Fraser

Boys hoops team looks to smooth things out as playoffs near

By Jon Malavolti
C & G Sports Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Patricia O’Blenes Fraser High senior Mayur Jadeja (21) shoots the ball during a game earlier this season. The Ramblers are looking to smooth things out as the playoffs approach. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes Fraser High senior Mayur Jadeja (21) shoots the ball during a game earlier this season. The Ramblers are looking to smooth things out as the playoffs approach.

FRASER — The Fraser High boys basketball team knows a few things about itself now that it didn’t two months ago.

The Ramblers know their strengths and their weaknesses.

They know what they’ve done and what they have to do.

With the postseason rapidly approaching, Fraser hopes to utilize its newfound knowledge for success.

“I think that we’ve learned along the way what gives us problems that prevents us from being successful, and we would like to fix that,” coach Marshall Wandrei said.

“We don’t always make mistakes, but we make too many mistakes against a really good team, and we lose really close games. And that’s part of what we’re trying to fix.”

Wandrei said it’s the little things that has caused his team hiccups, “turnovers, missed shots.”

“We do play good defense,” the coach continued. “We, in general, rebound the ball well. Within both of those disciplines, there’s stuff that has to be tweaked and cleaned up.

“There’s a corps of guys here that do have the will to win and the ability to make plays when we need to have plays made. And we run things well enough that we can beat teams, provided we don’t beat ourselves.”

First and foremost in that sense for Fraser is senior forward Isaac Williams, a captain and a double-double threat every night.

“He’s grown steadily over the years to being a leader,” Wandrei said. “And he can perform on the floor. We’re counting on him moving forward.”

As for what Williams is counting on as the team moves forward, he said he wants the team to rack up some wins before the playoffs, regardless of the team’s standing in the division.

“Our main focus is on the playoffs now,” Williams said. “The division is pretty much set, but we’d still like to end on a good note before districts start. It’s a big thing — you get that momentum going, guys get confident again, more aggressive, comfortable playing. It really helps the whole team.”

At press time, the Ramblers, who started out 5-0, were 11-6 overall and 6-5 in the Macomb Area Conference Blue Division. Madison High (15-1, 11-0) has already won the league title.

Playing in the tough MAC Blue, where Fraser will likely end up in the log-jammed middle of the standings along with Utica Stevenson and Warren Mott, has only benefited the Ramblers.

“It’s made us realize that we all have to come and play hard every night, and that we’ve seen the best competition around here,” senior Mayur Jadeja.

Jadeja added that the team wants to finish strong to pick up momentum heading into the postseason, and also to give the program a good foundation after he and Williams graduate.

As for the immediate future, this season and next, it’s in good hands with a strong junior class.

Wandrei described junior center Nolan Linville as the team’s “X” factor down the stretch.

“He has the potential of being one of the best players around,” the coach said. “It’s just getting it consistently out of him.”

The coach said his starting center has had issues with fouls and injuries in the past, but has been improving as of late.

“If he has a strong end of the season, then we’ll have a strong end to the season,” Wandrei said.

Then there’s junior point guard Erik Lockard, whom Wandrei described as the team’s “heart and soul” guy.

“He’s a tough kid, works hard all the time, very competitive, doesn’t back down,” the coach said. “He always seems to come through as a guy that keeps us in games with an opportunity to win. He’s a guy that we’re going to rely on heavily.”

Being the point guard and de facto director of the team, Lockard is quick to point out what the squad needs to do to improve.

“Just keep our heads in the game,” he said. “Because once we get down, we seem to let up. And we just need to know that everybody has each other’s back, because if one person’s down, then the rest of the team is going to be down. We can’t have that.

“We have to have our attitudes up, have to have everybody ready to play … no matter how far we’re down or mistakes that we made.”

Catch the Ramblers in action at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at home against East Detroit. Check out next week’s edition of the Fraser-Clinton Chronicle for a boys state playoff preview.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Jon Malavolti at jmalavolti@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1040.