West Xtra: Rebuilding job on tap for Moon; Ackermann replacing entire starting lineup
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Replacing an entire starting lineup can be a coach's nightmare.
That's the reality for Moon Area coach Jeff Ackermann as the Tigers prepare for their season opener at 6 p.m. Friday against Sto-Rox in the West Allegheny Tip-Off tournament.
Five of eight seniors on the team last season started for the Tigers, including 6-foot-4 forward Aaron Johnson, the 11th-leading scorer in the Post-Gazette's circulation area with an average of 24.3 points per game.
Johnson, along with the rest of the starters, are gone from a Moon team that finished with an overall record of 15-8. The Tigers were eliminated in a first-round WPIAL tournament game by Butler Area, which advanced to the WPIAL semifinals where the Golden Tornado fell to WPIAL champion Gateway, 47-45.
"What we had last year was the second year of what I'd call a two-year team," said Ackermann, the team's coach since 2002. "We're going to be doing this again as we don't have a single senior on this team. All of them are juniors, sophomores and freshmen, and we don't have a lot of experience."
Ackermann is grateful that his squad has some good athletes despite their inexperience.
"I just don't know where we stack up right now," he said. "We'll find out when the season starts."
Ackermann is certain of a rotation comprising seven players led by Nick Korzi, a 6-0 junior guard, and Eric Elias, a 5-9 junior guard.
"Those two were in our rotation last year, and they played more than some of the other younger players," Ackermann said. "Both of them contributed a lot last year."
Ackermann also is counting on Tim Martin, a 5-8 junior guard, who has started for the past two seasons on Moon's football team.
"He brings a lot of confidence, but he hasn't played a lot of varsity basketball," the coach said. "But he knows what it's like to compete against other varsity athletes."
Ackermann expects major contributions from Chidi Ifedigbo, a 6-2 junior forward; Cameron Johnson, a 5-11 sophomore guard; Tyler Crenshaw, a 6-4 sophomore forward; Niko Yaramus, a 6-2 freshman forward; and Kyle Bondi, a 6-1 freshman swingman.
"Chidi played some last year, but he'll get a real test this year," Ackermann said. "He has a nice athletic build. Cameron knows the game, and he played a lot of AAU ball in the offseason. He shoots the ball very well.
"Tyler has a big, strong build, and we're hoping he'll give us a strong inside presence. Yaramus is a strong kid who played both ways on the football team. Kyle also played football, and he's a physical kid who won't back down."
Ackermann's biggest concern is his team's lack of experience. What's encouraging is he will have these players for at least two years and he has dealt with this scenario before.
"In my first season of 2002, we also were inexperienced, and we also started slowly," he said. "Two years later, that team won WPIAL Class AAA and PIAA Class AAA championships. Our goal is to stay positive and keep improving each week."
What's different this time around is that Moon is competing in the PIAA's highest classification -- Class AAAA -- and the section the Tigers compete in is one of the toughest in the WPIAL. Three of the WPIAL qualifiers for the 2011 PIAA Class AAAA tournament -- Chartiers Valley, Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair -- all competed against Moon in Section 4-AAAA.
"We don't have someone who's competed against these good teams on a regular basis," he said. "Maybe we will have that guy later this season. What we hope to do is be competitive and consistent."
First Published December 8, 2011 12:00 am
