DEVILS' TURNAROUND: Columbia Boy's basketball…
DEVILS' TURNAROUND: Columbia Boy's basketball excited for a 'normal' 2021
Justin Sapienza is one-fifth of the senior leadership on the 2021-22 Columbia Blue Devils Basketball team. (Photo By Joe Boyle).
By Joe Boyle | jboyle@medianewsgroup.com | Troy Record
PUBLISHED: December 11, 2021 at 3:28 p.m. | UPDATED: December 11, 2021 at 3:29 p.m.
EAST GREENBUSH, NY — Columbia Boy's Basketball has had a 1-4 start to the 2021-22 season, but it is not for a lack of talent.
"It's too early to give them an identity because we started the season late on November 15 and our first game was 8 days after that. I think our identity will be defined within the next two or three games," said Columbia Head Coach Curtis Sankey.
Sankey continued.
"Are we going to be a defensive oriented team, are we going to offensively pick our points and our spots where we can score? Right now it is a little premature to say what our identity is but hopefully it will be a combination of the two."
Curtis Sankey is excited for the balance of youth and leadership in the 2021-22 Columbia roster. (Photo By Joe Boyle).
Henry Heeps is part of the upperclassmen leadership leading the Blue Devils into the 2021-22 season. (Photo By Joe Boyle).
The 2021 team is junior heavy with five seniors, Mason Smith, David Alaxanian, Jonathan Hanna, Justin Sapienza, and Anthony Bisson, leading the way. Joining the seniors are eight juniors, sophomore Andrew Gabriel, and freshman Evan Rainville.
"I would say Justin Sapienza is our leader. Usually our point guard is someone who I pick out that is a leader like that," said Sankey on the leadership group. "Henry [Heeps] is a silent leader but he is more vocal this year and as a junior that is a big thing. Sometimes they say lead by example but my example is speaking up and doing more things — I don't want any quiet leaders."
"We are seeing some great things from some guys," said Heeps. "That's translating to the games and it is going to help us."
Sapienza noted that Heeps is popping this season and will be a focal point for the Blue Devils in 2021.
"We've all been playing together for what feels like eight years now and we all came together and said this year is the year," said Sapienza. "We've been talking about this for awhile now and this is the year that we want to show what we are made of."
Heeps and Sapienza have not only been playing basketball together since they were younger — they just finished a sectional title run with the Columbia volleyball team.
"We have a special connection," said Heeps. "We spend two seasons a year plus the summer and spring together. We have a really good connection, sometimes we don't even need to say anything, we can just look at each other and know what the other is going to do."
Columbia started the season with a 53-45 loss to Shaker. They turned around fairly quickly and beat Averill Park 53-40. Since that win, Columbia has had to run the gamut of the Suburban Council with losses to Guilderland, Schenectady, and Christian Brothers Academy.
"We will need structure on offense to run our plays and run our plays effectively and be a balanced team," said Sankey. "You'll need that in this league. This league is very, very difficult. Preparation every night is key."
Another factor for this season will be friends and families returning to the gyms. Last season schools limited players to family members allowed in. Now, some schools are setting caps while others aren't.
"It's nice to have spectators come back to the game because the energy level is different," said Sankey. "When it wasn't like that, I as a coach didn't want everyone to hear what I was saying to my players and you heard it last year because there was no one in the gym. Now that there are people in the gym, I think players are more excited about that and it brings back that energy that players thrive in. I think that's better than try to create an atmosphere where there are no fans."
At home, Columbia is currently allowing four spectators per player.
"Our gym is a big gym, so when you come and look at that, it looks very sparse," said Sankey.
Season expectations are not available just yet, but Sankey expects his team to come in prepared and ready to compete every single night in the 2021 season.
"Things have changed. Everyone is focused and everyone has access to what you are doing," said Sankey. "Game preparation is key. You have to find those three or four things that other teams aren't doing to exploit them and use them to your advantage and be effective."
"Last year was so difficult but this year getting back into it is so cool," said Sapienza. "The atmosphere with the students and fans is something like no other. We saw it with volleyball and I really want to go on a run this year and make a difference."
Joe Boyle
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