With no star-studded post players on this year’s roster, the San Benito High boys’ basketball team has had to reinvent itself this season.
So far, so good. The Haybalers (9-1) are off to one of their best starts in recent memory, taking first place in the Cupertino Shootout and the Luis Scattini Palma tournament and third in the Lynbrook Winter Hoops Classic.
“We’ve never won the Cupertino tournament, so that’s something we’re proud of,” San Benito coach David Kaplansky said. “When you look at the personnel of our team, we’re trying to play fast.”
It shows. San Benito is averaging 14 more points per game than it did last season when it finished 21-4. The Balers, who next play on Jan. 2, have morphed from a halfcourt team to a squad that generates most of its offense off dribble-drive penetration.
“Coach has given us a lot of freedom offensively to take the guy in front of you and beat him off the dribble,” senior guard R.J. Collins said. “Guys like Robbie Skinner and Shraee Harrison are really taking advantage of the mismatches this offense has given us.”
Calling this year’s group the “most athletic I’ve had by far,” Kaplansky made ball-handling and attacking the basket a point of emphasis for his players to improve on in the offseason.
San Benito plays at a controlled but frenetic tempo, spacing the floor at all times to create a plethora of opportunities for one-on-one matchups and get to the basket off dribble penetration. Sharing the ball with precision, the Balers often create mismatches during the majority of their possessions.
“We’re using our athleticism to get to the rim, and we’re getting balanced scoring, which is the key to this offense,” Kaplansky said. “We’re trying to get all five guys in sync so it’s hard to prepare against us.”
The Balers have had a number of standout performers this season, including Skinner, Harrison, Tony Diaz and sharpshooter Hyram Miskin, who leads the team at 14.3 points per game.
San Benito has also received a boost from Collins, the team’s de facto defensive stopper. Collins always guards the opponents’ best offensive guard or forward.
“R.J. has been by far our toughest and most physical player,” Kaplansky said. “He’s led us with his enthusiasm and effort, and he’s been our defensive stopper.”
That’s a role Collins doesn’t take for granted.
“It’s a great challenge and gives you a sense of pride if you can slow down the other team’s best scorer,” Collins said. “My role on the team is to bring energy and get the team going any way I can.”
The Balers have made a seamless transition from slow pace to high tempo basketball, taking advantage of their athleticism and talent. Their one hiccup this season came in the team’s second game of the Lynbrook tournament, a 57-49 loss to Prospect-San Jose.
“Prospect challenged us with their big 6-6 kid, and I think that will be our Achilles’ heel, matching up with larger teams,” Kaplansky said. “They came out really fast and punched us in the face.”
To that end, Kaplansky said boxing out and working some of the newcomers from the football team — including backup point guard Andrew Sotelo — into the mix will be some of the priorities in practice this week.
“We lost some key possessions giving up offensive rebounds (in some of our games),” Kaplansky said. “So we’ll work on that and also get some more guys back in the flow of things. I would like to get a nine-player rotation, and looking forward to getting Andrew back. He’s the future of our team in terms of running the offense.”
San Benito’s offense has been humming this season, thanks to players such as Harrison, a standout sophomore wing.
“Shraee has really given us a shot in the arm with his athleticism and effort,” Kaplansky said. “I think it’s the coach’s job to cater to your personnel, so we’ve made a system that really matches up well with ours. We don’t have guys who play with their back to the basket, but we do have players who like to square guys up and try to create off the dribble, and so far it’s done well.”
