Stopped in to chat with Jason Weaver the other night at Salisbury. Weaver is one of the rising stars in the local coaching ranks. Soft-spoken, low-key guy, but he gets his message across to his players
The former Saucon Valley product has graduated a lot of talented players in recent years, but has kept Salisbury at a high level.
It looks like more of the same this year, and I must say that I am glad that the Bill Paulik logo is back on the court at Salisbury. After that wonderful ceremony a couple of years ago, that recognition should be front and center. It was missing last year after the floor had to be replaced, but it's back and that's good news.
I think Bill Paulik, whose first game as head coach at Salisbury was 50 years ago (it was postponed by the Kennedy assassination), would like this current Falcons team which will scrap and claw every night.
Unfortunately for this program, they are in the Colonial League's toughest division and also are a 3A program, which will make districts a difficult road to navigate with Central Catholic and Bethlehem Catholic lomming.
But Weaver, as usual, is not making excuses and is embracing all challenges.
SALISBURY
Coach: Jason Weaver (sixth season, 84-42)
Last year: 17-10 overall, 12-4 CL.
Postseason: Beat Wilson in District 11 3A quarterfinal, lost to CCHS in semis, beat Pottsville in consolation game. Lost to Imhotep Charter 79-34 in first round of state tournament.
New on the staff: Adam Young as a JV and varsity assistant.
Scrimmages: Last Saturday, scrimmaged Panther Valley. Scrimmaged Pius X and Nazareth on Friday.
Openers: Friday at home vs. Blue Mountain; league opener, Tuesday, Dec. 10 at Palisades.
Key date: 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4 at home vs. Emmaus.
Players to watch: Sr. C Austin Uhl; Sr. G/F Justin Aungst; Sr. G Brad Vangeli; Sr. G/F Eddie Sanchez; Sr. G Naveed Hadian; Jr. G Brendan Reichenbach; Jr. F Bryce Fairclough.
What's to like: Uhl and Aungst are returning starters and Weaver likes the fact that he's got five seniors with experience who will provide leadership. "They will lead by example," Weaver said. He also likes that the kids play hard all the time, especially in going for loose balls and hustling on defense.
What's to worry about: The Falcons don't possess a lot of height and have to go small if Uhl, who is 6-foot-5, gets in foul trouble. "And there are big bodies in our league that will pose some matchup problems," Weaver said. He also doesn't know if the team will be consistent with its outside shooting.
Quotable: "As always the Colonial League is going to be competitive, but we have a team here that in my mind can compete with anybody in the league on a given night," Weaver said. "Our goal, like it is every year, is to get into the league playoffs and see what happens. We've got a good group of seniors who were in seventh grade when I first got there, and they've been with me for a long time. I'm excited.
"We're going to play everybody in our division before Christmas so we have to start strong. We also play a tough nonleague schedule. We're playing in the Parkland Christmas tournament. We play Emmaus here on a Saturday in January and the following Saturday we play Pottsville up at Martz Hall. We also play Blue Mountain and Northampton. We're playing a lot of bigger schools, which will be good for us."
SALISBURY SCHEDULE
12/06/13 Blue Mountain Home 7:00PM
12/10/13 Palisades Away 7:00PM
12/13/13 Saucon Valley Home 7:00PM
12/14/13 Northampton Away 1:00PM
12/17/13 ND-GP Home 7:00PM
12/19/13 Wilson Away 7:00PM
12/21/13 So. Lehigh Home * 1:15PM
12/27/13 Parkland JV/V Tourn. Away 2:30/4PM VS. QUAKERTOWN DAY 1 AT 4 P.M.
12/28/13 Parkland Tourn. Away TBA VS. PERMIOMEN VALLEY OR PARKLAND DAY 2
1/03/14 Bangor Home 7:00PM
1/04/14 Emmaus Home * 1:15PM
1/07/14 Pen Argyl Away 7:00PM
1/10/14 Northwestern Home 7:00PM
1/11/14 Pottsville Away 5:00PM
1/14/14 Catasauqua Away 7:00PM
1/17/14 Palmerton Home 7:00PM
1/21/14 No. Lehigh Away 7:00PM
1/23/14 Palisades Home 7:00PM
1/28/14 Saucon Valley Away 7:00PM
1/31/14 ND-GP Away 7:00PM
2/04/14 Wilson Home 7:00PM
2/07/14 So. Lehigh Away 7:00PM
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