ThunderRidge boys basketball has been a constant in Class 5A over the past 20 years, raking in four state championships — including in 2021 and 2022 — and four runner-up trophies in that time.
This season, after saying goodbye to nine seniors with no seniors currently on the roster, the Grizzlies can breathe a bit easier.
“Our style will probably change a bit because we don’t have a true post,” longtime head coach Joe Ortiz said. “We’ve got really big guards, really big wings. I feel a freedom this year. Last year we did this, it was like, we were defending state champions and had that burden on us. Now I feel like we can just go play. The energy has been great.”
And while the team said goodbye to its top three scorers in Zach Keller (14.9 points per game), Jackson Brennan (13.6 points per game) and Joey Bilello (12.2 points per game), it returns a stud in junior Drew Crawford, who averaged 11.4 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game and 3.3 assists per game as a sophomore.
He’s already received offers from Denver, Colorado, Colorado State, Montana, Seattle and the University of California-San Diego.
“I’m going to be looked upon to playmake and score and rebound, defend the best player every game, so it’s going to be different for sure,” Crawford said. “Missing all my seniors last year, but I’m trusting these guys.”
The Grizzlies won’t have that senior leadership to guide them, as most teams usually rely upon. That doesn’t matter. Ortiz believes this group brings some of the best leadership to the court he’s ever seen, and it all falls back on their mental and physical toughness.
He’ll look to guys like juniors Charlie Spann and Tommy Wight to step into those leadership roles as the team hopes to replace some of the depth it lost.
“Mostly, I just want to just bring in the aggressiveness,” Wight said. “Everyone can shoot now. I just want to be able to bring a different piece. I just want to work as hard as I possibly can, get rebounds, do all the little stuff that is really what helps you win.”