St. John Bosco basketball navigating 'identity' challenges on offense

The top-ranked Braves are loaded with talent, but after losing to Mater Dei by 21 points, coach Matt Dunn revealed offensive challenges to reporters

LOS ANGELES - St. John Bosco boys basketball coach Matt Dunn looked exhausted after the Braves' 83-62 Trinity League loss to Mater Dei at Crypto.com Arena Saturday night.

Dunn was in the locker room with the team for roughly 30 minutes after the game before speaking to reporters.

"We got our tails kicked in every way possible," he said. "We lack an identity (as a team)."

Certainly not as individuals, and maybe, that's the challenge for this ultra-talented roster highlighted by sophomore Brandon McCoy, juniors Elzie Harrington and Kade Bonam, and senior sharpshooter Jack Turner. A core that led St. John Bosco to the CIF Southern Section Open Division final last year.

"We have a lot of players who aren't doing enough to affect the game and as a coaching staff we aren't doing enough to get our message across," Dunn said.

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In the last two weeks, St. John Bosco has played three Open Division-level games against Eastvale Roosevelt, JSerra and Mater Dei. The Braves are 1-2 in those games, with their only win coming against JSerra.

Despite carrying a 15-3 overall record and being a lock for the Open Division playoffs, the losses against Roosevelt and Mater Dei reveal the Braves are mulling through offensive challenges anchored by what could be labeled as selfish basketball.

"When we played Roosevelt, we had 30 possessions in the first half and on 20 of those possessions we passed the ball once or no times before a shot," Dunn said. "We're trying to find an identity on offense and if the coach doesn't know what that is right now, that's probably a bad thing."

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Is it a product of too much talent not gelling? A 'my turn' philosophy.

Is it a trust issue? Top players not trusting they'll get the ball back once they pass.

Immaturity? The team's best players are two juniors and a sophomore with one senior starter.

Can it be fixed? Certainly, but St. John Bosco doesn't have a lot of time left with the postseason starting in early February.

Dunn is regarded as one of the top coaches in Southern California. His honesty with reporters Saturday night might shed light on how he's dealing with the team's identity struggle: head on.

"We have a lot of guys that do a few things really well, and there are other parts of winning a basketball game that no one has taken responsibility for yet," he said.

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While Dunn was sharing the Braves' issues. He applauded Mater Dei's efforts.

"I think they have great identity; they know exactly who they are and what they're trying to accomplish on offense," Dunn said of the Monarchs.

Mater Dei scored 48 points in the paint anchored by Brandon Benjamin's 18 points off 9 of 10 shooting. The Monarchs also outrebounded St. John Bosco 38-22.

"It was like we showed up at the park and ran into grown men. They just shoved us out of the way (rebounding)," Dunn said.

St. John Bosco will play a dangerous Santa Margarita team on the road Tuesday before heading to Missouri to play in the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions on Jan. 11-13. When the Braves return, they'll play their remaining six Trinity League games.

The rematch with Mater Dei is on Jan. 30.

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