It's been a long time since the Galway Golden Eagles varsity boys basketball team has played any meaningful postseason games. While the WAC does have crossover games, they've been meaningless for a program that's highest win total since 2009 is four in the 2011-2012 season. With Coach John Stevens guiding this team in the right direction here's some keys to Galway making Sectionals this season.
1. Guards need to limit turnovers.
It's no secret in the sports world. A team that limits their turnovers is hard to beat. Galway's backcourt has struggled with this for years. This season it'll be up to Hunter Roy, Thor White, and Taylor Hartman to force more turnovers than they give up. It's going to start with smart passes, not panicking in trap defenses, and not telegraphing passes. If the team can cut down their turnovers, it'll create more scoring chances and keep games close.
2. Leaders need to step up
Four-year starter Dan Diaz' experience is going to play a huge role this season. As a Freshman he was hounded by Coach Toby Youngblood to play with more aggression and determination. By the end of the season, Diaz earned a spot in the starting lineup, and contributed handsomely to Galway's most successful (if four wins is successful) team in recent history. Now, it's his turn to lead the team. While it's easy to say his experience already qualifies him, he's going to have to keep a level head, get his team through adversity, and not get into foul trouble early in games. Playing a forward spot won't be easy to avoid foul trouble, especially the way Diaz plays, but the longer he's on the court the better Galway will be.
3. Use the shot clock, run solid offenses, and have good shot selection
Galway is not a team suited to play up-tempo basketball. If they let opponents get easy transition points, they'll have a really tough time keeping up with the likes for Fort Plain, Canajoharie, and St. Johnsville. They'll need to slow down the pace by working possessions deep into the shot clock. If they can run offenses swiftly, defenses will tire, break down, and the Eagles will be able to get open men inside and on the perimeter. While height isn't an advantage for their guards, they'll need to do a better job of driving to the hoop for layups, or dish to open men on the perimeter and inside. Lastly, hesitation can't influence shots. If there's an open shot to be taken, they need to take it. Pump fake every now and then, but there's no better shot than an uncontested one.
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