On The Court

VALLEY AT NO. 17 WARSAW

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. tonight at the Tiger Den

COACHES: Gregg Sciarra (Valley), Al Rhodes (Warsaw)

RECORDS: Valley 1-0, Warsaw 1-0

LAST GAME: Valley 65, Glenn 53; Warsaw 63, E. Central 59 (OT)

MATCHUP: ...This Kosciusko County rivalry pits an inexperienced Warsaw team against a veteran Valley group. The young Tigers didn't handle the ball well against Elkhart Central (30 turnovers), but still managed to play good enough defense to win, causing 25 turnovers. Warsaw needs to handle the ball better against the Vikings' pressure defense. Valley must stay out of foul trouble - the Vikings used only three players off the bench in their first game. Will Valley be able to rebound with Warsaw, and will Valley be able to handle 6-foot-5 Tom Krizmanich and 6-6 Luke Reed inside? JayDee Parker, who came off the bench to score 15 against Glenn, is Valley's tallest player at 6-3.

GAME TALK:

Sciarra... "That (staying out of foul trouble) will be a big item. Warsaw will generally try to isolate people and get you in trouble. We must be disciplined defensively. They pose matchup problems. (Tyler) Charlton is very, very strong. Offensively, he has the ability to post up. Defensively, he's very aggressive. He can help double-team, or he can shut you down one-on-one. (P.J.) Wiley is one of the quicker guards around. Throw in a couple of their players at 6-6 or whatever. We will have to contend with that. The passing lanes will be closed off quicker (than against Glenn). That's a concern. We're going to try to do some things that will hopefully keep them off balance."

Rhodes..."What we want to do in the Valley game is show improvement in our offensive execution. As we move forward, we must play better as a five-man unit. We have to have better screens and better ball movement."

WHITKO AT COLUMBIA CITY

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. tonight at Columbia City

COACHES: Dave Henson (Whitko), Chris Benedict (Columbia City)

1995-1996 RECORDS: Whitko 17-6, Columbia City 10-11

LAST GAME: This is the first game of the season for both teams.

MATCHUP:... Columbia City is a young team this season. Last year's top scorers, Christian Heritier and Scott Richmond, have graduated. Five-foot-eight junior guard Chad Graves is the only returning starter, and he scored 2.3 points per game last year. The top returning scorer is 6-4 Chris Joy, who scored 6.9 points and pulled down 5.4 rebounds per game as a reserve. Whitko is a deep team, and that could play a role early in the season. Dave Henson is willing to play 10 or 11 of his players, and he doesn't feel the talent drops off by bringing any of them in. Columbia City will have to find a way to contain Zach Henson, who averaged 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists a game last year. He scored 19 of Whitko's 31 points in the Warsaw Jamboree.

GAME TALK:

Henson... "We really haven't seen them at all, so we don't know what to expect. (Matt) Moore's back from last year, and so is Joy. I think those are the only two with much experience. This will be new for them, new for us. We've been preparing too better ourselves. We'll use a lot of kids tonight, try a lot of combinations. We're taking 13 kids over there, and I expect all 13 to see action. "

Benedict... "I think Whitko has great size, versatility and a great number of players who can play. (Zach) Henson is a very good player. We're concerned with him. They are an aggressive team that goes to the boards hard, and that's a concern for us. They have such a great winning tradition. We have some quickness we can utilize, and we hope that will work to our advantage. At the same time, they present problems for us sizewise. The team that can put together 32 minutes of consistent play early in the season usually comes out on top."

FW WAYNE AT MANCHESTER

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. tonight at North Manchester

COACHES: Murray Mendenhall (Wayne), Gary Goshert (Manchester)

1995-1996 RECORDS: Wayne 11-10, Manchester 16-7

LAST GAME: This is the first game of the season for both teams.

MATCHUP:...Wayne will give Manchester problems with its height. Wayne can start a frontcourt of 6-3 Ben Corley, 6-4 Billy Royal and 6-6 Travis Royal. The Squires have only one returning starter taller than 5-11, 6-3 Jake Peden. Raymond Walker, a 5-9 point guard, is Wayne's leading returning scorer at 13.9 points per game. Billy Royal scored 12 per game and Corley 10 per game. Manchester's leading returning scorers are guard Brandon Reimer and Peden, who each scored just over 7 per game.

GAME TALK:

Mendenhall... "Obviously, when you play young kids the year before, you will have a lot of kids back. And some of those kids have played pretty well the last couple of years for us. We hope (our height) gives them problems, but they do have (Chris) Enyeart at 6-4 and (Jake) Peden at 6-3. We have some kids in that size range, but it's not like we're gigantic. If you look at successful high school teams through the years, you have to have good guard play. You have to have guards who can handle the ball, shoot the ball, get the ball to the forwards, get it to the open man and make free throws. (The Reimers, Brandon and Rex) are certainly good guards for Manchester. I saw the sophomore (Rex) at the jamboree, and I'm impressed with him."

Goshert... "We've seen some video on them, talked to some people. We're well aware that they're potentially one of the top teams in the SAC. They have excellent size, excellent athletic players who are skilled. They have three starters who are back from last year. Walker has been playing varsity since he was a freshman. He brings experience and that settling influence. They have an extremely big kid, 6-6 (Adrian) Williams inside. He's a good player off last year's JV squad. They have a blue-collar player in Corley. (Travis) Royal is a 6-4 forward. They have those four, and they can start another 6-4 player with the ability to shoot the ball. Or, they can start those four and go with a 5-11 player who is a strong defender. They have a good mesh as far as being able to score from the perimeter and being able to score inside. When you think about those things, it's obvious why they are considered one of the best teams in Fort Wayne."