ArizonaVarsity.com - Perry Preseason Blog

October 27, 2009

Coach Nold
Special to ArizonaVarsity.com

Hello Everyone! I would like to start off by wishing all of you the very best of luck as official practice begins next week. There is nothing quite like the sense of excitement that both coaches and players feel this time of year. Here at Perry High School we are very excited to be tipping off our second year of varsity basketball and our very first year at the 5A conference level.

We have a very young group of guys who have been working extremely hard in the off season to get ready for what will be a very challenging season for us here at Perry. I would like to introduce these young men to you in a moment, but first I thought I would share some things that my coaching staff and I have been doing the past few weeks to prepare for the season.

One thing that my staff and I like to do every year before the season starts is to go visit a few college basketball programs and sit in on their first few practices of the year. I have done this for a number of years and have fortunate enough to visit such programs as UCLA, NAU, ASU, UC Irvine, Arizona, and Pepperdine just to name a few. For me, this has been part of my pre-season routine for about the past 10 years. It helps me to mentally prepare for the season, and my staff and I get a lot of planning done on the various trips we make. This year I visited GCU, Nebraska, and Arizona. During our fall break here at Perry, I was able to catch GCU's first official practice on Oct. 15th. Russ Pennell is a very close friend of mine and I for one was not surprised with the job he did last year down south. I can't think of many individuals who could hold a team together through crisis quite the way he did last year in Tucson. The Lopes looked very good on their first day. Russ is going to build a DII power here in Arizona. I have faith that he will lead this program to new heights. My second stop this year was kind of by chance. My son and I flew up to Lincoln, Nebraska to watch and visit with a former player of mine at Apollo High School, Prince Amukamara who was on all three state championship teams with the Hawks, and is now the starting cornerback for the Husker football team. Prince is doing very well up at the University of Nebraska and our family is very proud of his accomplishments. While I am on a college campus, it's hard for me to stay away from the basketball arena, so on that Sunday I found myself at Doc Sadler's practice. Doc has done a great job since arriving there 4 years ago. Coach Sadler was very intense on this day and I think the Huskers will have a good season in the Big 12. Our last stop was this past Saturday at the University of Arizona. I had seen Sean Miller at the ABCA Coaching Clinic on October 2nd, but I wanted to make sure to try to catch one of his practices before we started up. My staff and I took a drive down to Tucson last Saturday and Coach Miller certainly didn't disappoint. Sean and his staff do a great job and my first impressions of the Wildcats this season was a good one. Don't sleep on the Cats!

As our season approaches, I am very excited to get started next week. We have a very challenging schedule this season, but I like my guy's commitment and work ethic. I think we could possibly struggle early in the season, but we will consistently improve as we get into region play. We will start the season over at the 2009 Paradise Valley Invitational Nov. 24th-28th. Mark MacGowan has done a great job for a number of years over at Paradise Valley not only coaching, but running this tournament. This year Mark has expanded the field to include 16 teams. This is a great tournament for us, because we will get a minimum of three games to see where we are at before we hit a brutal non-conference schedule. Our non-conference games this season include games at Corona, Brophy, and Mesa Mountain View and home games against the likes of Chaparral, Basha, and Alhambra. During Christmas we will travel to the Bradshaw Mountain Tournament December 28th-30th. This has been a great tournament for our teams over the years for a number of reasons. Not only do we get 5 games against quality competition, I believe it's a great opportunity for us to get away and get closer as a unit. Doug Beilfuss has done an awesome job over the years making this a very enjoyable tournament for players, coaches, parents, and fans. When we return in January, we get into region play. We are part of the 5A East Valley Region this year which include some very good teams in Marcos De Niza, Mountain Pointe, Skyline, Desert Ridge, Westwood, and Casa Grande. I am looking forward to this new region with the quality coaches and players that make it up.

We have quality young men here at Perry on all three levels. As I blog this year, I would like to recognize a few of them each time. Here are a few of our players that will make up our varsity team this season:

David Glosser - 6'1 Sr. Guard- David has really developed nicely during the off season. He has improved his overall game as well as his Leadership skills. David will be one of our captains this season. David is one of the hardest working kids that I have had the joy to be around in a very long time. He has developed a very consistent shot and has gained a lot of muscle in the off season that will make him very tough this season finishing around the basket.

Beau Renaud - 5'10 Sr. Guard- Beau has really struggled with injuries during the off-season. He tore his MCL in late January and was just coming back strong in May when he went down with a severe ankle injury that kept him out for the entire summer. We are really excited to have Beau back running the point this year as he is probably are best overall defender. Great kid who also has near a 4.0 GPA.

Ronny Spoon - 6'8 Sr. Post- Ronny has worked really hard in the off season to improve his overall game. We will rely on Ronny this year to defend in the paint, pull down big rebounds for us, and to finish around the basket.

Chase Richardson - 6'2 Jr. Guard- Chase is our leading scorer from a year ago. He is currently leading the Puma Football team at Quarterback. When we get Chase from football we expect him to have a great year on the hardwood as well.

Dillon Smock - 6'1 Jr. Guard- Dillon is also currently playing football for the pumas. Dillon has gotten a lot stronger in the off season which has helped his overall game. Dillon has worked really hard in the gym during the off season and has really improved his defense.

Desmond Howard - 5'10 So. Guard- Desmond really stepped up for us last year at the point as a Freshman when Beau Renaud went down with his injury and guided us into the state playoffs playing very well. As Desmond has had a year to mature and improve his overall game, as well as to gain some confidence, look for big things from this young man this upcoming season.

Lucas O'Brien - 6'9 So. Post- Lucas has put on about 40 pounds to his "still growing" frame this past year. Lucas is getting stronger each and every day which is resulting in more confidence in his abilities. Lucas has worked extremely hard in the off season on all facets of his game. Look for big things to come from this young man in the next three years. Lucas also carries near a 4.0 GPA.

Chris Selby - 6'4 So. Guard/Post- Chris is a new to us this year. We expect Chris to do a lot of good things for us on both ends of the court. He has worked very hard in all of our pre-season workouts/conditioning.

Trent Fowler - 6'1 Sr. Post- Trent has done a great job being the much needed vocal leader of our team. He has also worked his tail off in the gym to really improve his skills on the basketball floor.

Jon Montiero - 6'0 Sr. Guard- Jon is probably our most versatile player. He will play 4 positions for us this season. Jon also worked really hard to get stronger this past off season.

I believe we have a solid group of kids who will compete on a nightly basis. I expect us to struggle early in the season and get better and better as the season progresses. If anyone has questions about our program please feel free to contact me at 480-224-2815 anytime. Our website www.pumabasketball.com also has a ton of information about our program. Check back often as it is constantly being updated. I would also like to take this time to thank Jon and Arizona Varsity for the support and much deserved recognition you give to our kids playing high school athletics in the state of Arizona. In addition, I would like to take the time to thank the ABCA Executive Director Art Hall for his commitment to the game here in the state of Arizona. Art, your tireless efforts are much appreciated my man!

All the Best!

Mark Nold
Head Men's Basketball Coach
Perry High School
www.pumabasketball.com

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