The side door at Jack Malarkey Gymnasium swung open at 4 p.m. and in walked a svelte, 6-3 man with his woolen dinky covering his bald head.

Practice was starting at 4:30 p.m. this particular afternoon, so that meant 4:15 p.m. and you better be on the floor dribbling, shooting fouls, loosening up or whatever you needed to get ready.

Paul Brutto is an old-school coach. Over the years, his teams have won numerous league and district titles, and also have captured a state championship. The Fillies have been a model of consistency and success during his tenure.

Now in his 29th year, Brutto is facing a situation he hasn’t had to deal with in previous years — low numbers. For the first time in his career, the Fillies will not have a JV team this season. Marian has just 10 girls in the entire program.

But Brutto doesn’t dwell on the numbers issue, he just gets right to the business at hand.

He talks about his four returning starters, and muses about the teams’ to beat in the Schuylkill Girls Basketball League Division 3.

“Mahanoy Area,” he flatly says about the team favored to win the league, not just Division 3. “They’re very talented, and very well coached. They’re a seasoned team that has greatness up and down the lineup, and off the bench.”

The Fillies have talent as well.

There is size in the frontcourt with a pair of 5-10 seniors in Emma McClafferty (8.3 points per game/6 rebounds per game) and Isabella Schwabe (7.6 ppg./3.4 rpg,) — both three-year veterans. There’s Emily Shaud (12.6 ppg.), one of the top guards in the league, and Macy Alansky (6.0 ppg.), a player that comes from good stock and is a purebred gym rat.

In addition to that quartet, Alexa Murray, Abbey Digris and Julia Kreisl will also contribute as either a starter or key reserve.

“We know what we can get from our bigs (McClafferty/Schwabe), and Emily is so good and now a year older, and she can dribble penetrate or just shoot the three. Macy can be very good with the three if she stays patient and makes good shot selections.”

Brutto says that staying healthy is the key to the success of his team. “You can never afford an injury, especially from someone you’re counting on, especially with a shorter bench.”

The Fillies will probably go with a seven-person rotation, meaning Brutto’s penchant for being solely a man-to-man defensive team will probably change to more of a man/zone mix to rest people or deal with any foul trouble that arises.

And another reason for the zone look is the inside presence of McClafferty and Schwabe.

“We want to do our best to take advantage of our height. When McClafferty and Schwabe are in there, we hope they’re going to create some problems,” said Brutto. “By the same token, we’ve got to hit some outside shots so people can’t just sit back in the paint.”

Even though Mahanoy Area is the team to beat, Brutto says several other teams in the league will be strong.

“Weatherly drives you crazy with their style of pressing, and they’ve got one of the best players in the league in (Emily) Zoscin,” said Brutto. “I think Nativity is going to be much improved as well. They were pretty young last year.”

As for Marian, if the four returning starters provide the consistency that Brutto is hoping for, and the trio of Kreisl, Digris and Murray continue their improvement and become solid contributors, matching or even improving on last year’s 16-6 season is not out of the question.