Raiders hope to turn Pit into raucous environment with up-tempo style, 3-point barrage

QUINCY — Kevin Meyer isn’t sure how raucous the Pit will get this weekend.

He’s hoping loud enough to be hostile, but since it has been 21 months since the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team last played with a fill-all-the-seats crowd and continuing concerns with the coronavirus pandemic, the Raiders’ head coach isn’t sure what to expect Friday night.

“I hope the fans come out,” Meyer said as the Raiders prepared to face St. Louis Gateway Academy at 7 p.m. Friday. “I hope they are comfortable to come out and know it’s going to be a safe environment. Get the band in here. Get the crowds in here. Let it be normal.

“The band starts, you’re coming out of the tunnel, you hit the ‘Play like a Champion’ sign and you take the floor. That’s your first moment of Raider basketball. We have guys who haven’t had that experience. When this place is rocking, this place is extremely special. That’s the thing that makes Quincy basketball special, we have great venues. We need great crowds to enjoy those venues.”

For those select few who have experienced such a moment, they want to embrace it again.

“We are ready to have it back,” junior guard Jake Hoyt said. “Freshman year, the atmosphere was just wonderful. Being able to have that back is just great.”

The only way to get the crowd engaged is to be energetic and aggressive.

The Raiders see that as their style.

“A lot of energy,” 6-foot-7 junior forward Jake Wallingford said. “The first day, we were all in here ready to get after it.”

For good reason. The Raiders want to run.

“We push the tempo of the game pretty good,” senior guard Blake Bozarth said. “We’re going to fly around on offense and defense. We’re going to push teams to their limit. We’re going to score a lot of points and defend as much as we can.”

‘The whole team can do it’

The Raiders graduated three key cogs in honorable mention all-state guard Grant Hyer and forwards Jack Marth and Ethan Kite. 

Hyer led QND in scoring at 18.7 points per game, while also averaging five assists, four rebounds and three steals, while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range, 57 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free-throw line.

Undeniably, he was the go-to guy with the game on the line.

It likely won’t be just one player this season.

“Late games, when it’s close, a bunch of people are going to be able to go in there and score,” Wallingford said. “The whole team can do it.”

At 6-foot-7 with the ability to score inside and out, Wallingford qualifies as one of those players who likely will get the ball when it matters. He averaged 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds last season.

“A lot stronger, a lot more confident,” said Wallingford, whose physical maturity is matched by his on-court awareness. “I want to take it to the hole.”

Hoyt averaged just four points and three assists per game last season in his second season as a starter, but his confidence has skyrocketed and he’s been one of the Raiders most consistent shooters throughout the preseason.

He also spearheads the get-it-and-go style the Raiders want to play.

“Hoyt goes 100 miles per hour,” Meyer said.

Junior guard Jackson Stratton is another whirling dervish with a motor that’s always revving. Junior forward Alex Connoyer understands the game. Junior swingman Braden Sheffield is as bouncy as anyone. Junior forward Josh Bocke can be a physical presence.

And Bozarth and senior forward Calvin Lavery provide leadership and an even-keel nature.

“They are cerebral,” Meyer said, “but they understand their roles.”

Everyone has one, which is to be interchangeable.

“Everybody can play every position on the floor, at least for one possession,” Bozarth said.

‘We need makers’

The flexibility and versatility lends itself to being aggressive, as well.

Those may be this team’s trademarks.

“The challenge is finding their identity,” Meyer said. “Everybody is finding their new role. I think we’re going to be ok. I think we’re going to be able to run some offense, but what’s going to be our identity. That’s our biggest challenge right now.”

The players know what they want it to be.

“Running down the floor, we love doing that,” Hoyt said. “In the halfcourt, we run our stuff pretty well.”

Meyer would like to see an up-tempo game.

“Ideally,” Meyer said. “That’s the style I love to play and coach, but they have to buy into it and dictate it. I think we have the pieces to do it.”

It takes patience and persistence, as well as a lot of discipline to stay sound while also being able to freelance when necessary.

“Being disciplined on offense and defense is crucial,” Bozarth said. “We can get a little bit out of control. If we can control that, we’re set for a good season.”

That’s only if they consistently make shots.

“Everyone on this team has a green light to shoot a three,” Hoyt said. “About everyone can make it, too.”

Meyer prays that’s the case.

“I think every team in America has shooters,” Meyer said. “We need makers.”

The Raiders also need players who recognize when the outside shot is failing and make a concerted effort to attack the paint.

“If we’re not hitting threes, then it does have to go inside and we have to dictate that,” Meyer said. “The fun part for me is it doesn’t have to be a 6-foot-7 Jake Wallingford in the post. It could be a 6-foot Blake Bozarth. It could be a 6-4 Josh Bocke. We have guys who can play inside-out and be universal as opposed to just one position.

“We told them right now we have two positions. We have posts and we have wings. If we can get interchangeable, I like our chances offensively.”

2021-22 QND Boys Basketball Schedule