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Sports

Affton Boys Hoops Looking to Bounce Back After Growing Pains

Youthful Cougars were 7-18 last season, but hope to get back on winning track, beginning with Tuesday night season opener at Valmeyer (IL).

Affton High School boys basketball coach Mike Fitzgerald can’t wait for his team’s first game of the new season to tip off Tuesday at Valmeyer High School in Illinois.

The Cougars suffered through a difficult 2010-11 season, going just 7-18 with a team some thought might make some noise once the district playoffs rolled around.

Instead, dropped separate eight-game and five-game losing streaks along the way, before finally ending the year with a first-round district loss against neighborhood rival High Schol.

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“It was a rough year for sure,” Fitzgerald said, after a recent Cougar preseason practice. “We were undersized. We didn’t have a whole lot of guys with a lot of experience, and teams kind of took advantage of that.

“But one thing about these kids is they’re a hard-working bunch. And I’m really excited to see where we can go with the group we have this year.”

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And Fitzgerald is not the only one interested in seeing this year’s Cougars.

Some local hoops experts believe Affton can get back to being a winning club this year, with a suddenly veteran roster that features five seniors, four juniors, and three sophomores, all of whom bring a certain level of talent to the Cougars’ game.

“We’ve got a good mix of kids,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re still not real big, but what we lack in height, we can make up with our quickness and athleticism. The key for us will be our depth.”

Back to lead Affton on the court this year is dynamic swingman Sean Benedict.

A 6-foot-2-inch senior, Benedict was one of the top returning scorers in the Suburban East Conference last year after averaging 11.9 points per game for Affton. Also, despite not being a particularly big kid, he ranked second in the league with 53 blocked shots, an average of more than two rejections a game.

“A lot people don’t know about Sean Benedict,” Fitzgerald. “But I think they’re getting ready to find out. I think he could make this a real big year for us.”

Also back as returning seniors for Affton this year are 6-foot-1-inch guard Cartemus Harold, 6-foot-1-inch forward Haris Pindzo and 6-foot-4-inch post player Jon Tevebaugh.

The Cougars will also have 5-foot-7-inch senior Jeff Pauk back in the mix as well. Pauk played for Affton two seasons ago as a sophomore but sat out last year.   

Point guard Halid Abera returns to the Affton starting lineup as well and heads a talented group of Cougar juniors, along with fellow guards 6-foot John Brannan, and 6-foot-3-inch Erdal Gledovic.

Edison Zeric, at 5 foot 10 inches, joins twin long-range shooters Kohl and Reid Siebert to make up Affton’s sophomore varsity class, after making some noise on the Cougar JV squad last year.

Siebert is a particularly exciting scoring option for Affton, after making a name for himself by hitting eight 3-pointers in a JV game last year.

“The key for us is we’ve got to play good defense,” Fitzgerald said. “I want to play up-tempo and get up and down the floor and let our athletes make some plays. But it all starts with playing good D and stopping people. That’s what we’ve got to do first.”

And Affton’s first shot at finding out where the team is in that journey comes at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday when the Cougars will get it going against Valmeyer.

“It should be a good game,” Fitzgerald said. “We hope to make it a fun trip.”

Fans that can’t make the trip over to Valmeyer will get their first chance to see the Cougars on this side of the river next Monday,when Affton will play SLUH in the first round of the Southside Classic at Mehlville High School.

That eight-team tournament, with three-guaranteed games for each club, will be played Monday, Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, with all games slated for the varsity gym at Mehlville.

The host school Mehlville, Lutheran South, Hancock, St. Mary’s, Bishop DuBourg, and No. 1 seed Bayless are all scheduled to appear.

“It’s a real good tournament,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ll get to see where we are real quick. It should be a lof of fun.”

Tip-off for that SLUH game is at 8 p.m. 

The Cougars’ first home game this year is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, when they’ll host Herculaneum.

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