The varsity boys’ basketball team and new head coach David Rebibo got off to a fast start during their set of summer exhibition games, finishing undefeated in the Mater Dei tournament and the “War on the Floor” tournament enroute to a 10-2 overall record.
Although these games do not count towards the Wolverines’ regular season record, Rebibo sees these games as a good opportunity to get to know his team.
“It’s summer basketball, but every team that we have played has been at full strength, as far as having all their best players there,” Rebibo said. “It’s a good sign that we are showing up and beating quality teams, but at the same time, its a good time to see what our deficiencies are and to learn from that.”
Before the season starts, Rebibo plans to go over the basics of his offensive and defensive schemes. Since the schemes will require lots of movement and help on both sides of the ball, the coach also plans to use the summer as a way to strengthen his team’s synergy, and familiarity with the nuances on offense.
“You know right now, on defense we are trying to instill a team defense that is predicated on every guy working together and being on the same page,” Rebibo said. “We put an emphasis on guarding the ball, and going over every situation so that we are always prepared for every possibility on defense. Offensively, we are teaching our guys how to play, how to move, how to screen, how to set screens, and as (the offense) will be motion predicated, there will be lots of movement. If we get good at moving, screening and moving off screens, it will make us extremely hard to guard.”
The Wolverines most notably took six straight contests to win the 45-team “War on the Floor” tournament, including wins over Hart and Saugus in the championship games without guard Wolfgang Novogratz ’16. During the entire summer, the squad’s only defeats have come in a 66-62 loss to San Gabriel Academy on June 12 at an Alemany showcase event and a 46-35 decision to Bishop Montgomery on June 23 in the opening game of Compton’s “DeMar DeRozan Summer Tournament,” which will go through June 27.
While Rebibo is happy about the Wolverines’ wins, the new head coach is most proud about the consistent effort he has seen from his players so far this summer.
“The biggest thing is that we are playing hard,” Rebibo said. “When you are playing as hard as we are, you will always have an opportunity to every game.”
