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Kingwood Park hopes to make 4A splash
  
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By STEPHEN WHITFIELD
As with every other team on its campus, Kingwood Park High School’s boys basketball team is entering a new frontier for the 2008-2009 season.
Competing on the 4A level for the first time, the Panthers will go into battle with a young roster. With no seniors on the team, Kingwood Park fans might have cause to be nervous, but head coach Dominic Amorosa said he does not think that will be a problem.
“We have four guys who played extensively last year,” he said. “Three of those four guys were all-district performers. We don’t ever talk about the fact we don’t have seniors. We just think that by the time we get to district we should be fine.”
Last year, the Panthers went 15-15 overall with a 7-5 record in District 22-3A. Jake Powell, Kingwood Park’s leading scorer and rebounder in 2007-2008, moved to Missouri in the off-season.
So with no clear go-to guy, Amorosa said he will use the pre-district schedule to figure out which lineups will work for his team.
“It’s really important for us,” Amorosa said. “We’re sort of experimenting with who’s going to be playing in January. We’re experimenting with a wide variety of lineups and playing a wide variety of teams.”
Jordan Quillian is the guy most likely to take Powell’s place in the offensive stat sheet for the Panthers. Amorosa said Quillian has the ability to score from both the inside and the outside.
“Jordan is just an all-around scorer,” Amorosa said. “He can take the ball to the basket, he can post, shoot a good jump shot.”
For the most part, the Panthers will employ a motion offense, which means that point guard play will be pivotal to the team’s success. Kingwood Park’s primary point guard, Alex Ritter, is just a sophomore, but Amorosa said he will be more than capable of setting up the offense.
“[Ritter] just gets us started,” Amorosa said. “He doesn’t do too much in terms of the stat sheet, but he’s a second coach on the floor. He’s starting to find his shot, he’s shooting when he’s open.”
Amorosa also said Ritter has improved on his outside shot during the off-season. Alongside Ryan Croy, the Panthers hope that they can develop a consistent perimeter shooting duo in the back court.
Kolby Chandler will man the post for Kingwood Park. Amorosa said he thinks Chandler will provide a solid inside presence.
“Kolby has a chance to be a dominant post man,” Amorosa said. “He’s about 6-5 and he’ll get a little stronger, but he’s got a chance to be a really good post player.”
On the defensive end, the Panthers play mostly man-to-man. Amorosa said his team is good at forcing bad shots but must do a better job at rebounding.
“We’ve got to improve on finishing possessions, finishing rebounds and blocking out,” he said. “We do a good job contesting shots, we do a decent job limiting penetration, but we get hammered on the glass.”
KINGWOOD PARK BOYS BASKETBALL 2008-2009 SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
Dec. 2 Baytown Sterling 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 4-6 Katy ISD Varsity Tournament TBA
Dec. 9 Caney Creek 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 11-13 Hardin-Jefferson Tournament TBA
Dec. 15 Dekaney 7 p.m.
Dec. 19 Dayton* 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 30 Houston Yates 7 p.m.
Jan. 2 Huffman 3 p.m.
Jan. 6 Crosby* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 9 Barbers Hill* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 13 Galena Park* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 16 CE King* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 North Forest* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 23 Goose Creek Memorial* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27 Dayton* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 30 Crosby* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 3 Barbers Hill* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 6 Galena Park* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 CE King* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 13 North Forest* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 17 Goose Creek Memorial 7:30 p.m.
home games in bold
* denotes District 19-4A games
Looking for more?
The Kingwood boys basketball preview is currently available on our website, www.kingwoodobserver.com, and will run in next week’s edition of The Observer.
Competing on the 4A level for the first time, the Panthers will go into battle with a young roster. With no seniors on the team, Kingwood Park fans might have cause to be nervous, but head coach Dominic Amorosa said he does not think that will be a problem.
“We have four guys who played extensively last year,” he said. “Three of those four guys were all-district performers. We don’t ever talk about the fact we don’t have seniors. We just think that by the time we get to district we should be fine.”
Last year, the Panthers went 15-15 overall with a 7-5 record in District 22-3A. Jake Powell, Kingwood Park’s leading scorer and rebounder in 2007-2008, moved to Missouri in the off-season.
So with no clear go-to guy, Amorosa said he will use the pre-district schedule to figure out which lineups will work for his team.
“It’s really important for us,” Amorosa said. “We’re sort of experimenting with who’s going to be playing in January. We’re experimenting with a wide variety of lineups and playing a wide variety of teams.”
Jordan Quillian is the guy most likely to take Powell’s place in the offensive stat sheet for the Panthers. Amorosa said Quillian has the ability to score from both the inside and the outside.
“Jordan is just an all-around scorer,” Amorosa said. “He can take the ball to the basket, he can post, shoot a good jump shot.”
For the most part, the Panthers will employ a motion offense, which means that point guard play will be pivotal to the team’s success. Kingwood Park’s primary point guard, Alex Ritter, is just a sophomore, but Amorosa said he will be more than capable of setting up the offense.
“[Ritter] just gets us started,” Amorosa said. “He doesn’t do too much in terms of the stat sheet, but he’s a second coach on the floor. He’s starting to find his shot, he’s shooting when he’s open.”
Amorosa also said Ritter has improved on his outside shot during the off-season. Alongside Ryan Croy, the Panthers hope that they can develop a consistent perimeter shooting duo in the back court.
Kolby Chandler will man the post for Kingwood Park. Amorosa said he thinks Chandler will provide a solid inside presence.
“Kolby has a chance to be a dominant post man,” Amorosa said. “He’s about 6-5 and he’ll get a little stronger, but he’s got a chance to be a really good post player.”
On the defensive end, the Panthers play mostly man-to-man. Amorosa said his team is good at forcing bad shots but must do a better job at rebounding.
“We’ve got to improve on finishing possessions, finishing rebounds and blocking out,” he said. “We do a good job contesting shots, we do a decent job limiting penetration, but we get hammered on the glass.”
KINGWOOD PARK BOYS BASKETBALL 2008-2009 SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
Dec. 2 Baytown Sterling 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 4-6 Katy ISD Varsity Tournament TBA
Dec. 9 Caney Creek 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 11-13 Hardin-Jefferson Tournament TBA
Dec. 15 Dekaney 7 p.m.
Dec. 19 Dayton* 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 30 Houston Yates 7 p.m.
Jan. 2 Huffman 3 p.m.
Jan. 6 Crosby* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 9 Barbers Hill* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 13 Galena Park* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 16 CE King* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 North Forest* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 23 Goose Creek Memorial* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27 Dayton* 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 30 Crosby* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 3 Barbers Hill* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 6 Galena Park* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 CE King* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 13 North Forest* 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 17 Goose Creek Memorial 7:30 p.m.
home games in bold
* denotes District 19-4A games
Looking for more?
The Kingwood boys basketball preview is currently available on our website, www.kingwoodobserver.com, and will run in next week’s edition of The Observer.
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