A-Tigers looking to improve
By George Starks

ANSONIA-After losing five seniors to graduation and finishing with a 3-20 mark to end the 2013 campaign, the Ansonia Tigers will look to improve on that mark in 2014.

Head coach Derrick Barga will head into the new season with one senior and a bunch of juniors.

The lone senior, 6-3 Dustin Berger, will lead the Tigers into battle next Friday at The Hangar against Franklin Monroe.

“It’s always tough going from season to season and trying to figure out the team’s make-up,” said Barga. “Every year brings different situations. We hoped with a big group of seniors we would have done better last year but that wasn’t the case. So you just never know what the season holds for you.”

Berger will have a lot thrust on his shoulders for the Tigers in the paint.

“Dustin is a solid leader and a hard worker and because of that, he sets a good example for the rest of the team,” said Barga of his senior. “We need him to not only do his job but we will need the juniors to pick up the slack with the leadership roles.”

With a young team, Barga looked at the offense the Tigers will bring to the floor.

“We are looking to run a half-court set on offense,” said Barga. “We will set it up there and make the opposing defense work and let them make the mistakes so we can turn those mistakes into points. Like any team, we’ll push the ball when the opportunity presents itself. I the opportunity isn’t there, we’ll pull it out and set up in the half-court.”

On defense, Barga will look to get back and slow things down or stop the ball.

“This year, we will run a lot of zone defense,” said Barga. “I think we will run zone more than we do a man defense but that really depends on the situation and who’s on the floor at that time.”

Barga did address an issue that has plagued the team in the past.

“Team identity has been a problem in the past,” Barga pointed out. “It’s been tough in the past, even with five seniors a year ago. We’ve talked about it but maybe not enough. We need to know what kind of team we are going to be.”

Despite a losing record, other teams viewed Ansonia in a positive way.

“When the games were over last year, other teams viewed us as a team that never quit and played hard right to the end,” Barga recalled. “We’ve struggled a little bit in the past but hopefully we can get things turned around this season.”

At the point, Barga said he looks to play junior Wyatt Gasper.

“Wyatt sees the floor well and has been a point guard for a long time,” said Barga. “We will look to him for the floor leadership and he will be the floor general. We will also see Nick Peters in the point guard position as well as Austin Alexander. Mostly Nick and Austin will be shooting guards. The point guard sets the tone for the offense and we will depend on them to get things moving.”

At the forward positions, Barga is looking a juniors Trey Fisher and Max Muir.

“Trey continues to improve on his skill sets and has a pretty decent shot,” said Barga. “He continues to improve on his ball handling skills and he has some speed to get to the bucket and has some size as well. He can post up on some of the smaller wings as well. At 6-1, Max has some speed and can rebound well. We will try to maximize his abilities on both ends.”