GHS boys hoops takes on alums to recapture intensity.
SAN JOSE – After two disappointing losses in the Gunderson Tournament, head boys basketball coach Michael Baumgartner felt something had to be done to bring some intensity back into his squad.
So, Baumgartner gathered several players from last year’s co-league champion team and brought them in to scrimmage against this year’s struggling unit.
“We brought some old guys in from last year and we had two scrimmages in two days,” Baumgartner said. “They have the intensity so that kind of rubs off on you.”
Gilroy High alums Justin ‘L.J.’ Nicholson, Gabe Gonzalez, Will Lawrence, Willie Gamboa, and Danny Dubois all revisted their old stomping grounds to offer any kind of support they could for this year’s team. Team defense and intensity were the top priorities of the week.
“They came to play because they knew they were playing the old guys,” Baumgartner said. “They’re intensity was much higher. They’re spirits were higher than I thought.”
But the intense scrimmages did come at a price. Senior guard Danny Vadillo – who will be sidelined for the next couple of games – suffered a broken nose when he took an offensive charge from Nicholson.
Since rattling off back-to-back wins in the Mustang Classic and testing a very tall Live Oak squad in the championship game before losing by 10, Gilroy has hit a rut.
“I didn’t think it did, but maybe (the loss to Live Oak took something out of us),” Baumgartner said. “The last two games we’ve done some really dumb things.”
In the Gunderson Tournament, the Mustangs opened against Wilcox – erasing a six-point halftime deficit to take a two-point lead with 1:20 to go. But Gilroy had no answer for consecutive three-pointers by Wilcox in a span of 30 seconds and ended up losing by six.
“Our team defense has yet to jell whatsover. We gave up some easy buckets,” said Baumgartner, whose squad was sparked in the second half by senior Erik Tollison (19 points). “We got some easy buckets and took the lead… Then, all of sudden we went brain dead. (Wilcox) is a team we should be able to put away.”
Looking for their first ever win in the Gunderson Tournament, the Mustangs then squared off against the host team. Trailing by four at the half, Gilroy fell apart in the third quarter – losing by 22. Baumgartner said he benched the starters midway through the third quarter and let his reserves finish out the game.
Gilroy (5-8 in non-league) heads to Alvarez next for a Friday night game and then heads to Alisal on Monday. Both games are schedule to tip-off at 7 p.m.
