The Struthers boys basketball team has seen quite a turnaround from last season.
The Wildcats have posted 14 victories in the 2009-10 campaign, which doubles their win total from a year ago. This year's team admitted that last season was tough, and are ecstatic about their current 14-2 record.
"After last season it was rough," Senior Matt Durkin said, "and, we knew something had to change. So in the summer we worked hard, we got in the weight room, we ran on the track."
Junior Nate Jacubec agreed: "anybody who starts out 14-2, you're going to be real excited, especially from what we were last year."
"I always thought we could win, but I didn't expect it to be like this," Senior Nick Ragan added. "it's amazing."
It will be even more amazing if the team walks away with the conference championship. Struthers is undefeated in league action, with just three games remaining.
"Our coach always told us to look up at the sign over there where it says the last time we did that was in 1999," Ragan said. "So, it's just something that we've been looking forward to and it would be amazing to put that up on the board over there."
"We haven't won our conference in a while, and I really think that this year, if we could bring it back to Struthers, it would help us," Senior Nick Jacubec said.
The players consider themselves part of a big Wildcat family. You wont, however, see any sibling rivalry or jealousy when they hit the court.
Coach Joe Savko said the Nate Jacubec is a great player, but they don't go out of their way to make sure he scores.
"We have probably one of the best players in the area in Nate Jacubec, who's averaging over 20 points, but we don't run any sets for him," Savko said. "They go out and play basketball, and they all feed off each other, and they all make shots."
"I think it's more of a family, because last year we got rid of some of the negative attitudes, and this year we just came out, knowing we would be good from the beginning," Nick Jacubec said.
"There's no fighting," Ragan said. "Everyone just loves being around each other. I almost don't want it to end. I wish I could come back next year. I'm just happy to be a part of it, and glad we brought success to Struthers for once."
Tuesday the Wildcats play host to Salem in an All-American White conference matchup. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
