Mario Mazur drives the lane for Steinert. Photo by Amanda “The Homeowner” Ruch
By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com
Jan. 28: It may be hard to envision at the moment, but there could be a bright future for the Steinert boys’ basketball team.
The Spartans youth was on display again Saturday as Edison turned an 18-17 halftime lead into a 48-32 victory at the Spartan Arena.
Jamir Spivey with the jumper. Photo by Amanda “The Homeowner” Ruch.
According to coach Joe Radice, Steinert is able to hang with teams until adjustments need to be made.
“Early on when we’re switching defenses we confuse teams early, and then once they go into halftime and know what we’re doing, they make changes,” Radice said. “When you play six different defenses and they saw them all in the first half, it makes it hard.
“There’s only so much you can do and teach at one time so that second half we’re usually at a disadvantage. Teams come out with more urgency and our guys haven’t gotten to that point where they understand this is a varsity level game and you gotta pick it up.”
Mario Mazur attempts the shot over an Edison defender. Photo by Amanda “The Homeowner” Ruch.
There’s a reason for that. Steinert is as young as it gets, with David Stec the lone senior in the starting lineup. Jamir Spivey is a transfer from Georgia, leading scorer Matthew Jean-Mary is a junior, top all-around player Mario Mazur is a sophomore and newly promoted point guard Trevor Giordano is a freshman.
Jean Mary missed most of the Edison game after taking a shot to the head.
“When Matthew and Mazur are both playing well, we’re hanging with teams for the whole game,” Radice said. “When one plays well, we do similar things to what we did today. But we go out and play hard and compete, that’s all you can ask for.”
The Spartans dropped to 1-14 but their level of play has improved over the past two weeks. Part of that has to do with Giordano, who started the season on the freshman team.
Trevor Giordano with the layup. Photo by Amanda “The Homeowner” Ruch.
“Giordano has been great,” Radice said. “We actually can get into our offense and all that stuff now, where we’ve struggled for two years by not having a true point guard. We’ve had other guys who really worked hard to play the role but were out of position.”
Giordano is in his natural position, but needs to bulk up.
“He’s a true point guard but he might be 85 pounds soaking wet,” Radice said. “As a freshman he’s got the heart, he’s got the mentality, he’s not afraid of anything and that’s what you love. You put him out there you’ve got to live with the mistakes, but he does a lot of great things for us. He’s been the big difference in why we’ve been more competitive the last couple games. The kids have a lot of confidence playing with him.”
Trevor Giordano gets a lane. Photo by Amanda “The Homeowner” Ruch.
There are also some other youngsters who could provide help in the coming years.
“We have a group of six or seven freshmen who are phenomenal,” Radice said. “Five of them have gotten into a varsity game. Our best players are a sophomore and junior and we have a couple good sophomores on the JV team. Over the next two years we have a lot coming up, where hopefully we can make a good run in Mazur’s junior and senior years.”
