Lytes on at Northeast

By Joe Mason
Times Sports Editor

Tyron Lytes is officially in training for the 2008 season.
And he’s making sure that all of his teammates are with him.
Lytes, a junior, was the starting point guard on the Northeast High School basketball team. And now that the Vikings season has come to an end, he’s not looking forward to enjoying the offseason.
In fact, there is no offseason.
"Next year begins today," Lytes said following Northeast’s 70-54 loss to visiting Southern on Feb. 22 in the first round of the Public League playoffs. "We have to get back in the gym as a team, back playing ball, back to what makes us win."
Lytes, a starter since his sophomore year, speaks with conviction because he knows the deal. During his freshman year, the Vikings didn’t work too hard once their season ended. Last year, after the Vikings failed to make the postseason, the entire team went back on the court.
While other teams were making their runs to last year’s Public League championship, Lytes and his teammates were doing their best to prepare for this year.
It showed.
The Vikings went 9-5 in Public League B Division play and made the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. They also clinched a home game in the first round of the playoffs, but that’s where their successful season came to an end.
Despite 26 points from franchise forward Sean Evans, Northeast watched their playoff hopes evaporate in the loss to Southern.
After surrendering the first three points of the game, the Vikings actually led for the rest of the first half and enjoyed a five-point edge at halftime.
But Southern went on a 15-0 run early in the second quarter and enjoyed a 41-31 lead with under two minutes to play in the third stanza.
Despite Evans’ dominating performance in his final game, the Vikings were unable to come back.
"We didn’t play great today," said Northeast coach Else Cohen. "Southern is a very good team, they have a few Division 1 players, and we, really, just have Sean.
"Sean played great, and I think the rest of the team played well, but we just didn’t play well enough to win," she said. "Now, we just have to start thinking about next year."
That’s not a problem for Lytes. In fact, he was still proudly wearing his Northeast jersey when he officially started contemplating next year.
Among its regular rotation, Northeast loses Evans and shooting guard/small forward Keurlin Charles. Everyone else will be back.
"It’s tough because Keurlin and Sean are great players and they’re real cool . . . we’ll miss them a lot," Lytes said. "But we have enough talent and experience next year to be pretty good. The parts are there, but we have to be ready to play as a team."
The Vikings are already scheduled to take part in a summer league, something they did last year. Those games are not as regimented as a Public League battle. Teams rarely run plays and a lot of the games are just run-and-gun playground-style contests.
"The summer league is great, even though it’s not like playing during the winter," said Lytes, who scored six points in the loss to Southern. "You just go out and play. It’s more than just playing, though. You go out and get a good feel for your teammates. When you play with the guys, you know what their tendencies are, and it really helps when you play real games."
As much as Lytes enjoys playing pickup games with his mates, he’d much rather compete in the Public League.
"I like real games, I like when we run our sets and I’m able to set everything up," Lytes said. "I think most point guards like to play real games. Summer leagues are about improving, but real games are about winning. That’s why we play summer league games, to get ready to win during the season."
Lytes hopes his senior year is much different than his junior year.
He averaged better than 10 points per game during Public League B Division play and did a fantastic job distributing the basketball among his teammates.
But this year, the Vikings belonged to Evans and Charles. Next year, without a doubt, this is Lytes’ team.
"I’m really looking forward to that," Lytes said. "This will be my team. I know it and I think everyone on the team knows it, and that will make my job a lot easier.
"It also helps that the captains this year and coach (Cohen) helped make me a better leader," he continued. "They believed in me, and I think that really helped me believe in myself. Just by learning from them, that’s going to make me a much better basketball player next year."
And while the Vikings have helped Lytes, the guard has certainly helped his team.
Lytes was a standout baseball player and bowler before he arrived at Northeast. But once he got to high school, he decided to focus his efforts on the hardwood. Sure, he misses playing the outfield or working on his 120 average, but he’s happy to sacrifice those joys if it means more success for the basketball team.
"I played baseball my whole life, and my whole family is involved in bowling, so I loved those sports," Lytes said. "But if you want to be a good basketball player, you can’t just play here and there, you have to play every day.
"Right now, I’m getting ready to play AAU basketball, but at the same time I want these guys to be ready for next year," he continued. "If we get everything down, we could be a very good team by this time next year." ••
Sports editor Joe Mason can be reached at 215-354-3035 or jmason@phillynews.com