The Gladiators' season: Competitive, exciting, a little short

Goshen —The Goshen Gladiator boys basketball team ended its season on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Middletown High School. For better or worse the game was a fitting ending to a season that saw numerous exciting and close contests. The Gladiators were unfortunately on the short end of many of those contests this year, finishing with an overall record of 6 wins and 14 losses. They dropped this one to Middletown 51-49. Goshen’s lack of size and presence on the boards once again took its toll on the Gladiators, a team that can always be counted on to play hard and with tremendous heart. Goshen ended the season on a bit of an upswing, however, as several underclassmen stepped up big and made major contributions, leaving a bright outlook for next year’s squad. Sophomore forward Nick Skelly, Goshen’s tallest player at 6 feet 2 inches, showed a nice shooting touch from the perimeter and established himself as a force to be contended with in the middle on defense. Fellow sophomore William Green began to develop as a go-to guy in next year’s offensive scheme; he displayed a sweet jump shot and a great ability to finish around the basket. Willie’s ability to hit big shots, however, will have to be matched next year by a willingness to “hit the books” just as hard. Junior Edward Robinson came up big, earning a starting position as the season wound down. Eddie could always be counted on to play solid defense and rebound, but what really improved his play was the addition of a nice jump shot and a willingness to take more shots, something he will have to do more of in the future. The back-court for next year’s team looks very promising. Junior John Xanthis displayed great leadership, athleticism, and court savvy. The “X”-man is another player who is going to have to step up his offensive output and look to put more shots up. John Melville, another junior, had an outstanding game against Tri-Valley. He knocked down three big three pointers and played great defense in a game that the Gladiators managed to pull out a victory in, thanks greatly to the play of Melville. A. J. Zecchini, another junior guard with outstanding athletic ability and a nice shooting touch will also be counted on to supply offensive scoring punch as well as leadership. The Gladiators bid farewell to their tri-captains, J.D. Green, Kamaal Mabry, and Jerell Lucas. These three have been playing together since seventh grade and often were the heart and soul of the Gladiator offense and defense. Mabry ended up leading the team in scoring with a 17.5 points per game average. Lucas, who plays the game with the heart of a lion, also was a scoring leader for the team in many games, averaging just under 11 points per game. Jerell exploded for a career high of 38 points in an overtime loss to Monticello. If you’ve ever seen Jerell play, you can understand why people have said nobody plays the game harder. J. D. Green averaged just under 10 points per game and played the game with great enthusiasm, intelligence, and leadership. J.D. is a natural-born leader who is outspoken and respected by his teammates. He unfortunately ended the season battered and bruised, as he played through the pain of a tender knee for the last several games and suffered a severe bone bruise on his shooting hand in the Middletown game. Goshen also says goodbye to several senior role players who have contributed greatly to the team. Darrin Blake and Danny McMahon were both back-up forwards who always played hard every time they stepped on the court. Chris Johnson and Frank Valerio could always be counted on to challenge the starting guards and played the game with 100 percent effort and intensity. The season provided many highs and lows, but the Gladiators could always be relied upon to play as hard as they could, providing the Goshen faithful with a quality performance and great entertainment. This years team certainly lived up to the boys’ basketball motto: “Play hard — have fun — no excuses!”