," Long said. "You don't see that in a lot of kids. A lot of kids give up, but he's a fighter. And it makes you want to fight, too."

Long said he has heard chatter about the Rams' supposedly soft schedule.

He said Rochester's section might not be as tough as some of the other Class AA sections, but the Rams pay little attention to those concerns.

"The main thing is as a coach, you make sure your team stays where they should be," he said. "We don't worry about anybody else. We really don't. As long as we play our game, we're as good as anybody."

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