Ethan Kresinski is providing a boost to Mars boys basketball, after 2-year break: ‘Wow. He can play’
Ethan Kresinski hadn’t stepped onto the hardwood in some time.
Having given up organized basketball after his freshman year, the Mars senior and John Carroll football commit chose to suit up for the Planets’ boys hoops team for one more campaign.
He was handed a tough test right away.
“(Last) spring, he came to a couple open gyms and we talked,” Planets coach Kobe Phillippi said. “I didn’t get to see him play in a real game until our first scrimmage. He didn’t play in our summer league or fall league, mostly just focusing his body, preparing for the football season.
“We finally got to see him in live action against New Castle.”
“I was real nervous, I’m not gonna lie,” Kresinski said. “Going into it, everyone was saying ‘Oh, they’re a great team,’ and all of that.”
New Castle, for the record, is now 14-0, including an 8-0 mark in WPIAL Section 1-6A, the same grouping Butler plays in. The Red Hurricane are allowing the fewest points per game (43.2) in their classification.
Kresinski subbed in for the first time and displayed a skillset that eventually earned him a spot in his team’s starting five. He’s averaging 6.3 points per game and has the team’s lowest turnover percentage heading into Tuesday’s non-section matchup at Avonworth.
“I hit a 3(-pointer) right off the bat, and then two possessions later I went down and hit a floater,” Kresinski said. “I felt like, as soon as I hit that floater, I felt like it was all kinda coming back a little bit. ... It felt like it was normal again.”
“Me and another coach on our staff looked at each other,” Phillippi said earlier this month. “We saw him practice, but playing against that level of competition, we were like, ‘Wow. He can play. He’s gonna help us.’ And that’s what he’s been doing.”
Before this season, Kresinski’s former hoops teammates — Austen Wroblewski, Ben Detisch and Nick Santoro — coaxed him back onto the court to play for Mars (7-8, 4-3 in WPIAL Section 4-5A).
“I was like, ‘You know what? I’ll do one more year,’” Kresinski said. “It’s my last year. I might as well go out there and have fun with my friends.”
Once a week during the nicer weather, Kresinski joined his friends at a nearby park to shoot hoops. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t an adjustment period when he pulled on a Planets uniform again.
“It definitely was a little bit, because when you’re playing with your friends, it’s not an organized game,” Kresinski said. “So I kinda had to get a feel for running all the plays, getting organized and all that kinda stuff. Having to remember everything was probably the hardest part.”
Kresinski didn’t need his memory jogged on how to make good decisions. He began playing basketball in third grade and said his ability to process things as they happen is natural.
“I’ve always been able to see the court pretty well,” Kresinski said.
Kresinski also brings size to the floor. He played tight end/H-back on the gridiron for Mars, catching five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown last season. He also had 52 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, a team-leading four sacks, an interception and two fumble recoveries on the defensive side of the ball to earn Butler Eagle Sweet 16 Defense honors.
“A lot of these teams we’re going against, they’re real good teams, so you’ve gotta be strong with the ball,” Kresinski said. “Being able to be one of the more physical guys out there, playing football, it definitely helps out, getting in there and just being the most physical one.”
Phillippi stations Kresinski down low sometimes, but the 6-foot-2, 225-pound forward is “surprisingly athletic,” the Planets’ coach said. “He leads our fast break. He’ll get a rebound and he’s toting (it) the length of the floor.”
Kresinski visited John Carroll on Saturday. He previously took trips to Ithaca, Duquesne and Fordham. He said his collegiate position on the football field depended on his destination. The majority of the programs interested in him wanted him as defensive end or outside linebacker.
“It’s a great program,” Kresinski said of John Carroll beforehand. “Not only is it a great football program, but it’s a great academic school. So that always puts a high target on my list, because I want the best of both.”
