Top Player Performance: Zackary Anderson, St. John
Coming into the 2018-19 season, St. John had to find a way to replace the scoring hole left by former Woodchucks sharpshooter Kyler McGillis.
Head coach Steve Poitra may have found his guy.
The Class B boys basketball season opened up Thursday as 40 teams started its quest for the title.
The Woodchucks rolled past Warwick, 108-56 and junior Zackary Anderson finished with a game-high 31 points after making seven 3-pointers in the first quarter.
“It is important to put a lot of time in the offseason to become a seasoned shooter,” Anderson said Friday. “Forming a smooth jump shot and a quick release helps a lot with making threes.”
As the contest went on, Anderson found a few of his points inside the 3-point arc as well. St. John used its ball movement to get Anderson some good scoring opportunities.
St. John outscored the Warriors, 29-16 in the second quarter and had a 64-39 lead at halftime.
“I think that coming into the first game of the season with a lot of confidence played a big role in our performance,” Anderson added. “The amount of energy the team has was insane.”
Anderson’s scoring ability will help St. John compete in a cutthroat Region 4. He also has very good court vision, however, wants to improve on a few things throughout the year.
“Playing the defensive side of the ball and watching my fouls does need work,” Anderson said. “As the season goes on, I would like to improve on all of these parts of my game.”
Anderson will take his hot shooting start into the Dec. 13th CNDC Tournament as the Woodchucks face Drake-Anamoose at 4:30 p.m. at Harvey High School.
Anderson said the key to continuing his 3-point shooting is confidence.
“Having that (confidence) and finding your zone will lead to more consistent shooting nights,” he added.