Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
PERU - The voice of first-year Manchester coach Gary Goshert could be heard all the way up to the top of the bleachers on the other side of the court.
"Pressure, pressure," he yelled. "C'mon, c'mon, get out here," he said, pleading with his players to extend the defense out to halfcourt. "Help him, help him."
After an 11-10 loss to Blackford in the first quarter, his team heard his message loud and clear in its second quarter of the Peru Jamboree.
The Squires rebounded to beat Caston 18-6. Their defense held Caston scoreless for the first five minutes as they sprinted out to an 11-0 lead. They double-teamed the low post, their help defense was close to flawless, every Caston pass challenged. Many were deflected and turned into easy transition baskets.
The Squires finished with more than 10 steals in their two quarters of play in Tuesday's eight-quarter Peru Jamboree. Brandon Reimer and Chris Enyeart paced the defense with three each.
This is the defense Goshert hopes to see every night. Like last year, plain old hustle, especially on defense, will mean a lot to this Manchester team.
The second quarter of play left Goshert upbeat.
"The first quarter, I thought we were a little unaggressive defensively and didn't recognize situations very well," he said. "As the quarter ticked on, we seemed to do a little better, especially at the defensive end of the floor. Offensively, I thought we acted kind of hurriedly.
"The second quarter, I thought it was good to see us pick up where we left off. It was the same thing defensively. We were tuned in a little more, recognized situations a little better. Offensively, in the few halfcourt situations we had, I thought we were a little more patient."
Eric Swan led Manchester with nine points in two quarters, and Brandon Reimer, Rex Reimer and Enyeart added four each.
The help on defense against Caston just may have pleased Goshert more than anything else.
"That's what I mean by recognition," he said. "People away from the ball really help make your defense. It's hard to guard someone one-on-one with no help."
The jamboree was good for Goshert himself. He's at a new school with a new team, and this is the first time his team has performed in public.
"This is probably more valuable to me than a lot of coaches, because of me being new here and not knowing the kids any better than what I do as a first-year coach," he said. "It's a pretty neat situation for me.
Afterward, Goshert was saying let's play two - as in two more quarters. Playing against the same people in practice every day gets old. The jamboree also gave Goshert the chance to scout Northfield, Southwood and North Miami, teams he never had to prepare for when he previously coached at Wawasee.
"You'd maybe like to play a couple more quarters, but it was good to get out there and play somebody different," he said.
