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Preppers find conference play to their liking
(by Steve Novak - March 17, 2010)
Preppers find conference play to their liking
By STEVE NOVAK
It did not seem to have taken long for the University School basketball team to go from playing a nonconference schedule to joining a conference.
In their first season in the Premier Athletic Conference, the Preppers have found out what it is like to be wearing a championship banner. US accomplished that feat last month.
Coach Chris Osolin's team began the 2009-2010 with a combination of optimism and high expectations. And with good reason. Last season, the Preppers were 19-6 and advanced to regional action before losing to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, 64-54.
The Preppers lost two players to graduation. The core of the starting team and the role players were back in place for another run at a winning season, as well as for making noise in the postseason.
One of the top scorers last season again leads the Preppers in that department. Richard Morrow, who is 6-foot-4, averaged 13 points per game last year and this year is averaging 17 points per game. Matt Kelly, who stands 6-foot-5, averages 13 points per game and eight rebounds each contest.
Osolin said that throughout the season this team was more able to maintain offensive control.
"We've cut down on the turnovers this season. We're taking care of the basketball a little bit better," he said.
Osolin said there have been advantages to playing a league schedule, despite the fact that some of the schools have a larger enrollment.
"So far, it has been positive. We're able to play teams twice, and get a good look at them," he said. "For the most part, we're playing Division I teams, and those teams have a lot of big guys in the middle for us to go against."
US's season came to a close last weekend with a 46-35 setback to Cleveland Benedictine in the Division II district championship game at Stow High School. Morrow paced the Preppers with a game-high 16 points.
Athletic Director Ron Grant said the school had played an independent schedule for 10 years. Prior to that, US was in a league with teams from Ohio and Pennsylvania.
US had made preliminary inquiries into joining the PAC several years ago, and was added along with Geneva this season. Grant said there are several immediate advantages to being in the PAC.
"It's very competitive. It makes more sense. There's the consistent quality of schools in the PAC," Grant said. "Previously, we'd been playing a lot of Division III schools on our football schedule."
Dan Frate, a forward on the basketball squad, was quarterback of the football team, which played an independent schedule because the league had not yet approved the Preppers' admission into the PAC.
Frate said that another advantage of membership in the new league is that playing a schedule against Division I schools can lead to better computer rankings for the Preppers during the football season.
Traditionally, a victory by a Division III team such as US over a Division I or II team gains the winner more computer points, which are used to determine postseason participants. Last season, US finished with a 6-4 record, but only played two Division I schools.
"There definitely will be more computer points available because of the level of teams," Frate said. "I'll tell you that if we had been in the PAC during the past seasons, we definitely would have been in the playoffs."
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