Team Preview: Union (6A)

<p>Despite graduating its starting unit, Union is looking to make a State-Tournament run in 2021, coach Rudy Garcia said.</p> <p>"As we build, usually as the year goes, our teams get a lot better," Garcia said. "I think this is that type of team."</p> <p>The focal point for offensive production will be a sophomore, [player_tooltip player_id="1068563" first="Trent" last="Pierce"], who has diverse scoring talents from the paint and perimeter alike.</p> <p>"I think [Trent] is the guy that we’ve gotta have go out and score points for us to have a chance," Garcia said. "As he grows and gets older, he’s gotta fill out and get stronger, but he’s gonna be a tremendous leader for us."</p> [caption id="attachment_1085270" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/Trent-Pierce.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1085270" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/Trent-Pierce-300x183.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="183" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1068563" first="Trent" last="Pierce"] (Joshua Cleary/ Prep Hoops).[/caption] <p>A trio of seniors who have received minutes in the rotation, including [player_tooltip player_id="1015833" first="Jediah" last="Jones"], AJ Reed and DaYan Aromaye, will provide indispensable experience, Garcia said.</p> <p>"They played last year and got valuable minutes," Garcia said. "Now that they’re actually the guys, it’s a little bit different than being a role guy. . . they’ve gotta be able to handle situations and make plays for us, and I think those things will come with a little bit of experience."</p> <p>Some seniors who have received little or no varsity experience will also get to play a bigger role for Union.</p> <p>"Obviously trying to adapt to the speed of what it means to be a varsity player," Garcia said. "It’s a big learning curve for them right now.</p> <p>"I think that, with no returning starters, it’s just the continuity of trying to find the right mixes, and things right now, who’s gonna play best together," Garcia continued. "I think they’re finding out you gotta do things right if you play at this level, and if you don’t, you get exposed."</p> <p>Garcia said that his players buying in will make the difference for Union.</p> <p>"If they’ll buy-in to the philosophy of what we teach and listen and wanna learn from all of these experiences, then we’ll have a chance to develop into, I think, a pretty decent team," Garcia said.</p> <p>Garcia also said that team defense will lead to success for the Union basketball team.</p> <p>"I thin once they figure out that end of the floor," Garcia said, "we’re gonna build and we could be really solid at the end."</p>