Cory Hitchcock is still learning the ropes of being the coach for a young Palisade High School team, and that’s something for him to keep in mind after stretches like this weekend at the Warrior Challenge at Central.
In the weekend tournament, the Bulldogs lost each of their three games. That was capped off with a 66-30 loss to Castle View on Saturday.
“We got a lot of guys who are very inexperienced who haven’t seen the varsity floor much. So, I think we were playing very timid at times. We reminded them to play loose and have fun,” said Hitchcock, who is in his first season with the program. “I think for a lot of the guys, it was a new experience. And we have to remind ourselves that, and that we’re building a program here, and we’re all getting used to each other. This is going to be a learning experience.”
The Bulldogs (0-3) lost seven players to graduation last season, and have a team of mostly juniors seeing their first action as starters or off-the-bench options.
Hitchcock is also implementing a faster scheme with the Bulldogs. Players learning how coaches work — and vice versa — takes time, he said.
“We need to value the basketball, and not be careless with it. We’ve also taken some bad shots, and that gives opponents easy transitions into the fast break because we’re not in position,” Hitchcock said.
Despite the lopsided losses — all three by double digits — Hitchcock said he saw glimpses of what can happen when Palisade plays well.
Donovan Maestas, the leading returning scorer, is dynamic with the ball, and can drive or use his footwork to create space for a shot. Maestas drained four 3-pointers on the weekend, and led the team in points in the first two games with 10 and 11, respectively. Fellow senior Paul Steinke, meanwhile, had eight points in the first two games.
Both were shut down against Castle View (3-1) but 6-foot-3 forward Ryker Harsha stepped up. The junior led the team with eight points Saturday and finished with 15 on the weekend.
“As coaches, we just need to keep pushing them, encouraging them, and letting them know that we believe in them,” Hitchcock said. “I think a lot of struggles this weekend were because of our inexperience. That’s why we were throwing in a lot of guys at the end (against Castle View) to get them experience. We don’t want to be peaking as a team right now, let’s see where we are in January when we get into league play.”
Fruita Monument 37, Union 23: Fruita Monument High School won the Shannon Johnson Classic in emphatic fashion with a 14-point win over Union on Saturday in Vernal, Utah.
The Wildcats (3-0) had offensive production from most of the depth chart. Nine players scored, including team-highs of nine points from Jillian Buck and eight from Olivia Campbell.
That allowed them to score 14 second-quarter points and take a 20-9 lead into the break. Union (0-3) outscored Fruita in the final quarter but it was too little, too late.
Central 65, Smoky Hill 25: The Warriors to a huge first-quarter lead and never looked back in the championship game of the Palmer tournament.
The Warriors (3-0) had seven players score in the game, led by Lauryn Spencer’s 11 points and Sasha Rascon’s 10.
Central led 23-2 after the first quarter and 35-13 at halftime. Central limited Smoky Hill (2-1) to only 12 second half points.
Plateau Valley 57, Telluride 2: The Cowboys (2-0) were led by Maddisyn Miller and Meloni Miller, who scored 24 and 20 points respectively.
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December 05, 2021 at 02:15PM
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New coach sees difficult weekend as development chance for Bulldogs - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
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