Canon-McMillan boys progressing under new coach Gutierrez
Mark Marietta
Glenn Gutierrez knows it’s going to take time, but he’s already seeing some progress with the Canon-McMillan boys basketball team in his first season at the helm.
Considering his long college coaching career Gutierrez, including a tenure as the head coach at Washington & Jefferson, he’s a good gauge of what a team making strides would look like.
If one needs further proof. Just look at the results.
The Big Macs are 4-3 overall after winning only five games all of last season, but there’s still more to be done.
Canon-McMillan grinded out a tough first half Friday night and had a 21-18 lead against a Mt. Lebanon team that beat them by 31 on their home court a season ago.
But the Blue Devils had a strong third quarter, scoring 23 points to take control and went on to win 50-43.
Though it was disappointing to see a game slip away, it provided a valuable lesson.
“I think (Mt. Lebanon’s) pedigree kicked in a little bit,” Gutierrez said. “Their relentlessness in the second half was the difference. They were just relentless and we didn’t respond to that relentlessness the way we could have and should have. There’s a lot of things we’re still learning in our first journey together and I think incrementally that is one of the next steps for us.”
The Big Macs have wins over Trinity, South Fayette, Bethel Park and won its Class 6A Section 2 opener against Imani Christian on Dec. 12. The Saints won by 39 at Canon-McMillan last season.
Last week presented an opportunity to play against two of the top programs in the section Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon and the Big Macs lost both. They got behind early against Upper St. Clair, the two-time defending WPIAL Class 6A champs, and fell 62-43.
“We had two tough ones this week, but the lessons learned are going to help us going forward,” Gutierrez said.
Canon-McMillan has one more tough game at Central Catholic on Tuesday before the holiday break.
The Big Macs have one senior in the starting lineup, Roman Koenemund. Two other seniors, Blake Simmons and Ben Taczak see minutes off the bench.
Koenemund is the team’s leading scorer, and an important piece to the team’s culture.
“He’s working on being the leader that we need him to be,” Gutierrez said. “We need him on the floor for his skill set. He’s our best scorer and most hungry scorer. He searches for shots, so we need him to play well on that end. He’s been great. He’s working and has done everything I’ve asked of him”
The other four starters, Taycen McClain, Romelo D’Angelo, Keegan Williams and Brayden Radue are all underclassmen.
McClain is a sophomore. D’Angelo, Williams and Radue are juniors.
Gutierrez isn’t shy about going to the bench for a spark. He used 10 players in Friday’s game against Mt. Lebanon.
Simmons, Taczak, Tyler Berkshire, Braelon Wingfield and Matt Hirsch all saw minutes off the bench.
It’s all about finding the right combination as the players and coaches get to know each other.
“We’re young to a degree on the floor and young in terms of being with me and learning what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to do it,” Gutierrez said. “It’s a learning curve and growing process. We’re navigating our way through it.”