Neville excited to take over boys basketball program at Lumen Christi
By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Jackson – Five starters graduated, as did the first man off the bench.
Needless to say, the turnover in personal was significant, and that was just on the roster.
When the 2014-15 boys basketball season came to a close, and Lumen coach Rich Karasek stepped down from his position, the rebuild was officially under way.
And the architect of the new construction for the Titans’ program couldn’t be happier to have the chance.
“I like to read a lot, and one of the books I’m reading right now talks about the best coaches being those who can teach,” said Pat Neville, the new sideline general for the Titans. “We know we’ll need some patience, especially early on. But the pieces are already falling into place.”
The biggest piece this offseason was Neville, a teacher and coach at the school since 1987.
Since that times he’s “coached just about everything,” as he put it.
And he’s not lying.
His resume includes more than 28 years of teaching and coaching at the same school.
He’s worn a collection of different hats, ranging from 22 years with the football program — eight as junior varsity head coach — 12 years with the junior varsity boys basketball program, two seasons as the girls varsity basketball coach and the past two as the girls junior varsity hoops coach, to name a few.
His experience and familiarity with the school were some of the main reasons Neville believes he was chosen to replace Karasek
“The first thing is that I’m in the building, and I believe that’s important to being a coach,” he said. “I can work with these kids and mentor them in season and offseason. For them to see their coach everyday is very important. And, my experience, I don’t think X’s and O’s is an issue for me. (The administration) has seen my commitment to the school and my knowledge of the game.”
As for this year’s team, and expectations movie forward, Neville said he’s up for the challenge.
Lumen has gone 63-9 the past three seasons, but did so with a core nucleus of players that graduated a year ago.
Zaylen Moore, Liam Daly and Nolan Crowley are the main three returners who saw key minutes last year, and the team should also get a bump from the return of John Brys and Zach Erwin, each of whom missed time last year due to injury.
“We’ve got some experience, some guys to lean on,” Neville said. “We will need some patience early on. Really, the big thing is we’re adjusting to a style. We want to press and run, but right now we’re still working on it.”
Assistant coach Joe Herndon is also back with the team, and Neville said that’s been key in bridging last year to this year.
As far as expectations, well, those are always high.
But the first-year coach said he and his guys are going to keep things simple right off the bat.
“We’re really not looking too far down the road,” Neville, 51, explained. “We have a very tough schedule, so the goal is to go out and improve each and every day. If we do that we’ll be ready by March.”
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports. You can reach him at mjm12@albion.edu. He’s also the author of ‘Love, Defined; A Dedication to the Love, Sacrifice, and Magic of Motherhood.’
Love, Defined is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Tate Publishing or by contacting Mike directly.