Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Nick Valentic
School: Peters Township
Year: Senior
Sport: Basketball
Valentic’s week: The 6-2 guard/forward scored a game-high 33 points Friday night to help the Indians defeat Summit Academy 87-77 in the first round of the Pine-Richland Tip-Off Tournament and kept the hot streak going one day later.
Valentic added 26 points Saturday night as Peters Township upset Pine-Richland – one of the top-ranked teams in Class AAAA – to win the tournament. He made four three-point field goals in each game and helped contain Rams sophomore forward Phil Jukovec.
“I thought I shot the ball really well both nights,” Valentic said. “I thought my teammates really did a great job finding me whenever I was open. I was just really excited to get two wins, especially against Pine-Richland.”
Every day: Valentic’s first season as a starter didn’t go as planned. Though he led the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game, Peters Township missed the playoffs with an 8-14 record and lost eight of its final 10 games.
As he looked toward his senior year, Valentic decided that improving his shot was the key, so he got together with someone who is pretty familiar with success on offense.
Valentic worked with his older brother, Josh, who scored 1,655 career points at Trinity before playing in college at Wheeling Jesuit and Allegheny. Whether it was in the gym or the driveway, Josh wasn’t afraid to tell Josh his weaknesses and how to fix his shot, focusing on balance and followthrough.
“He’s helped me a lot. I think he could be a really good coach some day,” Nick Valentic said of Josh. “Every time I play he gives me the real answer, not the fake answer. He’s really straight with me and that’s really helpful. He’s always been straightforward and his working with me made a big difference.”
The progress is already showing. Through three games, Valentic is averaging 31.3 points and the Indians (3-0) enter section play with a deep, balanced offense.
“Nick really played strong,” Peters Township head coach Gary Goga said of the opening weekend. “He’s picking his spots. He’s not really forcing anything, he’s letting the game come to him. When he’s knocking down threes he’s tough to guard because he can get to the rim.”
Back again: The Indians’ inconsistent play last season seems to be a distant memory. They averaged only 50.7 points per game – the lowest in Section 4-AAAA – but through three games this season, Peters Township is averaging 83 points with at least three players reaching double figures in each win.
During the preseason, Goga spoke about finding balanced scoring and with the help of Valentic, he’s found it.
“He got a lot stronger in the offseason by lifting with Josh,” Goga said. “I think that helped his confidence getting to the basket, but it all really goes back to his shot. He didn’t shoot the ball nearly as well as he wanted to last year and that made him be easier to guard. This year he’s really shooting it well.”
It’s early, but the victory over Pine-Richland has given the Indians momentum entering section play, which begins Friday night against Baldwin. In the victory over Pine-Richland, Valentic was moved to forward to guard Jurkovec and contained the future Division I quarterback. It was one of the many keys the the landmark win.
“It was really big,” Valentic said of beating Pine-Richland. “We were really excited and it gave us so much confidence. That will help us play better the rest of the way.”
Compiled by Lance Lysowski