Orshoski, Perkins gelling together

PERKINS TWP. — There's been a lot for Ryan Orshoski to accomplish in his first full month as Perkins girls basketball coach. He has focused on defense and rebounding, but there have also been offensive principles to implement. And there are plenty of little things that come up for a new head coach, too. "These girls are really adjusting to a lot of new things, even my voice and me knowing names sometimes," Orshoski said. "I'm mixing up names sometimes. That's the fun of it. We are having fun and getting better chemistry." The Pirates were in action Monday at The Boeckling Classic at Cedar Point Sports Center. They were slated for three games Monday and three games Tuesday to wrap up this June period when high school coaches and players can work out and play games together. Perkins opened its Monday slate with a 37-29 win over River Valley, another Division II school that went 16-6 last season. Rising sophomore point guard Haylie Brunner led the Pirates with 14 points. "This is a tremendous opportunity to play really good competition right in our backyard," Orshoski said. "For us, it's really getting to know one another." Orshoski, who coached Bellevue from 2008 to 2014, takes over the Pirates' head spot from Brian Heck, who resigned after last season. Orshoski had a 110-32 record with the Lady Red, but he hadn't been a varsity head coach since then. Following his self-described "basketball detox," Orshoski is back on the sideline trying to implement his principles. He wants his squad to play pressure defense that forces mistakes. For the first 13 minutes and 22 seconds against River Valley on Monday, Perkins didn't allow a point. "We want to be known for our defense and our rebounding," Orshoski said. "We'll play a pressure-style defense, aggressive, where we hope to turn over teams. So we've been working a lot on our defense and our rebounding." Orshoski has also used this month, filled mostly with practices along with a fill-in night at Norwalk's summer league, to install his offense. The Pirates frequently ran flex-style sets on Monday, featuring lots of down screens and back screens. An offense mixed with returning shooters and slashers created plenty of looks from those options. Brunner was the standout against River Valley, draining three 3-pointers along with two 18-footers from just inside the arc. "She's a very hard worker, a gym rat, wants to be in the gym all the time," Orshoski said. "One thing we have done this summer is put a 10,000-shot system in where all our girls get 10,000 shots up. She's really taken a lead in that way… She's also worked really hard to be the head of our defense and our ball handler." Kendall Zeiher, the microwave scorer entering her junior season, knocked down three 3-pointers. Kate Ulery, Zeiher's classmate, scored on a couple strong drives to the basket. "Kendall and Kate are experienced varsity players and have played in a lot of big games," Orshoski said. "We feed off their energy. They play with a lot of enthusiasm and emotion, which is great… The girls follow those girls' emotional leadership." Perkins showed potential firepower off the bench in the form of Ellie Mannion, who hit two 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 10 points. "She's another one that's played a lot of AAU, put a lot of work into her game, and is a confident player," Orshoski said. The Pirates played Monday's first game without Camryn VanVlerah, who was arriving later in the day, and Cameron Kaufman, who is at a softball tournament in Colorado. Perkins' biggest question mark in Orshoski's first season might be its lack of overall size. Maggie Farley, a lefty who can stretch to the 3-point line and played mostly JV a year ago, will likely start at center. Zakiyah Castile showed energy on the glass Monday, as well. "We just don't have a whole lot of size," Orshoski said, "so we have some guards playing out of position, so there's a learning curve there." Orshoski knew when he began working with his new team that the Pirates have experienced a lot of success in recent years. They were co-SBC Lake Division champions last season, handing Bellevue its first-ever loss in Lake play. The new head coach has embraced this month as a chance to find out how to keep Perkins' girls basketball rise going. "We're not where we want to be, but we'll get there," Orshoski said. "And it's been a lot of fun, getting to know each other has gone well."