Moore can lean on seasoned roster at Sandusky

SANDUSKY — DeMar Moore wore a shirt with "Streakball" emblazoned on the front to a recent interview. He said it was a term coined by former Sandusky coach John Schlessman, who led the program when Moore played. It's a play-fast mentality the first-year coach wants his team to embrace. Moore, who is in his first season as the Blue Streaks' head coach, is taking bits and pieces from coaches he played for as well as Colin Irish, who stepped down earlier this year after a successful seven-year run with the Streaks that included 125 victories. "Coach Irish left the program in a great position. He set the foundation," Moore said. "I'm just trying to expand that, add a little more to it." Moore has plenty of talent on his first roster. Sandusky features eight seniors, eight letterwinners and six players who started at some point last season. "We have a nice mix," Moore said. "We may not have the size, but everybody on the roster brings something different to the table that can help the team." Sandusky went 10-8 last season, losing to Tiffin Columbian in a Division II district semifinal. The Blue Streaks, who had starts and stops due to the coronavirus and did not play a full schedule, finished 6-5 in the SBC Lake Division. The Streaks will be led by powerful 6-foot-2 senior Jarrie Alexander, who averaged 10 points per game last season. Alexander has an old-school game and is able to get a shot pretty much whenever he wants it. "He's a very smart kid on the basketball court," Moore said. "When he gets on the floor he's a great passer and ballhandler. His biggest issue is being a leader. He's been with these guys for so long he's never really separated himself. With the way our staff is pushing him, I think he understands he needs to be that leader and the guys will follow him." Alexander lost some weight heading into his final season, which could make him more effective. Moore wants to see him improve his rebounding and shooting range. "He has this toughness about him; he won't back down," Moore said. "I remember some games last year when a guy had it going and he's like, 'Coach, let me guard him.' You'll look at him like, you can't guard that 5-8 guard, and he gets out there and guards them. He hates to lose. When we need a basket, he'll go get a basket." The Streaks will start the season with a healthy Daylen Green. The 6-2 junior wing averaged 9 points per game last season and was a 90-percent free throw shooter. He missed several games with a leg injury. "He was kind of banged-up for most of the year so we never got to see everything he had," Moore said. "With him being healthy, that kid can flat-out play. He gets it going and he'll hit six or seven in a row." DeMar Moore Jr. will man the point guard position after holding down that spot as a sophomore. The coach wants to see more leadership from his son. "We watched a lot of film together," Moore said. "One of the main ways he can help the team is controlling the tempo, pushing the ball and putting pressure on the ball defensively. For him to see some of that stuff, I think he's grown from that." Three seniors who will play key roles for the Streaks are guards Malaky Johnson and Kye Scott and forward Israel Fletcher, who averaged 6 points per game. Johnson and Scott each averaged about 3 ppg. Other seniors on the roster include frontcourt players Darrion Durham, Issiah Taylor and Jaylin Dorsey and guards Josh Garrett, Britton Lanning and Nate' Abbott. Abbott and Taylor return to the team after not playing last season. "They bring that football mentality to the basketball court," Moore said. "They're vocal guys and tough guys." Moore says his rotation can go 10-deep, and the team will make up for a lack of height with a pressing style. "We have to do it on the defensive end, put a lot of pressure on teams and make them uncomfortable and don't give them a chance to pound the ball inside," he said. "When the ball hits the post, we attack the post. Size-wise we have to be aggressive collectively on defense." The Streaks lose two key starters to graduation in first-team All-SBC Lake post player Davion Henry (16 points, 10 rebounds per game) and Omarrion Grandberry (7 ppg). Moore's coaching staff includes holdovers Dustin Nejedly (varsity assistant), Brent Maillard (JV) and John Winborn (freshmen). He added former Sandusky star Issian Redding, who played collegiately at Murray State. Moore said his staff has been focusing on "big picture stuff" as well as on-court drills. "One of our goals this summer and all preseason was to test their mental toughness and put them in situations where they're uncomfortable and see how they respond," he said. "We've grown since our first scrimmage this summer. When things went bad there was a lot of finger-pointing and now we have guys who pick each other up." Moore, who had a standout playing career at Bowling Green State University, isn't afraid to talk about championships. "I'm a big dreamer," he said. "I don't want to put a cap on these guys. I shoot for the stars." ----- No.&emsp;&emsp;Name&emsp;&emsp;Pos.&emsp;&emsp;Ht.&emsp;&emsp;Yr. 3&emsp;&emsp;Kye Scott&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;6-0&emsp;&emsp;12 4&emsp;&emsp;DeMar Moore Jr.&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;6-2&emsp;&emsp;11 5&emsp;&emsp;Jarrie Alexander&emsp;&emsp;F&emsp;&emsp;6-2&emsp;&emsp;12 12&emsp;&emsp;Josh Garrett&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;5-10&emsp;&emsp;12 14&emsp;&emsp;Daylen Green&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;6-2&emsp;&emsp;11 15&emsp;&emsp;Israel Fletcher&emsp;&emsp;F&emsp;&emsp;6-2&emsp;&emsp;12 20&emsp;&emsp;Nate' Abbott&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;6-0&emsp;&emsp;12 22&emsp;&emsp;Patrick Brown&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;6-0&emsp;&emsp;11 24&emsp;&emsp;Jaylin Dorsey&emsp;&emsp;C&emsp;&emsp;6-4&emsp;&emsp;12 30&emsp;&emsp;Chayce Garr&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;6-0&emsp;&emsp;11 32&emsp;&emsp;Britton Lanning&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;6-0&emsp;&emsp;12 35&emsp;&emsp;Malaky Johnson&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;5-11&emsp;&emsp;12 40&emsp;&emsp;Issiah Taylor&emsp;&emsp;F&emsp;&emsp;6-3&emsp;&emsp;12 44&emsp;&emsp;Darrion Durham&emsp;&emsp;F&emsp;&emsp;6-4&emsp;&emsp;12