The Red Hurricane basketball team
Name: The Red Hurricane basketball team
Team: New Castle
Number: N/A
Grade: 12
Height: 0' 0''
Weight: N/A
Position: N/A
By Andrew Koob
New Castle News

This New Castle High boys basketball team does not rival last year’s squad in terms of talent.

That in itself is hard to match up against, a team that rolled its way to a third straight WPIAL title and its first ever PIAA championship, a team that had five Division I football players on the roster.

It was also full of players who didn’t return this year, with six of its top players graduating from Ne-Ca-Hi.

But what this year’s New Castle team can match, and possibly surpass, is their will to win.

It’s certainly a good reason for a team that, heading into the 2014-2015 season, was labeled as young and inexperienced, with only one letterman in senior Robert Natale returning.

It’s also a good reason the ’Canes (20-5) are once again in the PIAA playoffs, this time in Class AAA, and were seconds away from their fourth straight WPIAL championship appearance before falling to Beaver Falls a third time in a 52-49 meeting.

New Castle’s overall performance last week earned them Lawrence County Athlete of the Week honors, an award sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy and selected by the New Castle News sports staff.

“I said at the beginning of the year that I wanted to meet our potential,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. “I didn’t know what that was and you can end a year and not know what it is. But I do know we’re really close. That’s what was most important to me. We were a three-point shot away from making the WPIAL finals after losing six of our top seven players from last season. It’s a credit to how hard our guys are willing to work and an understanding of what it takes to be successful.”

Natale has been a key part of the transition as one of two seniors, along with forward D’Marqus Blanchard, to guide this young New Castle team. Natale is averaging 12.1 points and a Lawrence-County best 64 3-pointers.

“I think we’ve believed in ourselves all along,” Natale said. “Obviously, we lost a big part of our team last year with those seniors gone. But we always knew we could be a good team. We’re not surprised to be here right now.”

With plenty of holes to fill, the underclassmen have had their chances to step into the spotlight. And they have certainly not disappointed.

It starts with the brothers of former ’Canes star Malik Hooker, junior Marquel and freshman Marcus. Marquel leads the team with 14.7 points and Marcus is hovering the double-digit point average with 9.8.

The Hooker brothers, more importantly, have been an instrumental part of New Castle’s ‘cut-throat’ defense that has infuriated opponents all season. Their enthusiasm on the defensive end, as well as that of the entire team, has them upbeat heading into the 6 p.m. matchup on Friday against Erie Strong Vincent at Edinboro University.

“I feel like, if we play with the intensity that we’re supposed to have and play the Red Hurricane way,” Marquel said, “we can beat any team in the state.”

A target on their backs hasn’t helped slow the process. A game against the defending Class AAAA champs is always circled on the schedule by an opponent.

Instead of folding in crunch time, New Castle has savored its time as a team seen by others as a threat night in and night out.

“We knew every game was going to be a challenge,” Natale said. “It just comes out to playing good, hard basketball and I think we’ve done that throughout the season. (The Beaver Falls game) definitely hurt, but I think it’ll make us stronger and make us work. We’re happy to be here, happy to get another chance and make the most of it.”

There have been obstacles that the ’Canes have had to overcome throughout the season, however. It’s something that will happen with a young team.

Yet the effort and hustle is never in question, a testament to how hard they play and the results that come with it.

“Our strength is in our will,” Blundo said. “These kids have a tremendous will about them. Out of all of the teams I’ve coached over the last five years, I really think that’s the quality that makes us a bit different. These kids have played extremely hard all year long. We haven’t always played well, we’ve made plenty of youthful mistakes that we’ve worked on correcting every day. But the one thing I do know is that we’ll get a great effort every night from these guys.

“And, because of that, we’ll live with whatever the results are.”

(Email: A_Koob@ncnewsonline.com)
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