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[Southsider2k12]

http://blogs.post-trib.com/lazerus/2009/09...ll-a-buzea.html

Can Boyd pull a Buzea?
By
Mark Lazerus
on September 25, 2009 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
I was talking over the phone with Michigan City athletic director Robert "Bear" Falls on Wednesday afternoon for this week's TimeOut Football cover story on the football team's turnaround when football coach Craig Buzea and boys basketball coach John Boyd walked into Falls' office, one after the other.

Can't be a much better feeling as an AD than that.

Michigan City went out and lured away two of the region's most successful coaches in Buzea (from Portage) and Boyd (from West Side). Both had perennial powers. Both reached the state title game. Boyd won a championship.

Well, it took Buzea a little more than two years to turn Michigan City from a perennial doormat into a conference title contender. The Wolves are disciplined, they're hard working and they're successful -- a far cry from the bad old days, which pretty much lasted from consolidation in 1995 to Buzea's arrival.

Can Boyd do the same? MC boys hoops has never won a sectional, has just one winning season in the last eight years, and is coming off a 3-18 campaign. Buzea, who has chatted with Boyd at length about the rebuilding process, has complete confidence in his newest colleague.

"He'll be just fine," Buzea said. "He's coming in here with a lot of the same ideas and goals I did, and he's got his own ideas and plans, too. He's a proven winner. People are excited, and I'm sure he'll be very successful."

[Southsider2k12]

I did get out and take in the first half of the scrimmage with the kids and wife. I am a lot more optimistic about this season than I was by simply looking at who was coming back after watching the play last night.

First of all, looking at the players who are coming back this year for the Wolves, it really struck me that a lot of the kids put in a lot of work on their games over the summer. Looking specifically at Washington, McCormick, and Knight, their shooting and their size is a lot better this year. I think Carlos McCormick put on about three inches and 20 pounds over the last year. All three of them showed very nice three point shots during the scrimmage, which none of them had last year.

They did get a couple more football players out this year, including Rodney Washington and Phil Taylor. Washington played a solid contributing role, but Taylor literally jumped out of this group as a guy who has an impressive and VERY quick leap to his game. He is listed at 6'2", but he was taking down shots of players much bigger than him. He is off of the floor so fast, you have to get a shot up in the first motion, or he is taking it down.

Adam Harmon also showed off an improved outside game, to go along with his tenacious defense and strength at the basket. He looks like the same guy who really led this team last year.

Grady Byrnes seems to be getting a shot to play at C as far as I can tell. He is 6'7", but not very big, showing up at 215 on the statsheet. He did show a decent low post move though, off of the block.

Another thing I was impressed with was the seamless addition of transfers Reggie Clay and Alajowon Edwards to the team. These were two of the three kids that moved to Michigan City to stay working under Coach John Boyd. Both of them showed some pretty nice scoring ability, which is something that City had a lot of trouble doing consistently last year.

Three guys did not play last night, who are supposed to play key roles on the team this year, including 6'5" players Trevor Woolum and James Sanders, along with the other transfer, Taylor Lavery. Lavery is a sophomore who is supposed to be an incredible threat from the outside.

Going into last night I was really thinking this would be a 5-6 win team depending on how they grew up and if they could get any size into the program. After last night, I really saw some impressive athleticism and some hard working defenses. They are not afraid to get after is, including a spot where two players literally wrestled each other for a loose ball, and another where two guys both jumped to try to save a ball from out of bounds. If guys are willing to hustle that hard in an intra-squad game, it bodes well for the regular season. The biggest improvement I saw was the shooting of the team. Last years team had major problems from both outside and inside. Their biggest offense was getting Harmon going to the hole and seeing what could be created from that. This year the guards seem to be much better shooters and drivers. I'm still worried about the front line, but they might be able to overcome things. I don't know that I am ready to make a prediction yet, because three key players didn't play, and I want to see the team play together against an opponent, but I am very encouraged by what I saw.