Highlands boys basketball team seeks respect under new coach

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, November 17, 2024 | 9:33 PM

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Ali Shareef doesn’t have to bear the burden of being saddled with the same high expectations as recent Highlands boys basketball teams.

But not being paid the same amount of respect as previous seasons doesn’t sit right with the Golden Rams senior point guard, either.

“I’m looking forward to competing and proving people wrong,” Shareef said. “I want to prove people wrong who didn’t believe in us. People don’t think we’ll be as good as last year. We want to be good defensively and play well together.”

Highlands will open the first season with coach Bill Flow on Nov. 29 at Armstrong.

The Golden Rams will be in Section 1-4A along with Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Knoch, North Catholic and Valley.

Flow takes over for Corey Dotchin, who was the Golden Rams’ coach for three seasons. Highlands went 55-22 during Dotchin’s three years in the top spot.

“Our goal is to keep the tradition going at Highlands,” Flow said. “This place has been one of the benchmarks in the WPIAL over the past 10 seasons in terms of success and talent. We talk about keeping that tradition going two or three times a week. How are you going to put your stamp on the program?”

Troy Bielak said the Golden Rams, who went 14-8 last season and were eliminated in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs, are motivated to keep things going.

“This is new for us because in the past few seasons, we’ve been ranked right where we were supposed to be,” Bielak said. “We want to play with more energy and surprise teams this year.”

Flow came to Highlands after coaching the Jeannette girls basketball team in 2023. Flow previously spent 10 years coaching boys and girls teams in North Carolina.

Flow said shortly after he was hired to lead the Golden Rams that he would be prepared to get his team in rhythm.

“We set some goals statistic-wise,” Flow said. “We want to hold some opponents to a lot lower scores than we did last year. We want to hang our hat on being in the top 15 of the WPIAL in points per game allowed. We want to drive to the paint a lot, and we have some paint touch goals.”

The Golden Rams are working to be a team that can keep opponents on their toes. Shareef said their offense will be most focused on having solid ball movement.

“Really, we are prioritizing moving the ball more and getting good shots,” Shareef said. “We want to play fast, share the ball and get to the rim.”

Bielak said the most important thing for Highlands early in the season will be getting on the same page. Once the team can communicate well, the Golden Rams can put pressure on opponents to give them some respect.

“It all starts on defense,” Bielak said. “We need to get stops and push the ball up the floor.”

Highlands boys at a glance

Coach: Bill Flow

Last year’s record: 14-8 (6-4 Section 1-4A)

Returning starters: Ali Shareef (Senior, point guard)

Top newcomers: Carmine Lacava (junior, guard), Ty Hall (junior, guard), Preston Foster (junior, guard)

Tags: Highlands