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South/West Xtra: Brashear coach, players staying positive
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Brashear's Tyler Smith takes it to the rim during a non-league victory against Serra Catholic.
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After Oliver closed it's doors last year and Brashear needed a new coach after it's previous one resigned, Carey White found himself in a prime position to take over.
"Now all I have to do is get off the elevator to get to the gym for practice," he said about the close proximity of his new coaching job. "It's that simple these days."
White teaches at Pittsburgh South Hills 6-8, a middle school located right next door to the Brashear building in the Beechview section of the city.
The change has done the Bulls well as they've improved their overall record from just six wins last season to an 11-6 mark so far this year, including 2-3 in the City League.
"I knew that we were coming into a good situation, getting some of the Langley kids to come over and really being able to build a winning team," White said. "I was able to bring some of my kids over from Oliver and that didn't hurt, either."
Featuring nine seniors, the experience-laden Bulls have high hopes going into the stretch run without a prototypical "star" player. But, White likes the way his team functions without one.
"I like the balance that this team has," he said. "You know how you look in the newspaper and they have all the top-scorers listed in the area? Well, we're not going to have any of those. Nobody gets too high off that kind of stuff. Everyone contributes and that has done well for us."
Senior Deyshawn Martin started his playing career at Langley and transferred to Chartiers Valley. After coming back to the city, Martin, a 6-foot-4 forward, ended up at Brashear due to the West End school's closing last year.
He's one of the team's top scorers, averaging a little more than 12 points per game.
I have to give credit to [the coaches at Langley and coach Tim Broderick] here at Brashar did everything they needed to get them ready for this stage," White added. "Before I even begin to take all of the credit, they should be acknowledged for the things that they've done."
Senior guard Mike Molinaro thinks that their first league game against Allderdice back on Jan. 4 was the most memorable.
"It was high-energy," Molinaro said. "We were excited to be playing the defending champs. We were really anxious to see how we measured up."
Making special mention of his guards, White believes that is an important part of compiling a championship-caliber team.
"Our guard play has been really strong to this point," White said. "I'm really happy with the way that they've been finding the right shots and executing them."
According to Molinaro, White's coaching style makes it conducive for them to make smart decisions with the basketball.
"There are all types of shooting drills that we do during practice that help us with our shot selection," he said. "It directly shows when we get out there and we're taking shots that we know for a fact that we can knock down. It's been great for our confidence as a group."
The Bulls still have the league's top three teams Westinghouse (Feb. 1), Obama (Feb. 8), and finally Perry (Feb. 11) remaining on their regular season schedule. At 2-3 in the City, they'll need to find ways to avenge previous losses.
"We don't fear anyone in this league," Molinaro said. "We'll be ready for them when they come our way."
First Published January 31, 2013 12:00 am
