Zalma hopes last year's growing pains turn into victories

The 2003-04 season could have been a good one for the Zalma junior varsity.

Unfortunately, most of the players on that squad were forced to play on the varsity to replace seven seniors lost from the 2002-03 campaign.

As might be expected with three sophomore starters, it was a struggle for much of the season. Zalma won just three of 21 games.

"I think all of the guys, including the couple of seniors, realized that last year was going to be a building experience for them," coach Dwyght Ford said. "The one thing I was impressed with was the fact that the guys played hard the whole year. And we were competitive in a lot of our games, especially the ones in our conference. We would just seem to have a stretch of a quarter or maybe just three or four minutes where we fell apart."

A lot of that had to do with inexperience. The Bulldogs are still going to be young in 2004-05 with only two seniors on the team. But they return three starters from last year who will be juniors this season.

Tim Landing, a 6-foot-3 center, is the top returning scorer and rebounder on the team. He will need to pick up his offense even more with the departure of Curt Wiseman, who was the only double-digit scorer last year.

"Tim will be a threat inside for us," Ford said. "He has a nice soft touch."

Forward Daniel Schrader and point guard Kyle Conley are the Bulldogs' other returning starters.

"Daniel is a powerhouse inside," Ford said. "I would expect him to lead our team in rebounding this season. And I expect Kyle to do a very good job at the point this year. He has really matured at the position and realizes now when he can and can not penetrate."

Senior southpaw Adam Pixley likely will start at the shooting guard.

The other starting spot up front is wide open.

"We are still a little immature in knowing the whole components of the game," Ford said. "But we have a good group of juniors who have been playing together for five years. They know each other, and that is a big factor. I expect this group to be very aggressive and get after it. I hope that they continue to play hard every game like they did last year, and I would like to see us win 10 games this season."

The Bulldogs open the season in the Woodland Tournament that begins Monday.