Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Canfield’s Dom Cruz goes up for basket against Boardman last season.

CANFIELD — Last season, John Cullen made his return to the Canfield sideline after previously leading the Cardinals program from 1982-2010. Boasting over 600 wins in his coaching career, Canfield returned to prominence last winter by way of a 20-6 record, but fell to Chaney in the Division II district title game.

“In the offseason they really developed into a much better scoring team. We set three defensive school records last year, but we really started running our fast break very well this year,” Cullen said. “We just have to learn how to play against the pace and speed of those of these teams we’re playing against, and we need to do the same things, but we need to do what they’d call sweeping the corners.

“Doing the little things that make the big things work, that’s the main thing we have to do is be a little more precise and take better care of the ball and take the shots we want to take as opposed to the shots the opponents want us to take.”

A major loss before the opening tip-off is senior Jake Schneider, a six-foot-seven post player who’ll miss the entire season due to an injury. Senior Dom Cruz (13 ppg), senior Tony Russo (10 ppg), senior Sam Castronova, six-foot-four junior Ben Weaver, junior Drew Shaprio, junior Ray McCune will play a major role.

Adding into the mix are senior Nico Biondillo, juniors Jake DeLisio, Graham Heikkinen, and sophomores Bryce Roberts and Landon Shina.

“(Cruz) is a really good three point shooter. He made 10-11 to make the Ohio All-Star team to go to Vegas and was the leading scorer on the team out in Vegas,” Cullen said. “(Weaver) has to be an outside-inside player for us now and guard some bigger guys he didn’t have to guard before because we made Jake. Tony Russo probably has our highest basketball IQ, he’ll help at the point guard, but he’ll play more at the two-guard.”

“(Shaprio) has the third highest assist total in the history of the school and he’s a warrior on the defensive end and takes care of the ball for us. Castronova has probably been our more consistent player so far for us, he’s very intelligent. Ray McCune has been our leading scorer so far in scrimmages, he’s a six-three-forward and his dad was one of my best rebounders of all time, so he’s really come a long way since his sophomore year.”

When it boils down to it, this is a Canfield team that brings a plethora of experience to the hardwood this winter with a difficult slate on tap, including a trip to Columbus to face New Albany to start the season, along with a difficult scrimmage schedule against the likes of Hoover, Masslion Jackson, Lutheran East, Ottawa-Glandorf and GlenOak, among others.

During the regular season, tough local matchups against teams like Ursuline, Cardinal Mooney, Chaney, Fitch and Warren JFK will provide good challenges.

“Those guys have all seen a lot of minutes, and experience is the best teacher. You can do all you want in practice, but the actual experience is when the place is full and all that kind of stuff,” Cullen said. “We’re not going to get shocked by anybody because of what we played against. By the same token you have to get through it and have your faculties about you because these (teams) are really quick and athletic and all of that kind of stuff.

“I played a lot of those when I used to coach AAU when I was younger, and we beat all of those Cleveland-area teams, but you got to do things fundamentally, you can’t get into a rat game with them because if you do that you’re not going to win ever, it’s just how they play.”

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