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Y! MyWebWhite: Tigers need spark
Senior guard says team can turn postseason around with aggressive play from the get-go.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — Brandon White has a simple cure for all that ails the Wittenberg men's basketball team. The Tigers are entering the postseason with a limp — three losses in their last four games — but the team can find its game again if it just remembers where it's been.
"These feelings we have from losing bring us back to the feelings we had at the beginning of the season when we did all this hard work in the offseason and we just couldn't get a win," said White, a 6-foot senior guard and co-captain from Columbus Bexley High School. "So we know how it feels.
Brandon White (22) of Wittenberg is guarded by Kyle Holliday (23) of Ohio Wesleyan during a 72-69 loss for the Tigers on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Pam Evans Smith Arena. Staff photo by Barbara J. Perenic"We know what we can accomplish. We know we can win the league tournament. We know we can get to the NCAA tournament. It's a matter of getting focused, playing aggressive and leaving it on the floor."
It begins at 6 tonight, Feb. 26, when the Tigers (16-9) host Allegheny (11-14) in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament.
White said the team's main problem in its last two games, against Wabash and Kenyon, has been coming out flat at the start. It fell behind 11-2 to Wabash, though it eventually won that game, and 15-5 to Kenyon, which beat the Tigers 64-51 on Saturday, Feb. 23.
"We just need to find that spark again and find the energy to come out aggressive," White said. "When you come out aggressive and jump out on teams, the game plan goes a lot smoother."
White's role in the game plan this season revolves around his ability to lead and defend.
He is not a scorer. He averages 1.9 points per game and shoots 25 percent from the field. But he averages 3.1 rebounds, has almost twice as many assists (34) as turnovers (19) and is second on the team in steals (28).
White, Gregg Hill and Brandan Barabino are the only players to start all 25 games. For White, it's been a long wait. He started his career at Clarion State but redshirted as a freshman and left the team as a sophomore. With the Tigers the last two seasons, White appeared in a total of 22 games.
"It wasn't easy," White said. "I worked hard to get to where I've gotten, but I'm definitely a better person and a better basketball player because of it."
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.
Wittenberg tip-off tips
Who: Allegheny (11-14) at Wittenberg (16-9) in quarterfinals of North Coast Athletic Conference tournament.
When: 6 p.m. today, Feb. 26.
Where: Pam Evans Smith Arena.
Series history: Wittenberg leads 36-10.
Last meeting: Wittenberg won 78-66 on Feb. 9 in Springfield.
Last game: Allegheny lost 72-62 to Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, Feb. 23; Wittenberg lost 64-51 at Kenyon on Saturday.
Coaches: Rob Clune, Allegheny (sixth season, 69-85); Bill Brown, Wittenberg (15th season, 343-84)
Allegheny?s probable starters: George Raftis, 6-5, so., forward, 2.8 points per game; Ben Torsney, 6-5, sr., forward, 7.9; Bill Babe, 6-0, sr., guard, 8.0; Craig Devinney, 6-3, so., guard, 11.1; Larry Sharp, 5-11, sr., guard, 3.8.
Wittenberg?s probable starters: Gregg Hill, 6-0, jr., point guard, 16.6; Brandan Barabino, 6-4, sr., wing, 12.2; Brandon White, 6-0, sr., wing, 1.9; Kevin Murray, 6-2, jr., wing, 12.0; Mark Snyder, 6-6, so., post, 6.1.
Allegheny notes: Doug Price came off the bench to score 22 in the last game against Wittenberg. ... The Gators have shot better than 50 percent from the field in six of their last seven games.
Wittenberg notes: The Tigers have scored fewer than 70 points four games in a row, their longest streak of the season. ... Hill is a 45 percent shooter on the season, but in the last four games, he is shooting 32 percent (18-of-56).
— David Jablonski, staff writer
