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Rockridge still craves more after WCC win over Orion
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By Daniel Makarewicz, danmak@qconline.com
By Daniel Makarewicz, danmak@qconline.com
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EDGINGTON -- One glance at the final score could not cure Rockridge boys' basketball coach Toby Whiteman's disappointment. In his eyes, the performance overshadowed the outcome. Suggesting the Rockets relied too much on their athleticism during their 71-47 West Central Conference victory over Orion caused some frustration in the post-game locker room. Rockridge gladly takes the win, but from its perspective, it hardly was a masterpiece. "We played hard. We're doing some nice things offensively, but I didn't think we executed great," Whiteman said. "We were successful a lot because of our athletic ability." The stats show the Rockets (6-0, 2-0 WCC), off to their best start in 35 years, were strong on offense, shooting 47 percent (31 of 66) from the field and committing five turnovers. Whiteman, though, noticed Rockridge struggling to adapt to Orion's changing defenses and failing to do the little things that do not make the boxscore. Screens, cuts, and ball reversals were things Whiteman said the Rockets, who received 29 points and 20 rebounds from junior forward Ethan Happ, did not do. Despite that, Orion (3-4, 0-2) struggled to consistently get stops. "They're a good basketball team," said Orion coach Brent Hutton, who received 13 points from Dakota Grant. "They have a lot of kids who compete very well on the floor. Not only are they athletes, they're great basketball players. You've got to guard so many of them. They took advantage of the weak spots we had." The defense caused problems as well. Rockridge limited the Chargers to 14 first-half points and held them without a field goal for nearly nine minutes in one stretch. Orion had four field goals in the first half. "We want to play our best on defense," Rockridge senior forward Nyle Stevens said. "We try to hold opponents to a low margin. That gives us a pretty good chance to win." Whiteman hopes that the constant defensive pressure can carry over to the offense. "When we don't do the right things and we don't play basketball like we should, I don't care if we win or lose, I'm going to let you know," Whiteman said. "When we play basketball the way we should, I'm happy." Rockridge, which received 18 points from sophomore guard Bryan Heath, wants to reach that point. Even the players know they can play better. "That's what motivates us," Stevens said. "We see how good we can be. We want to get to that level." A 24-point league win is a good start. "I'm happy, but there's a lot of work to do," Whiteman said. "If you ask those guys, that's what they want." 
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Today is Saturday, May 25, the 145th day of 2013. There are 220 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: The annual review of the fire department of this city took placeyesterday and made a fine showing with machines and hose carts in tip-top order.
1888 -- 125 years ago: Last night's prayer meeting at Central Presbyterian Church wascalled off due to water in the basement, residue of last week's flood.
1913 -- 100 years ago: The junior class of Rock Island High School will hold a riverexcursion on the steamer St. Paul next Tuesday.
1938 -- 75 years ago: The 75th Anniversary of the Rock Island Arsenal today finds thenation's largest ordinance manufacturing plant filling many important orders for the army.
1963 -- 50 years ago: Miss Patrice Daly, Rock Island, a senior at Rock Island HighSchool, won second place in the recent state public speaking contest held in Peoria underthe auspices of the Knights of Pythias.
1988 -- 25 years ago: Hampton's sesquicentennial committee and the Hampton HistoricalSociety have scheduled a full slate of activities, which will be held throughout the year, to celebrate the village's 150th birthday. The first celebration will be the Memorial Dayprogram at 10 a.m. May 30, at the Brettun and Black Store Museum on River Road. Therewill be a sesquicentennial display.
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