'99-00 SCHEDULE

Dec. 3 -- Sharon       4 -- Maplewood       7 -- Slippery Rock       11 -- at Conneaut Lake       13 -- Grove City       18 -- at Sharon       20 -- at West Middlesex       22 -- Hickory       27 -- Villa Christmas Tournament       28 -- Villa Christmas Tournament Jan. 3 -- at Commodore Perry       6 -- at Oil City       13 -- West Middlesex       17 -- Commodore Perry       20 -- Reynolds       24 -- at Wilmington       27 -- Kennedy Christian       31 -- Sharpsville Feb. 3 -- at Mercer       7 -- at Reynolds       10 -- Wilmington       14 -- at Kennedy Christian       17 -- at Sharpsville       21 -- Mercer

By The Herald Sports Staff

A familiar face will usher in a new era in Greenville High girls basketball as the turn of the century approaches, as Nick White, who previously enjoyed success at Commodore Perry's helm for a half-dozen seasons, assumes the reins.

White replaces four-year head coach Robin Fisher, who is devoting her full attention to the athletic director's post. He served on Fisher's staff for the three previous seasons and is hoping to lay the foundation of work-ethic.

"The hard work is starting to pay off,'' White related following two weeks of preseason practice. "In (the first) two weeks, we learned to practice hard and we practiced hard; then we started getting into the technical part, breaking down the half-court game and so forth.''

The 1999-2000 Lady Trojans' personality will provide White with his club's greatest asset as well as its most glaring shortcoming: "Our strength would be our depth, we have about 8-to-10 kids we can change around and not lose a lot,'' White began, "but our weakness is inexperience, and that says it all.''

Greenville features a trio of returning letterwinners from last year's 5-15 overall, 3-7 MCAC ledger in seniors Brandie Heald, a 5-foot-11 post, and 5-5 point guard Alissa Haynes, as well as 5-7 junior frontliner Lane Sarcinella.

Another handful of juniors will look to make an immediate impact, including four players in the 5-7 to 5-8 range in swingman Allison Kuder, swing/post Rebecca Richardson, two-guard Stephanie Sereda and post Dorian Klenovich. Katie Davis, at 5-2, could be the club's starting point guard, White related. A quintet of sophomores also will vie for playing time, particularly along the front line, including 5-10 swingman/post Lauren Oman, and posts Joran Thompson and Stephanie Francis, 5-11 and 5-10, respectively.

White pointed out that, if bloodlines are any indication of potential, Oman and Thompson could blossom into pretty fair players. Oman's mother, Linda, is a former Thiel College standout and her brother, Ryan, a former Greenville star is now playing at Westminster College. One of Thompson's older brothers, Josh, also is a Greenville grad and former standout, while another brother, Aaron, will be one of this year's key Trojans.

Jamison Olsen, a 5-7 point guard, and 5-5 two-guard Laura Ryhal -- the latter a state qualifying jumper in track and field -- will bolster the backcourt.

One of Greenville's goals is gradual improvement, and White related, "What we're looking to do is practice hard and play hard for 32 minutes. If we do that, the numbers will take care of themselves.''

White's work-ethic is a characteristic he hopes to translate into a tough-minded approach at both ends of the floor.

"There are nights when you simply can't make a basket, and that's when defense will carry you,'' he said of his philosophy, which will feature man-to-man approximately 90 per cent of the time. "And offensively, we're going to try to move the ball if we can and take the easy basket on a primary or secondary fast)break.

"But if not, we'll settle down. I'm more prone to work the ball inside. We have some size -- not a lot, but some -- and I feel basketball is played in the paint. I really think basketball games are won and lost deep inside, so I want the ball inside more than we have in the past.''

Regarding the MCAC AA division, White forecasted, "I feel Kennedy Christian is the (defending) champion, and until somebody proves otherwise, they're the team to beat. But I feel Reynolds has a very good basketball team -- I've seen them coming from years down the road -- and Mercer and Wilmington, too. This might be as well-balanced a AA league as I've seen. There are four or five teams that could fool you on any given night.

"Nobody'll come out of this league without a bloody nose.''

White, who also coached at Conneaut Lake and under Don Weyle at Cochranton (Weyle won boys and girls state titles for Conneaut Lake in '65 and '81, respectively, according to White), will be assisted by Mike Murray, while one of his former players, Shannon (Henry) Ritzert will serve as junior high coach.