Kravits, Vkings settled in for upcoming season
T.J. Kravits’ first year as the Mount Pleasant boys basketball coach coincided with the first year of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was chaotic, to say the least,” said Kravits. “(Dealing with the pandemic) has become the norm now. I’ll handle it differently.”
Offseason leagues were cancelled or curtailed, as were a lot of other basketball-preparation activities.聽
A certain level of normalcy returns as Kravits enters his second season.
“We played in summer league in May, and were in a fall league in September. It was nice,” explained Kravits.聽
Kravits’ transition into the varsity job last season was eased with six seniors.
“We got through last year. The good news, we had six seniors,” said Kravits, adding for this season, “My production of 50 points per game disappeared. We are not going to be as dynamic as last year.”
The Vikings finished the first half of the season with a 2-6 record, but gathered steam in the second half with a 6-2 mark.
“We were spotty at times. We got in a groove. We shot very well. We did get better in the second half of the season,” said Kravits. “Having a senior led team really helped us.”
The Vikings finished 6-5 in Section 3-AAAA and 9-9 overall, and would’ve likely made the WPIAL playoffs as the fourth place team. The district opened the playoffs to any team that opted to play, however, because of the disjointed nature of the 2020-21 season caused by the pandemic.
Mount Pleasant upended Hopewell in the preliminary round, 61-34, before losing to North Catholic in the first round, 73-47. The Trojans upset Belle Vernon to advance to the title game.
“We have go grow up fast,” said Kravits. “Belle Vernon with Whitlock, the kid’s just a winner, Daniel Gordon and Quinton Martin, they’re the favorite to win it all. Elizabeth Forward is very good.”
South Park, Uniontown, Yough and Southmoreland round out the section.
Kravits believes his squad will round into shape and be competitive in the section.
“We have some surprises come out. We have new players into the mix, but they need more time,” said Kravits.聽
Kravits believes he has a couple players to build on.
“We have a couple kids who have proved to me they can be consistent double-figure scorers,” Kravits said of Aidan Wisniewski (6-6) and Dante Giallonard (6-1).
Kravits mentioned Brayden Caletri (6-3) as a playler who benefited from playing in the offseason.
“That’s the beauty of the offseason. Brayden has long arms and will provide defensive capability. He’s a small forward and wing (guard). And, he’s come on offensively,” said Kravits.聽
Kravits expects the Vikings’ baseline players will dictate how games go.
“We don’t have enough outside shooting. We have a few offensive sets to slash and drive,” said Kravits. “We lack in overall guard play. We won’t be as strong there as we were last year.
“Cody Surma (6-6) is a natural athlete. He was recovering from a shoulder injury and missed last year. Defensively, he’ll help us inside. He’s fairly big.”
Kravits outlined to his squad his keys to success.
“Trust and belief in the system. Don’t fight it. Come to practice with stronger practice habits and come to get better. And, we have to be mentally tough. The season has ebbs and flows,” said Kravits.聽
Kravits added, “I’m hoping to be competitive enough to be .500. I want us to be consistent and battle every night. I would be really pleased to be in position at the end of the season for the playoffs.”