March 6, 2008

St. Mary’s runs its way into Norcals

Kevin McCarthy
 

With most attention spans focused on an outrageously loaded Archbishop Mitty squad, a Frank Otis-led McClymonds team, and a De La Salle group that never seems to need to rebuild, St. Mary’s of Berkeley has been a relatively quiet intruder into the mix this season despite a 30-1 record.

Nevertheless, the Panthers have emerged as the No. 13 ranked team in the state (No. 4 in NorCal).

Coach Manny Nodar isn’t turning cartwheels around the gym just yet though. "To be honest, I’m not worried about that" he said. "It’s great for the school and for the kids but from a coaching perspective we need to remain level-headed.

Asked about the keys to St. Mary’s season so far, Nodar lists three primary factors: "One, defense. That’s been our main key to success as our defense creates our offense. Two, the players understand their roles. Three, what I hear from opposing coaches is that we play harder than any other team."

That’s a trifecta any coach would love.

The style Nodar employs is akin to a track meet with a premium on beating opponents up and down the floor while simultaneously applying pressure. "I was first introduced to it by John Perez while at Sacred Heart," Nodar said.

A 15-0 unbeaten Bay Shore Athletic League record produced a co-Most Valuable Player award for William Brew and a spot for brother Chris Brew as a first-teamer. Sophomore Dominique Lee was accorded second team status with senior Marcus Simien and junior Aalim Moor given nods as honorable mention selections. Though not appearing on any special lists, 6-foot-2 senior Justin Shields has been a three-year varsity player for the Panthers.

St. Mary’s advanced to the semifinals of the NorCal regional tournament, where it will face Colfax.

Here is Aalim Moor with his latest diary installment:

"We just did it. We are the NCS Division 4 Champs! We beat Moreau Catholic (Hayward) in the opener, St. Joseph (Alameda) in the semis, and Kennedy (Richmond) in the championship. Even though we beat JFK by a large margin, that is still a very good team with some very good players. Jonathan Williams and Marvin Boadu are quality players, Coach Booker is a very good coach and their team is tough. They are going to make some noise in NorCal. As for us, we are playing our best basketball of the year right now. Max Preps ranked us the #12 High School team in the nation. Our coaches have us extremely focused and disciplined. We are executing well on the offensive end and are in all-out attack mode on the defensive end."

"We are definitely rolling right now, but the thing I’m most impressed with is our team chemistry! Everybody is on the same page. Guys have accepted their roles on this team. Will and Chris are our headline players bottom line! They have been killing people all year. Will is our leader and the MVP of our league and Chris is over powering and dunking on anybody is his way. The Lee twins have taken our team to another level. Dominique has been putting up crazy numbers lately. Demetrius is playing with a lot of confidence and poise, slashing to the hole and playing great D. But you have to give props to our seniors Justin Shields and Marcus Semien who have been our anchors all year. When we ever need a big shot they always step up and get it done. Our bench keeps us fired up and is ready and able to step in and get in done at the drop of a hat. My role is the same has not changed...Keep everybody happy. I think I did that in the Championship game. I was pretty banged up (sprained knee and the flu) but I sucked it up, went to work and did my job (7 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 0 turnovers)."

"NorCal is going to be extremely hard, but we’re ready."

"Step #2 is through...a couple of more steps to go...It’s still real!"

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