Expectations for the 2016-17 Clayton varsity girls’ basketball season were high as opening tipoff approached for the Lady Greyhounds.
More raw talent filled this varsity girls’ roster than any other within the Clayton girls’ basketball program since the turn of the millennium.
But talented teams falter who cannot relate, communicate and synchronize.
Fortunately for the current Lady Hound squad, they were banded together since before any one of them experienced her first growth spurt.
Clayton seniors Brooke Jones, Daishanae Crittenden and Tyra Edwards first played basketball together in fourth grade.
In middle school, fellow seniors Claire Millett and Pierce Sams joined the crew that would form the cornerstone of Clayton’s competitors on the court in 2016-17.
Patrick Ostapowicz has spent eight years on the coaching staff of the Clayton varsity girls’ basketball team.
He has tailored batches of Lady Greyhounds in his tenure as assistant coach but has never worked with a group of girls so committed to each other as this year’s team.
“This year’s team stands out because of their selflessness and willingness to make sacrifices for the greater good. They truly are a team in every sense of the word. Individual stats and accolades mean nothing to this group. It’s team success above all else,” Ostapowicz said. “Couple that with the abundant talent that this group brings to the court and you truly have a team capable of great things, things that have never been done in this program before.”
Last season’s leader in points-scored Brooke Jones sees the deep-rooted chemistry which surges through the team as the possible edge capable of translating talent to wins.
“Playing with each other so long, we’ve gotten insight as to the type of players we all are. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Jones said. “It’s easier for us to work together during games because we know each other not just as players, but as people too.
Through all four years of donning the varsity orange and blue, Jones has never been without Ostapowicz at her side.
“I’ve gotten to know Coach O pretty well through the years,” Jones said. Lots of things have changed on the team since my Freshman year, but Coach O has been there consistently. He’s always at practice, always willing to help; he’s one of those people who is there whenever you need him.”
Now in his third year of a partnership with head coach Steve McFall – hired in 2014 – Ostapowicz and McFall nurture the bonds forged by their players as many as eight years ago.
“It certainly helps that this year’s group of girls, the seniors in particular, have been playing with each other since grade school,” Ostapowicz said. “You can coach cohesiveness to a certain extent, but nothing can replicate or substitute experience, and that’s something this group certainly has. This group has gotten to a point where they speak an unspoken language with each other on the floor. They know how to read and anticipate each other’s actions and thoughts. The opportunity is there for them to be special, and they’re willing to do what it takes to realize their potential.”
Ostapowicz’s description of his team’s ability to understand each other hints at near-telepathic communication as a means of success.
Convincing evidence of the team’s spark kindling came during the season opener last week at Normandy.
The Lady Hounds thwomped Normandy 76-7 and blanked their competitors during the first half on the road with a mind-boggling 53-0 score after two quarters.
“The win against Normandy was great. Any win always is. But this group isn’t reading too much into that win,” Ostapowicz said. “Our goal is to strive for excellence in the little stuff everyday, knowing that the payoff will be big stuff in the end. That takes a level of commitment and trust. We won’t pat ourselves on the back until it’s all over at the end of the season and we look back knowing we left everything we had on the floor.”
The chemistry of the girls on the court should inform the success of the team in 2016-17. This team is capable of being Clayton varsity girls’ basketball’s first champions in decades.
“We really think we can win the district championship,” Jones said. “That’s what we’re working towards. So right now it’s all about building bonds to make sure everyone is comfortable on the court and to make sure our game is strong enough to make us Clayton’s first district champs since 1988.”
