It didn't take long for the St. Joseph's boys basketball team to get comfortable in its new gymnasium, a building for which the program had been yearning for a long time.
The Walter Dublak Center has been open for just more than a season, but the Spartans feel like they have known the place for years.
They are 5-0 there this season after finishing 6-5 at home in 2008-09.
In-season success has been nice, but coach Kelly Robinson said the true appreciation for having a home gym came in the offseason.
"It really started in the beginning of the summer," Robinson said. "Last year, we only had a couple practices there before our first game because it wasn't ready. This year, we were really able to get in there and work on things. We've been blessed, and it's been a big help."
St. Joseph had gotten used to practices at the non-regulation and somewhat dingy gymnasium at nearby Grandview Elementary School.
When that school was closed, so was its gym. St. Joseph sometimes had to search for places to practice.
The local YMCA or Highlands Middle School did the job. But there's nothing like having a home gym, a place the Spartans can call their own.
"It's way better than Grandview," senior guard Dave Marsili said. "It's great for us. We get more touches. We can go in there any time we want now."
Robinson said participation was up in the offseason, in part because of the gymnasium.
"A lot of kids put the time in during the summer," Robinson said. "If we didn't have that gym time, it may have been different."
St. Joseph is 8-2 this season and appears to be a playoff contender in Section 4-A.
A key home game -- the section opener -- will be tonight against Clairton, a talented and athletic team that is getting back into basketball shape following an extended football season.
Junior guard Brian Heinle leads the Spartans in scoring at 16 points per game, with Mike Connelly next at 13.8 and Marsili at 9.4.
St. Joseph had a strong run from 2002-06, when it posted three consecutive seasons of 20-or-more wins and extended postseason runs.
"This year, we have the same type of team," Robinson said. "We have that balanced scoring like those years. This is the deepest team I have ever had. The level of talent is not there yet, like those teams. But as far as how deep we are, we have a bunch of guys itching to get in and contribute."
The bench is about nine deep, Robinson said, and his starting rotation doesn't lose much.
"When we have someone in foul trouble, it's nice to know we have a quality player coming in."
Marsili said the Spartans have an advantage at home because of the size of their playing floor.
"I think we have one of the bigger gyms in the WPIAL," he said. "A lot of teams aren't used to playing on a floor so big."
Grandview's court was much smaller, which allowed for more interaction. That may be the only thing Robinson misses about that court.
"I don't get to interact with our J.V. group as much," Robinson said. "... Now, we have one group of kids on one end of the court, and one on the other."
It should be noted that the Spartans were effective while playing home games at Highlands Middle School. They were almost unbeatable there in the mid-2000s.
Still, that wasn't quite home.
