Only a year ago, Coach Jose Andrades’ Maples made the short trip to Brother Rice and suffered their worst loss of the season in an embarrassing 31 point defeat. That loss left a deep wound, and senior guard Buddy Ellis had the rematch on his mind the week of the Rice Game.
“I do not like losing to Brother Rice, and we are going to win,” Ellis said.
Ellis’ prediction rang true as Andrades’ Maples delivered a long overdue beat-down on the Warriors from Brother Rice in the friendly confines of the Seaholm gym, 63-50.
This team has improved immensely from last year
Everything starts with Senior Richaud Pack, and his already impressive game has jumped up a notch from last year, mainly in his ability and willingness to attack the rim.
Last year, Pack would often settle for outside shots. This year, he is routinely exploiting favorable match-ups that allow him to attack the rim, leaving his defenders in a position to give up the basket or foul him.
Another player who has taken his game to another level in terms of establishing consistency is junior forward Shawn Conway.
Last year, Conway delivered a great spark off the bench and would go off for huge games on occasion.
Conversely, there would also be games where Conway was nowhere to be found.
After scoring a solid 15 points and pulling down 15 rebounds in Seaholm’s 19 point victory over Grosse Pointe South, Conway seemed unstoppable against Brother Rice, scoring 22 points as the Maples pulled away in the second half. Conway electrified the crown with an earth-shaking alley-oop, as well as capping off a Maple run with a triple that iced the victory.
Conway and senior forward Jack Quigley dominated the boards on both ends, forcing Brother Rice to one-shot per possession, while Seaholm routinely got second chance put-backs.
Conway’s consistency will make opposing teams think twice about double-teaming Pack, because if they do, Conway will make them pay.
And to top it all off, Seaholm has found a top-notch point guard in sophomore Christian Pino, a transfer from Andover. Pino is already proving himself to be a great replacement for graduated senior guard Ben Lewis.
Pino’s court vision and passing ability will lead to easy buckets and backdoor cuts as Pino catches opposing defenses out of position.
When this team is playing well, they are difficult to match up with. That being said, slow starts and temporary lapses in concentration have been a problem for this team. Against GPS and Rice, slow starts were an issue, while a lackluster fourth quarter made the 56-54 Canton win closer than it needed to be.
Despite picking up wins in these first few games against inferior competition, this is a major liability when playing difficult games against the likes of West Bloomfield, Lake Orion, and Rochester Adams. This team will need to play with a high level of focus from the opening tip to prevent talented teams like the Lakers, Dragons, and Highlanders from running away with these contests before the Maples wake up.
