Whitehall head boys’ basketball coach Jeff Jones realized it would take some time to put his players in place.

“Well, I think it took me a little bit of time to figure out roles for the team,” he said. “Guys were coming off football, and we had guys who were around in the fall, and guys who weren’t.

“Over the last couple of games, we had a better feel for where everyone should be.”

The Zephyrs posted wins over East Stroudsburg South (53-45) and Freedom (51-47), but dropped a game to Parkland (47-32). They began this week with an overall 6-10 record and a 4-7 league slate.

“We’re doing OK,” noted Jones. “We had a couple of nice wins over East Stroudsburg South and Freedom. We played Parkland well for three quarters, and we were tied with them in the fourth quarter. We just couldn’t finish against them.”

In spite of having to win five of their last six games to officially lock up a district spot, Jones still likes his team’s chances.

“We’re ninth right now with Freedom ahead of us and Stroudsburg behind us,” he said. “If one of us doesn’t get to .500, the district will still take the top eight teams.

“We have to take care of our business, and we’ll also watch what the other teams are doing.”

Jones continues to be impressed with freshman, 6-5 center A.J. Hines.

“He only had two points against Parkland, but he was playing against a 6-10 kid,” said Jones about Hines. “He had nine (points) against Freedom and 12 against East Stroudsburg South.

“He understands the game well. The other guys trust him and want to get him the ball in the post. The guards are realizing that it is good for them to have a good big man. We put in a couple of new plays because we really didn’t have a true big man out there the last couple of years.

“He listens very well, and you just have to tell him once. He has good basketball sense.”

Jones also expects senior Alex Derkits and sophomore Luke Keppel to fuel the offense.

“Derkits didn’t have a good game against Parkland, but he had 13 against Freedom and 16 against East Stroudsburg South,” said Jones. “Keppel had 19 against East Stroudsburg South and 10 against Parkland. We’ll look to those guys to keep us going.”

Senior Tommy Buskirk is the catalyst for the defense in the Zephyr’s matchup zone.

“He plays the four in the middle of the match and directs traffic,” said Jones. “He is the glue and does what a senior needs to do. He has been doing it for two years.”

Jones is convinced his team can sense a state of urgency.

“They understand it,” he said. “We have talked about it, and we have a few weeks left. Either we go to districts or that’s it.

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency around us.”