'They take a lot of pride in it': Defense key to Aurora boys basketball resurgence

AURORA — As athletic director Paul Powers and first-year coach Cody Calhoun walked out of the Greenhouse Tuesday, Powers cheerfully coined a new term:

"Cody Ball."

"Cody Ball" starts on the defensive end.

That much was crystal clear as the Aurora boys basketball team picked up its sixth consecutive win Tuesday, 64-48 over neighboring Crestwood.

"[It's] just our defense," junior Zach Pannetti said of the new Greenmen coach. "That's why we win our games and that's what he preaches."

That defense disrupted a Crestwood offense that had been firing on all cylinders, holding the visitors scoreless for nearly five minutes to start the game and to a single 3-pointer in the first half. Guards Ben Lukasik and Pannetti pressed well beyond the 3-point line, denying free-flowing passes around the perimeter.

And this wasn't a one-night thing. This has become the new brand in Aurora, which at 8-4 has already more than doubled last year's win total of three and is approaching its recent high of 12 victories (in 2018-2019 and 2021-2022).

Five Greenmen players entered Tuesday's game averaging at least 1.3 steals, led by Lukasik (2.3) and Brock Habbyshaw (2.2).

"If we just play fast, I think we can beat most teams," Pannetti said. "Like, if we have [five] guys averaging at least one steal a game, we should be able to jump on teams through our defense."

Where else would "Cody Ball" start? Calhoun is, after all, from Green, a program long known for its rugged brand of basketball.

"From day one when we got here, we preached effort, we preached toughness, and those are the two things that defensively make somebody a great defender," Calhoun said. "Obviously, you can have guys that are a little bit quicker, but if guys play hard and they play tough, if you got a group of guys that buy into that, you're going to be a good defensive team."

Cody Calhoun hopes to bring new identity to Aurora

Calhoun was content at Rootstown, where he got his head-coaching start and sat at the helm for the past several years.

Aurora appealed for a couple of reasons, including an exciting new job title in the classroom.

There was also the challenge of trying to turn the Greenmen boys basketball program around. Aurora has filled the Greenhouse banners in one sport after another. For whatever reason, success has been elusive on the hardwood for the Greenmen boys.

While a program can't be overhauled in the space of a week, month or year, defense was a natural starting place. And pressure was particularly imperative, given Aurora's lack of height.

"Starting four guards, we have to pressure a little bit more," Calhoun said. "Our guards are tough, they're fast, they take pride on the defensive end of the floor."

Perhaps no guard is tougher or faster than Lukasik.

"Ben sets the tone for our team," Calhoun said. "Even if it doesn't always show up in the box score, his energy that he plays with every game is just contagious to our guys and they feed off of it."

Having a number of extremely athletic guards has been helpful.

So is the depth that a bigger school like Aurora offers.

"It definitely lets us get out a little bit more, having a little bit more depth," Calhoun said. "We can keep guys fresh a little bit more at a bigger school, and right now we have a group of guys that can really get after [it] at that end of the floor. They take a lot of pride in it."

Aurora's defense grows throughout the year

That sharp man defense, with defenders racing out to the arc and beyond to harass their opponent, wasn't always there.

Sometimes due to matchups, sometimes due to their own struggles playing man, the Greenmen were primarily a zone team at the beginning of the season.

As the year has progressed, so has Aurora's man defense.

"That's been the biggest jump for us from the beginning of the year is the defensive end of the floor," Calhoun said. "[It's] the way our guys get after people."

The Greenmen got after the Red Devils early, including Pannetti poking out a steal up top and racing down the court for a layup.

Aurora especially got after Crestwood when it started the second quarter on an 8-0 run with all eight points coming off turnovers.

The run included junior Torren Pride ripping the ball away as a Red Devils driver reached the basket, with senior Cooper Carnahan capitalizing on the other end by spinning into the paint for a short jumper. Habbyshaw then came up with a steal and dished ahead to John Trivisonno, who finished a layup through contact. Thirty seconds later, Pannetti came up with a steal and zipped a pass to Lukasik, who instantaneously lined another pass forward to Habbyshaw for the fast-break finish.

It was mesmerizing.

It was "Cody Ball."

"Our kids, they really feed off of that," Calhoun said. "When we go on a run, they keep pushing."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Defense front and center in Aurora boys basketball's resurgence