Wohlstattar has Musketeers off to a fast start
Moorpark boys' basketball team begins year 5-1
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers DROP A DIME- Senior guard David Buchanan, right, fends off Granada Hills' Dean Wake during Wednesday's 59-57 Musketeer win in the Moorpark Tip-Off Classic. MHS won on a last-second shot.

After missing a breakaway dunk in the first half against Granada Hills High Wednesday night, Moorpark High senior Cody McVey looked as embarrassed as one of the people in a Southwest Airlines "Want to get away?" commercial.

By the fourth quarter, however, Granada Hills wished it could get McVey a ticket out of the gym.

McVey scored eight of his 12 points in the final quarter, including the game-winning layup with a second remaining in regulation to give the Musketeers a 59-57 win at home in the Moorpark TipOff Classic.

"The play was designed to get an open shot anywhere we could," McVey said about his gamewinning basket. "I was nervous in the end, but when I got the ball I was just trying to keep my cool."

McVey said that although he felt embarrassed after his missed dunk, he quickly got over it.

"When you're big, I think everyone believes you are supposed to make every dunk," McVey said, with a laugh. "Just like the rest of the team, I tried to keep my focus and play hard the rest of the game. The team did make fun of me for it after the game though."

The win put the Musketeers' record at 5-1. The team only won 10 games all of last season. Although the team is already halfway to last year's win total, Moorpark head coach Adam Wohlstattar has much loftier goals for his ballclub.

After three seasons coaching the girls' basketball team at Moorpark, which included 54 wins and a co-Marmonte League championship, Wohlstattar decided to become the boys' coach at MHS.

"The transition of going from coaching the girls to coaching the boys was not easy," Wohlstattar said. "I had six girls that I had coached for three years, so it was really hard to leave them. In the end, I think I made the switch because I wanted a new challenge for myself."

So far this season, Musketeer guard Dave Buchanan, who had a game-high 29 points against Granada Hills, has enjoyed working with his new coach.

"He's enabled us to develop trust in him," Buchanan said. "I mean, he won 24 games for the girls' last year, so he obviously knows what he's doing."

Wohlstattar, has also been impressed with Buchanan, one of three cocaptains and the Musketeers' leading scorer this year.

Buchanan "reminds me a lot of myself," Wohlstattar said. "He's a great shooter and really loves the game of basketball. He doesn't just show up to play. He's always thinking about what is happening on the court, and he works harder than anyone in the program."

Wohlstattar has also likes what he's seen from senior guard Michael Snowden, who scored 15 points against Granada Hills.

"Michael is really strong with the basketball," Wohlstattar said. "I thought tonight he attacked the basket well, but he also was good in his decisions with 3-pointers. His outside shots were good shots, and he hit them all night."

Other players that will contribute for the Musketeers this season are juniors Santino De Jesus and Jimmy Donovan, as well as seniors David Anderson and Kevin De La Paz.

Although MHS is off to a good start, Wohlstattar said he's still getting used to the change.

"This year reminds me of my first year coaching the girls at Moorpark," Wohlstattar said.

"After coaching the girls for three years, they seemed to know my habits and my tendencies. My players would know me so well they would see my facial reactions and just understand what they needed to do.

"The boys don't have that same connection with me yet. Not only have they been with another coach for the last three years, they've been developing their own habits, although they aren't necessarily bad ones. Megan Natelson of the girls' team even came by after a timeout and told me 'Hey, we would have understood what you were saying by now.'"

Although Wohlstattar has a good track record at Moorpark, the head coach insists his main goal isn't strictly about winning Marmonte League championships.

"Our goal is to prepare ourselves and come to practice every day willing to work hard and put ourselves in a position to win," Wohlstattar said. "During our games we want to continue to work hard, but sometimes you can't control winning and losing.

"We play in a tough league, and with so many good players and good coaches, it may come down to the last possession of each game."