January 22, 2018 By Chris Varney
The Grinnell boys basketball team is going through a rough season, one of their toughest in recent memory. On Friday, the Tigers lost to Pella 72-40 to fall to 0-13 on the season.
The fact is that the Tigers do not have as much basketball talent as the Dutch or the other teams in the Little Hawkeye Conference. That has not changed the fact that these boys are working hard, playing hard and trying their best. Grinnell has had to play most of the season without their leading scorer Ethan Mitchell and when Mitchell is playing, he is finding it hard to score with a lot of hands in his face. Sophomore Jake Hull had to take up the slack while Mitchell was sidelined and has had to learn a new roll of playing more inside then the past. Freshmen Cole McGriff and A.J. Wilkins have shown some promise this year but it is not easy to go from middle school basketball to high school varsity. Both players have shown flashes of offensive prowess but the shooting consistency is not there yet. It will.
Grinnell does not have the size and experience to be able to stay with the tough teams that play in the LHC. On Friday night, Pella exposed the lack of size in the middle. Other teams have exposed other flaws on both offense and defense. There is some talent here but it is raw and inexperienced. Give the boys credit — they show up for practice every day, they show up for each and every game and no one can question their effort. They are trying.
In the meantime, Head Coach Scott Sharp is taking a lot of heat for the team’s struggles. Believe me, nobody wants this team to win more than Coach Sharp. Sharp has a strong track record of winning and this season does not change that. A lot of coaches go through the same thing in high school sports. In 2012, the North Mahaska girls went 28-0 and won a state title. Three years later, Head Coach L.E. Moore’s team won just 4 games. This year, the Warhawks are back at the top — 16-0 and ranked third in the state. The Oskaloosa boys team won only 6 games 2 years ago, now they are the best team in the state. It certainly helps having a front line of 6’11”, 6’9″ and 6’5″. Grinnell does not have that right now.
Everybody sees what the Grinnell girls team is doing this year but forgets that 6 years ago, the girls only won 4 games. That same year, the Tiger boys won 21 games and went to the state tournament — the first of three straight trips to the Well. In the cycle of basketball, the Grinnell boys are on the bottom part of their cycle.
Its very simple — blaming someone and getting angry does not help anything. It only puts fuel on the fire. It is not easy to develop a basketball team in the toughest conference in Class 3A and with one of the toughest schedules in the state. When your team is struggling, you go back to the gym, you figure out your weaknesses, and you work hard to correct them and get better. Sometimes it takes a short time; sometimes it takes longer. In the meantime, let’s be a little more patient and positive instead of pointing fingers.