Saratoga transitions to small ball, coach calls for high-volume shooting

Saratoga men’s basketball is trading in their set offense geared toward a short bench and big post players for a shiny, new game plan that relies on quickness and chemistry.

“It’s not easy going from a set offense to a motion offense because there’s no set rules,” head coach Josh Sandlian said. “The kids are working hard to overcome that right now ... they’re getting pretty frustrated, but I think it’s going to be beneficial to them.”

Big men Zach Miller and Thomas Koenig both graduated in the spring, taking their combined 19.5 points and 17.9 rebounds with them. At times, Sandlian was exasperated with his team for not running the offense, so he is hoping a more free-form style of play will suit his players well in the long term.

Sandlian does expect some growing pains.

“It could add to (their turnovers), but it’s just like football; the more you can take away the thinking part of the game and just have a kid react, the better it’s going to be,” Sandlian said. “Right now, they’re thinking too much, but once they start reacting to the ball and understanding the basic fundamentals of the motion offense, I think we’ll be successful.”

Saratoga averaged 16 turnovers per game to just 6.8 steals, a number Sandlian knows the team has to cut down to 10 or 12 to stay competitive in a tough conference. The Panthers 9-14 overall, but were just 2-7 in 2A Southeast.

“If you go back and look at our stats, you’ll see the games we limited turnovers to 10 or 12, those were the games we won or were close,” Sandlian said. “Let those turnovers climb to 20-25, and we struggled pretty good.”

Sandlian hopes to use all 10 guys to close that turnover gap. He wants a quick rotation off the bench to stay in opponents’ faces using a half-court, man-to-man defense.

“We are going to try and be so annoying defensively that they get tired,” Sandlian said. “Now that we’ve got five kids, we can bring them out and keep after people. We haven’t really had that in the past.”

Sandlian expects that depth to help his run-and-gun offense from losing steam in the second and third quarters like Saratoga did at points last season. After picking up four straight wins to start the season, the Panthers went on an 11-game skid - including four games lost by a combined 10 points.

Saratoga rallied with another four-win streak, including two crucial conference wins against Southeast and Pine Bluffs. The two keys in those wins: protecting the ball and taking quality shots.

“I want to see kids run the ball and not being hesitant,” Sandlian said. “I keep telling them, if you’ve got a good shot that’s in your range, you need to take it.”

Saratoga put up 45.6 points per game last season, a number Sandlian expects to see rise this year. He wants to see his team put up 60 or 70 shots a game.

Sandlian expects each player to be able to play any position on the floor in order to make the offense work.

“We don’t have that 6’2”, 6’3” kid, our tallest kid is 6’1”, and that helps, but we’re pretty uniform across our height - about 5’10” across the board,” Sandlian said. “We’ve got a bunch of kids - all athletic, capable - just need them to step up.”

Key among those athletes is going to be the play of seniors Ben Gates, who played guard last year, and Jake Fourman.

Gates was a big part of last year’s offense, averaging 10.8 points per game on 38 percent shooting, but Fourman is going to play a much bigger role this year.

“Each year, Jake has seen a little more playing time, and this year he’s going to see a lot of playing time, but he needs to be under control,” Sandlian said. “He’s one of our quickest kids, and we need him to touch the ball a little more because I think he can beat some guys off the dribble, but it’s like a kid going from eighth to ninth grade. It’s not middle school basketball anymore, you’re a senior, you’re expected to be a leader.”

Junior Ryan Malone will also see a lot more playing time. The quick guard was tied for second in steals on the team last season, and he was also one of Saratoga’s best free throw shooters.

While Saratoga’s starting lineup will be all upperclassmen, the plan for a high-octane offense means plenty of younger players need to be ready to spell their teammates.

“Getting them comfortable playing varsity level, that’s a big key. It also helps continue to develop your program, too,” Sandlian said. “As coaches, we need to do a better job of preparing kids to handle that pressure so they have the confidence to play night in and night out.”