Becker takes over Pioneers as Romanus departs
Rob Burchianti
Jim Romanus ended a long, successful coaching career that spanned 48 years, including 14 leading West Greene’s boys basketball team, after last season.
Those are big shoes for Billy Becker to fill.
Becker, a Waynesburg Central graduate, is in the midst of his first head coaching job as he takes over for Romanus in guiding the Pioneers. He inherited a team with two returning senior starters in 6-foot-8 center Matt Wassil and 5-7 point guard Darren Knight.
“We did lose a lot of production from last year,” Becker said. “So far through the preseason we’ve leaned on Matt and Darren and also Will Shipman who was the sixth man last year. They’ve stepped up and have been leading the charge.
“I really expect a big year from Matt Wassil.”
Wassil, a three-year starter, is a force to be reckoned with inside.
“There aren’t any big rah-rah guys on the team, most of them lead by example, but Matt is probably the most vocal of the seniors,” Becker said. “Matt is one of the hardest workers I’ve been around. He worked his butt off in the offseason for football and got bigger and stronger. I think he’s kind of a natural leader and always goes about things the right way.”
Knight, also a three-year starter, will run the offense.
“Darren’s a good ball handler and a good lead guard,” Becker said. “When the offense is breaking down that’s where I want the ball, in his hands to get things back on track.”
Shipman, also a senior, will join Wassil and Knight in the starting lineup.
“Will is a tough kid who plays good defense,” Becker said. “The other two starters are probably Chaucer Von Scio and Landen Hill. They’re juniors who mostly played JV last year. They put in a lot of work this summer and they’ve both impressed so far.”
Becker cited a trio of other players he expects to be in the rotation.
“Bret Scott is a freshman who plays really hard and I like his game a lot,” Becker said. “He’s really improved since we started. Joey Blair, who is a junior, and Brent Harris, who is a sophomore, are two others that are going to see some minutes.
“I got lucky for my first job in that I’ve got good kids that do the right things.”
The Pioneers went 13-8 overall in Romanus’ final year and finished in a three-way tie with Jefferson-Morgan and Fort Cherry for second place in Section 3-2A behind Chartiers-Houston with a 10-4 record. West Greene handed the Bucs their only section loss.
Rounding out the section are Beth-Center, Carmichaels, Burgettstown and Mapletown.
“Right now we’re just trying to get ourselves straightened out, but I did take a look at the section for this season,” Becker said. “There are some good teams there. Char-Houston is always well coached. Jefferson brings a lot back. Fort Cherry is well coached with some good kids back. There aren’t easy games in this section.”
West Greene has never won a section championship in boys basketball and the Pioneers will continue to strive to end that drought under Becker.
“I’ve been preaching to the kids that our goal should be to win the section and that should be the goal every year,” Becker said. “That’s what I’ve tried to instill in them. That’s what we practice for everyday. But at the same time I know that’s not going to be easy. I just want the kids to come in work hard and get better each day.”
As for replacing Romanus, the coaching change has gone smoothly, according to Becker.
“It wasn’t as hard as some might think. I was on the football coaching staff, too, so a lot of the kids already knew me,” Becker said. “Coach Romanus was there for a lot of years and he did things a certain way and I might not do everything the same exact way so there’s been a few changes. but for the most part I think it’s been a pretty good transition.
“I’m a big believer in man-to-man so that’s one major difference. We’ve been working all summer on our man defense, how to rotate, help off your defender.”
Becker prefers to play an up-tempo style.
“I like to push the pace. I’m not a big fan of walking the ball up the court,” Becker said. “I don’t really like to press but we can do that if we need to. I think the press leads to more breakdowns on defense than anything.
“Offensively, if we’re in the halfcourt I like to run the pick-and-roll. Landen and Chaucer are probably our best outside shooters. Shipman is also a good shooter. Darren is a very good mid-range shooter. I tell the kids if they’re open let it fly. I’m never going to be mad at taking an open shot. We’re going to try to spread the defense out and work the ball inside to Matt.”
The Pioneers open section play on Dec. 16 at Mapletown.