Trinity boys team not lacking experience
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Trinity’s Joe Koroly, left, is attempting to lead Trinity to a deep run in the WPIAL playoffs.
Senior Joey Koroly goes for a layup during an intrasquad game at practice. The Trinity guard is four points away from 1,000 in his career.
Joey Koroly is looking to not only do something that will be a first in Trinity High School history, but will be a unique feat for any local high school athlete.
Jacob Calvin Meyer
Staff writer
jmeyer@observer-reporter.com
Koroly is four points away from scoring 1,000 career points as a basketball player – just several weeks after being recognized for rushing for 4,000 career yards as a football player.
In four points, Koroly will become what is believed to be the first local athlete to score 1,000 points and rush for 4,000 yards.
“It’s hard because during the summer both sports want you there all the time. I’ve put in a lot of work on my own,” said Koroly, who averaged 17 points per game last season. “I wake up early, 6 a.m., before school to do some basketball workouts by myself during football season. It’s definitely tough trying to focus on two sports, but I feel like I’ve been able to do it.”
Trinity head coach Tim Tessmer said Koroly “sets the tone” for the basketball program with his hard work.
“The 4,000 yards thing is incredible. When you watch him run, it’s incredible,” Tessmer said. “When you watch him out here on the hardwood, there’s things he does that nobody else can do. There are times you just say, ‘wow.’ It all comes back to his work ethic. He’s the first guy in the gym, and he’s the one who’s always here on the weekends. He loves the game of basketball.”
With the Hillers’ season starting tonight against Latrobe in the Canon-McMillan Tournament, Koroly and the five other seniors on the Trinity boys team believe the Hillers will take the next step this season and be one of the best Class 5A teams in the WPIAL.
“We all work very hard. We all feel like this is our season,” Koroly said. “We all feel like we’ve worked hard enough and been together long enough, went through all those struggles and those losses, and we’re going to come back stronger this year.”
Koroly, along with classmates Dylan Kern, Dausen Marry, Stephen Schultz, Zach Ecker and Jeff Ecker have seen the program improve over their careers.
All six seniors were pulled up to varsity as freshmen on a team that went 9-13 and didn’t make the playoffs.
In 2015-16, the Hillers went 13-9 and 8-4 in section, making the playoffs and winning their first-round game.
Last season, though Trinity went 14-9 and 9-3 in Class 5A Section 1, the Hillers lost to Franklin Regional in the first round of the playoffs.
Koroly said last season was a “stepping stone” for the Hillers that will lead to a better season this year.
“We had a lot of guys with some experience coming back. We made playoffs, but we lost in the first round. That hurt us, because we definitely thought we were one of the best teams in our section and in (Class) 5A.”
Tessmer said the program has been trending upwards ever since the now-senior class began playing for Trinity.
“These guys bought in from their freshman year,” Tessmer said. “They’ve done all we’ve asked. They put us in a position the last couple of years to be successful, and we hope to continue that trend this year.”
While he doesn’t know who will be his starting five for every game, Tessmer said most of the load will be carried by the six seniors, four of whom – Koroly, Zach Ecker, Kern and Schultz – started last season. The best part about having an experienced squad, Tessmer said, is the chemistry they already have within the offensive and defensive systems.
“The nice part is they’ve been in our system for four years,” Tessmer said. “They know exactly what’s expected. All of our seniors were moved up as freshmen. They’ve heard it for four years.”
Tessmer said Koroly will continue to lead the Hillers’ offense, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only weapon the Hillers have.
“Joey carries a lot of our scoring for us, like he has for most of the last four years. We expect that to be the case again this year, but we really have nice balance,” Tessmer said. “Dylan (Kern) can shoot it from anywhere. Stephen (Schultz) is really good at getting to the rim. Both Eckers inside can do some damage, and Dausen (Marry) is an energy guy that gets his points in bunches when he gets them.”
Koroly said staying committed on the defensive side of the court will be a key, saying the Ecker twins, both of whom are 6-7, 210 pounds, will be valuable in the low post.
For Tessmer, the team’s success will be about consistency.
“We’ve got experience; we’ve got size; we’ve got guys who can shoot; we’ve got guys who can handle the ball; we’ve got guys who can defend. It’s all of those things coming together,” Tessmer said. “When they all come together, we can be pretty good. When they’re not, when we’re missing a beat somewhere, we can look pretty bad. It’s about getting that consistency night in and night out.”