DUKE CENTER — Even with the tough circumstances the COVID-19 pandemic has created, first-year head coach Stephen Bell has high expectations for the Otto-Eldred boys basketball program.
Bell was named to the position during the offseason, and takes over for Dan Dalton.
“I’ve worked with Otto-Eldred basketball for a long time. I worked with Barb (Close) and the girls program and coached the Nippers. I also coached JV for the boys one year,” said Bell, who is the brother of Bradford boys basketball coach Chuck Bell.
“The program was transitioning. Dan was getting (ready to be) done and I wanted to make sure (the program) continued at a high level. That’s really why I’m here is to make sure the program continues at a high level.”
In the Terrors, Bell inherits a team coming off of an 11-11 season, which included a District 9 postseason appearance. The Terrors finished fourth in the North Tier League a season ago with a 9-7 mark.
Back from that squad are six letterwinners, including star point guard Jake Merry, a senior who averaged 14.5 points per game in the 2019-2020 campaign. Also back are Ethan Smith, Zaz Bell, Cole Sebastian, Braden Maholic and Gavin Jimerson.
Of Merry, who was a North Tier League All-Star a season ago, Bell said, “Nobody works harder than Jake, not just in the gym but outside of it, too, with lifting and running. He’s just always ready, so COVID has had no effect on him… He’s a scorer, a competitor, and an excellent person to have at point guard to lead the show.”
Bell plans to lean on the group’s experience, especially in the early goings of the 2021 season, which tips off this Friday with a home game against Kane.
“(The experience) is going to help us a little in the beginning for sure. We have four seniors and four juniors that will play, and six of those are letterwinners,” he said. “That’s going to help carry us at the beginning.”
However, the coach admitted, that will only get a team so far, especially a team instituting a new system under a new coach.
“It’s a new program with new stuff, and in these times, it’s so difficult,” Bell acknowledged. “We have some different philosophies we’re putting in, and it’s a challenge. But these older kids will help us with that in the beginning.”
The Terrors will also face a bit of a depth issue, according to Bell. O-E has just nine rostered players entering the 2021 campaign.
“We’re a little thin on the bench. We have a solid starting five, but it gets a little thin after that with the lack of experience,” he said. “There are a few kids that didn’t come out this year just because of the weird circumstances (with COVID-19). It’s just not a normal year, so a few didn’t come out and that will change the game plan for us a little bit.”
And, as Bell alluded to, the COVID-19 pandemic has added some extra twists, as well. Like all other programs across the state, O-E was on hold for three weeks due to mitigation efforts by Governor Tom Wolf. Monday was the first day the Terrors could practice in person again.
In addition, in normal seasons, the Terrors would have played a handful of games by now, rather than preparing for opening night in early January.
But, Bell said, his players have responded well to the situation and remain focused on the task at hand.
“It’s a real challenge, but I think the kids understand the circumstances,” he said. “Really, we’re living for today and this week. Nothing beyond that is guaranteed. (The players) have done well because every day, they come in and give effort…”
That will lend itself well for the Terrors, as Bell wants to employ an aggressive style of basketball moving forward. With that said, avoiding foul trouble will be critical at all points this year.
“We want to play man and press a little bit, and if we get into foul trouble, we’ll have to back off that stuff,” he said. “But we can change it up and go with a different style if we have to. We want to be able to play any type of game our opponent requires us to play.”
And above all, Bell wants to see his new program take its form as the season progresses.
“I want (the new program) to take. It’s an aggressive form of basketball and we’ll never do the same thing twice down the floor,” he said. “We’ll constantly be changing it up, and pace is important to us. Having lots of kids that can play is important, and that’s what we want to get into the program.
“By the end of the season, if that’s all cascaded down, then that will be a pretty successful year.”
