Chelsea guard hoping to lead the Hornets to big things this season

Chelsea head boys basketball coach Nick Baumbaugh said he believes Joseph Lanzi deserves plenty of credit, but Lanzi is focused on more than himself.

Prior to the season, Baumbaugh lauded Lanzi’s leadership. While the football team was still in the midst of its season and a handful of players were missing from Chelsea practices, Lanzi took the opportunity to integrate the new ninth-graders into the high school program, lead the 10th-graders in their growth, and refresh the rest of the team on some habits and principles in preparation for the start of the season.

“Our guys look for him to lead us in that regard,” Baumbaugh said.

Coming off a season in which the Hornets advanced to the Class 6A Northeast Regional, Lanzi said he is determined to make his senior year even better than the last. He knows a big part of that is his ability to guide the team.

“I’m just trying to be myself and be the leader that I always try to be and make sure that my teammates trust me,” Lanzi said. “They have been great teammates, and it takes a lot of pressure off.”

There is no doubt about Lanzi’s on-court abilities. At least, not for the people who have seen him. He is the leading scorer for the Hornets and attempts to be a do-it-all combo guard.

“I’d say I’m a guard who can shoot, slash and pass really efficiently. I’m really good about getting to the bucket, getting to the line when I need to, finding the open guy and knocking down open shots,” he said.

Last year was the first time Lanzi remembers becoming the focal point of a defense, something that has forced him to become the all-around guard he desires to be, to keep opposing teams honest.

“It’s different, but it’s good to hear it and adjust to it and everything,” Lanzi said. “I like to let the game come to me. Whatever comes, I work with it and try to find what’s best to help the team win.”

A few examples instantly came to mind for Lanzi when discussing his team. He and fellow senior Matthew Marquet have played together for many years and have a solid chemistry on the court. He mentioned Tyler Coleman and Cole Glandon as players who are improving each day.

The offensive side of the ball is a strength for Lanzi, and that carries over to the Hornets as a whole. But the other side of the ball is where Chelsea is focusing, because it has cost them a few times in the opening weeks of the season.

“Slacking on defense,” Lanzi said on the team’s Achilles heel. “You can let up one second, and it can be just like that, and the whole game can change.”

But those problems are correctable, and Lanzi is hopeful that his senior class — one that has played together since seventh grade and includes Jay Vickers, Bailey Hix, Austin Bearden, Marquet, Sid Ridgway, Josh Gregg and Will Rowser — can get the job done when the lights come on in the home stretch of the season, when Area 8 foes Pelham and Helena become the focal point.

Lanzi has said he wants to pass along the importance of a strong work ethic to the younger players and wants to display the mentality of a winner on a daily basis.

“One that wants to win. One that wants to come on early mornings and shoot before school. Come to the school late at night. One that wants to come in and work every day,” he said.