Jaguars enjoying successful off-season program
A successful off-season basketball program will peak on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14 when the Windsor Jaguars play host to seven other high school teams in the annual Summer Varsity Shootout Tournament.
This year’s boy’s tourney will feature each team playing five games over the two-day period, with the championship game being held on Sunday afternoon.
The Jaguars have been among the hardest working teams in the North Bay this summer, keeping busy with a schedule that will feature some 40 games being played in both tournament and Santa Rosa Junior College league action.
Head coach Jared Greninger has the team on an upward trajectory, liking what he’s seen from his charges so far.
“We’ve had a great start to the summer,” Greninger reported. “The returning varsity players are playing well, seeming much more used to the system we’re running compared to last year. We have a great group of incoming freshman that have played well in the early going and have been very committed to the summer workouts.”
The Jaguars have shuffled their coaching staff to include Trevor Johnson (last year’s JV assistant) as the new freshman coach, while Alan Lutje (last year’s frosh coach) has been installed to head the JV team. Michael Bauman returns to join Greninger as a varsity assistant.
“I’m very happy with our coaching staff,” Greninger noted. “Their dedication and commitment to the program has been very beneficial for the development of these young men.”
The Windsor varsity squad has had the benefit of both talent and experience this summer, led by 6-foot, 6-inch center Christian Jernigan. The senior big man is coming off an outstanding junior campaign that saw him average in double figures in both scoring and rebounding to garner team MVP honors. The sky may be the limit next season.
“He’s been putting in a ton of work in the weight room, and has spent extra time this summer developing an outside shot to complement his strong inside presence,” Greninger said.
Also showing tremendous growth have been 5-foot, 11-inch senior point guard Jaden Ruybalid, a great ball handler and defensive player, along with senior shooting guard Billy Boyle. The sharp-shooting Boyle has been shooting the lights out this summer and may be among the most improved players in the league next season.
One main focus this off-season has been the improvement of Windsor’s inside attack, looking to get the ball in the paint to the bigs.
“We primarily played around the perimeter last year, but we need to have more options on offense to be competitive in our league,” Greninger noted. “Defensively these boys have very strong man-to-man fundamentals, but we need to develop a high tempo trapping defense to utilize our speed and athleticism.”
In addition to Jernigan, Ruybalid and Boyle, the summer varsity squad features Gabe Avila, Carter Daniel, Dante Mendoza, Luke Kraft, Tyler McBrantney, Riley Nagle, Mason Beeler, William Coolidge, Ethan Lane, Patrick Pring and Joey Evans.
