Shady Side Academy boys look to overcome injuries to key players

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, December 9, 2023 | 11:01 AM

The Shady Side Academy boys basketball program will do a lot of on-the-job training this season. Two setbacks to the Bulldogs’ lineup have Shady Side Academy running low on big men.

Senior Nate Mallory had knee surgery and will be out for the year. Junior Ben Michaels has a hip injury and will be out until January for the Bulldogs. What that means for Shady Side Academy (2-1) is that it needs to weather the storm of getting young players through a challenging nonsection schedule.

The Bulldogs are set to play defending City League champion Allderdice, a returning state qualifier in Highlands and made a road trip to play Erie.

Bulldogs coach David Vadnais has been discussing helping his team see the forest through the trees.

“We need to know what is in front of us, and it’s going to be challenging,” Vadnais said. “The team has to stay together. We can’t point fingers because games don’t go the right way. These are the games to learn as well to get the right game experience. Us coaches need to put the kids in the right place to be successful.”

Sophomore Cam Mallory, Nate’s brother, has been seeing time at center. The Bulldogs’ next biggest player is Ryan Frohlich, who is 6-foot-2.

“(Cam) played JV last year and saw some varsity minutes,” Vadnais said. “He is a really skilled big and he works hard. He’s been impressive in the first three games. We have to work with him on how not to get in foul trouble.”

Shady Side Academy is fortunate to have senior guard Eli Teslovich back this season. Teslovich has already eclipsed 1,000 points in his career. Seamus Riordan has also returned and has been a consistent second-leading scorer for the Bulldogs.

Frohlich and Mac Mohn have also been filling key roles in the lineup. Vadnais said Mohn has shown off his versatility.

“He plays all over the floor,” Vadnais said. “He’s the best defender and no one outworks him.”

Shady Side Academy does have experience adjusting to injuries. Teslovich missed several games last season, and they saw a now-graduated Ethan Silvia suffer a season-ending injury later in the season.

“While still not ideal, at least this season the Bulldogs have some time to adjust,” Vadnais said. “We have time to figure out roles and rotations. It snowballed late last year and we had guys getting their first experience in the playoffs. It won’t look pretty to start the year, but by mid-January we should have roles figured out.”

Tags: Shady Side Academy