BY GREG MENGELT
Charlestown coach Tony Hall isn’t bashful. He tells it like he sees it, and this year he envisions championships for his Pirates.
His squad consists of four returning starters from last year’s 10-12 club, and he expects vast improvement during the 2009-10 season.
“I think we’re going to put the best team on the court that we have for the last three years,” said Hall, who is 169-115 in 12 season as the Pirates’ leader. “I think we have a chance to cut down some nets. That’s our motto: CSN — cut some nets. We feel like we have a great chance to compete for a holiday tournament championship. We feel like we can be a contender for the Mid-Southern Conference and in our 3A sectional.”
Last season, the Pirates finished tied for fourth in the MSC but lost in the first round of the Charlestown Holiday Tournament to Silver Creek and were knocked off by North Harrison in the Sectional 31 semifinal.
Senior guard Amanda Miller, who led Charlestown at nearly 15 points per game last season, believes the Pirates can overcome back-to-back losing seasons to become champions.
“Of course, we do. We have the same team coming back and we’ve improved a lot. It’s definitely accomplishable,” Miller said. “We want to be conference champs, win the holiday tournament, then sectional champs and hopefully move on from there.”
Charlestown is only three seasons removed from back-to-back-to-back sectional championships. Those teams dominated with their inside play. If the Pirates are going to repeat that success, they will have to do it with perimeter play, Hall said.
The perimeter play starts with Miller, who scored 322 points last season and needs 322 more to become the fourth 1,000-point scorer under Hall. The key may be Miller’s ability to become more selfish, which is what Hall wants.
“We’re expecting big things for Amanda,” he said. “Hopefully, she wants to put big numbers on the board. We’re going to give her every chance to, but I had to rip her tail the other day about being more vocal, being a mother hen, taking charge. It’s her team.”
Miller, who shot a school record 84 percent from the foul line last season, is joined in the backcourt by Alicia Zollman and Brittany Bennison. Both averaged more than five points per contest last season.
Of Zollman, who averaged 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists last season, Hall said, “She’s a battler. She’s done real well. I’m proud of her.”
Hall called junior guard Jenah Sherrill his hardest-working player. Her work ethic, which produced 1,700 made shots during open gym in the summer, has made her the Pirates’ sharpest shooter.
“She’s going to surprise a lot of people with her outside shot,” Hall said.
On the inside, Charlestown will rely heavily on senior Laci Williams.
“Lacy has gotten better every year,” Hall said. “She still has a tendency not to finish, and we’re working on that, but she’s going to give us a lot of presence in the post.”
Charlestown may also get a boost in the second half of the senior from anther senior. Morgan Allen is expected back from her second ACL injury some time in December.
