The Builder: Romanus resurrects Pioneers basketball program as he did at J-M
West Greene coach Jim Romanus shouts instructions to his players during a game this season. (Photo by Lori C. Padilla)
West Greene蘑菇视频 Nathan Brudnock puts up a shot while being defended by Geibel Catholic蘑菇视频 JJ Lally during a Section 2-A game on Dec. 18 at Geibel Catholic. (Photo by Lori C. Padilla)
West Greene蘑菇视频 Drew Wise defends Geibel Catholic蘑菇视频 Enzo Fetsko during a Section 2-A game on Dec. 18 at Geibel Catholic.
Jim Romanus has been coaching high school basketball for 43 of the 45 years he蘑菇视频 been a teacher so he knows what it takes to have success.
Romanus once built a Jefferson-Morgan boys program from rock bottom into a WPIAL playoff team that once even defeated Monessen in the postseason and won a PIAA game. He spent 20 years as head coach of the Rockets.
After a four-year stint as head coach of the West Greene girls, Romanus took over a floundering West Greene boys program in 2011 and, despite a rocky start this season, has turned the Pioneers into an annual postseason contender.
West Greene went a combined 2-39 overall and 1-23 in section play in Romanus鈥� first two years at the helm of the boys team. The tide began to turn in year three when the Pioneers went 8-14 and 5-7 in section play.
West Green finally broke through during the 2015-16 season, posting a winning overall record (12-9) and an 8-4 mark in the section, good enough for third place and a spot in the WPIAL playoffs, where is lost to powerful Vincentian Academy, 81-46.
The winning trend continued the next season as the Pioneers went 13-8 overall and 6-4 in a strong section that included Monessen and California, finishing third to earn a return trip to the postseason. This time West Greene was much more competitive, falling to Eden Christian, 46-35, in the first round. That team was led by Craig Weaver, who now plays for Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Last year a tough non-section schedule left Romanus鈥� squad with an 8-15 overall record but they again placed third in the section, this time behind Monessen and Clairton, with a 6-4 mark. It was the Pioneers鈥� third consecutive season with a winning section record. This time West Greene fought an Imani Christian team down to the wire before succumbing, 46-39.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been closing the gap,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淭hree years ago we got into the playoffs and Vincentian killed us. The next year we played Eden Christian and we were tight for three quarters and then they pulled away in the fourth quarter. Last year against Imani we hung with them the whole game.鈥�
Imani Christian went on to defeat Monessen in the quarterfinals.
This season, injuries and a young squad led to a 2-5 overall start and a 1-2 record in Section 2-A for West Greene.
There is no reason to panic if you鈥檙e a West Greene fan, though. Romanus has built a solid foundation for the program. There蘑菇视频 still a long way to go this season and even if West Greene does wind up having a down year, the future is still bright for the Pioneers.
Romanus has some long-term goals for the program.
鈥淥ur school has never won a section title in boys basketball and we鈥檝e only won one playoff game, back in the early 1990s,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淪omeday we would like get that section title, but our goal is always to make the playoffs and we鈥檇 like to start doing some damage for once.鈥�
Romanus discussed his thoughts on building a successful program at the end of last season after a section win at Avella.
鈥淭he program overall I think is in good shape,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e all on the same page. We understand the blueprint for a school like us, a rural school, to be successful. That is we have to play defense. That蘑菇视频 what we hang our hat on. We work real hard at all the little things.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a very organized team. We have sets that we run, different kinds, all of our inbounds are organized. We basically don鈥檛 let our kids play street ball, which is something that they want to do, but we stop it.
鈥淚 think it蘑菇视频 really important if you鈥檙e going to build a program, it蘑菇视频 got to be from the foundation up, in terms of you鈥檝e got to get the ball in the post, you鈥檝e got to play from the post out. For a team like us, it蘑菇视频 got to be ball movement, player movement, screening. Everything we do, offensively, is that. No matter where I鈥檝e gone, it蘑菇视频 been ball movement, player movement, screening.鈥�
The section is top heavy again this year with Monessen and now Bishop Canevin, and also includes improved Geibel Catholic and Avella teams and a youthful, up-and-coming Jefferson-Morgan squad.
The Pioneers faced two important games the week before Christmas.
They lost at Geibel (4-2, 2-1) on Dec. 18, 67-54, as Ryan Anderson scored 23 points and Cole Kendall added 22 points, including 18 and four 3-pointers in the second half. Nathan Brudnock led West Greene and tied for game-high honors with 23 points.
Brudnock got West Greene off to a fast start in scoring the game蘑菇视频 first six points, as the Pioneers held a 13-11 lead after one period. West Greene continued to control the game in the second period, outscoring the Gator,s 14-13. Austin Crouse scored six of his 21 points in the second to help the Pioneers to a 27-24 lead at the half.
鈥淏rudnock and Crouse did a great job for us tonight. They know how to play the game,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淕eibel is a good team and when they shoot the ball well, they鈥檙e tough to beat.鈥�
In the third period, Kendall got hot and helped the Gators turn the momentum. Geibel surged to a 46-33 lead after three periods and West Greene couldn鈥檛 make up any ground in the final frame.
鈥淓arly on our game plan was really good,鈥� Romanus said. 鈥淲hen Geibel started hitting their shots in the second half, it forced us to extend our defense. We played a lot of young kids and they had a little trouble tonight.鈥�
That meant the Pioneers faced an almost must-win situation against visiting Avella last Friday night and Romanus鈥� squad finally began to hit on all cylinders as it trounced the Eagles, 74-31.
Brudnock outscored Avella (2-5, 1-1) by himself with an outstanding 34-point outburst and made it a double-double with 12 rebounds. Ben Jackson contributed nine points and 10 boards for West Greene, which put 10 players on the scoring sheet.
West Greene jumped out to a 20-9 lead in the first period then exploded to a 21-3 advantage in the second to go up 41-12 at halftime.
That leaves the Pioneers just one-half game out of the fourth and final playoff spot heading into January. An unprecedented fourth straight trip to the postseason for West Greene certainly isn鈥檛 out of the question with Romanus running the show.