Pointer boys basketball head coach Josh Aros has seen his team run to an early-season record of 10-4 and has high hopes to have his squad land atop the Eastern League standings when the regular season concludes on Feb. 8.
“We pride ourselves on playing good defense,” Aros said after a recent game. “And we take care of the ball. Another priority is making open shots.”
The Pointers’ pre-season success seems to indicate they’ve done just that, winning games by scores like 82-34, 61-31and 54-40.
Aros’ team also took first place in the recent Sweetwater tournament, going 4-0 overall and being declared champions by point differential over another undefeated team.
“We beat a couple good teams (in the tournament) and it was good for our team’s morale and the program,” Aros noted.
Aros identified senior Dane Warlaumont (“averaging 15 points a game and shooting the ball very well”) as one of his team’s mainstays.
Another team leader is junior forward Tyler Morris, the team captain and tallest player at 6-feet 7-inches, who Aros says “is playing his third year of varsity, has been taking care of the ball and working hard.” Morris is averaging a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds per game.
After this pair, Aros notes he has a number of younger players who are earning playing time as they improve and show desire and hustle.
He mentioned sophomores Trent Bell, Gabe Harrison and Blake Ledbetter as showing promise. “They are getting a lot of playing time and are all contributing along with other juniors and seniors.”
The Pointers open Eastern League play on Jan. 3 when they travel to Morse to confront the Tigers. Later come games against other league opponents Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa, Lincoln and Kearny. Aros believes his team could finish as league champs.
“I think we match up pretty good with the good teams in our league like Mira Mesa,” he predicted. “They have some talented players but if we play our game and stick to our strengths we should do pretty good.
“All of our mistakes are self-inflicted,” Aros observed as he stressed the need for continued practice and improvement.
The Pointers are in Div. II in boys basketball and their current record places them seventh of 22 in the division.
Because of ongoing remodeling of their home gym, the Pointers have played all of their games on the road. This situation is supposed to end on Jan. 15 when Mira Mesa takes the court in Lee Trepanier Gym in front of a crowd excited to welcome their team home while sitting in the gym’s brand new bleachers.
Other home games are set for Lincoln (Jan. 25), a non-league game against Westview (Jan. 26), Scripps Ranch (Feb. 5) and the final regular season game against Kearny (Feb. 8).
Aros, 31, is one of the county’s youngest varsity head coaches, but is in his 13th season as a basketball coach with the Pointers including time spent with the freshman and junior varsity teams. This marks his third season leading the varsity.
Aros’ teams posted records of 19-8 and 13-16 in his first two years for a 32-24 career mark. Adding this year’s start, that record rises to 42-28 for a .600 winning percentage.