Basketball at last: the triumphant return of the rock

By RICHARD A. ROSS

richardross@riverreporter.com

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — If you thought fall sports was exciting, brace yourself for the approaching wild ride of winter. Coming to a high school gymnasium near you is the sport that brings on the greatest fever and intensity of the high school athletic year, bar none.

When it comes to generating vocal crowds, rousing spirit and initiating edge-of-your-seat excitement, nothing compares to basketball.

The 2004-05 basketball season gets underway this week with a few scrimmages, a couple of tournaments and crossover matchups as teams try to quickly gel for the onrushing league season that will kick into gear after the new year. Make no mistake, every game will count as teams try to get out of the gate quickly and jockey for positions that can lead them to the promised land of the sectional finals and beyond.

For those teams that are truly elite, the end of the rainbow means a trip to Glens Falls and the New York State Championships in March. Though the odds of reaching that mecca of the rock are rare indeed, the start of a new season affords every team the right to embrace that dream.

Boys basketball: an inside look at the locals past and present

The Sullivan West Bulldogs (16-6) were the Class B Cinderella team that won its Division in 2003. Regular season highlights included a 73-68 double-overtime win over undefeated Goshen and a 68-52 dismantling of Monticello in a rematch held on the Panthers’ home court.

The post season saw the dawgs demolish Pine Plains and Highland before losing to Red Hook in the sectional finals. Red Hook has since moved up to Class A, and Sullivan West is returning four of its five starters. But this year the Bulldogs won’t have the luxury of sneaking up on teams. Instead, they’ll be in the gun sights as the team to beat.

With fine shooting from Sean Kelly, Sean Semenetz, Joe Meyer and Joe Winski, the Bulldogs feature speed and great perimeter shooting, and though they lack size, they’re fearless when it comes to taking the ball to the rack. The Bulldogs still lack the big man in the middle, and teams such as Highland, Burke and O’Neill, not to mention Class A Monticello and Goshen, have probably circled the dates of the Sullivan West games on their calendar.

Bulldogs head coach Rick Ellison has also taken on a challenging schedule this year that calls for clashes with Saugerties, Tuxedo and Marlboro, a team that gave Red Hook a run for its life in the semi-finals last year. Still, with plenty of talent, speed and drive, the Bulldogs look to be a strong contender in Class B for 2005. Sullivan West opens its schedule with the Billy Moran Tip Off Classic on December 2 and 3 against Chapel Field. On December 3, the Bulldogs will play either Livingston Manor or Liberty.

The Tri-Valley Bears (9-9) might have gone further last year if it weren’t for the fact that their big man, Martin Henry-Lester, was deathly ill when the team lost to Millbrook in the Class C sectionals. With the graduation of Henry-Lester, the 2004-2005 Bears will rely on speed and aggressive defense to propel them along.

Travis Wolfe will be returning at point guard on a team coach Jason Semo says “is young, but has the most room for improvement.” He added, “I’m hoping to have this team peak around sectionals.” Semo will rely on the much-improved play of sophomore John Merchant, fresh off a great summer season with the Bearcats at Sullivan County Community College. Other Bear players include Abram Leon, a utility swingman, Matt Smith and Jon Waxman at guards and strong bench play from sophomore Michael Kaplan and eighth grader Dustin VanLieu.

Last year the Bears made short work of their arch rivals Fallsburg by soundly defeating them both at home and away. Those games always have a particular flavor to them and should make for interesting ones to watch. Other key matchups for the Bears will feature clashes with Chester and Tuxedo. The Bears open their season at home on December 10 against S.S. Seward, a dominant defending Class D champion team that returns virtually everyone, including Joe Hoyt, Rob Gillespie, Chris Dagele, Shane Meduski, and which has a transfer student who is purportedly big and destined to make an impact.

The Monticello Panthers (9-9) in 2003, the team’s first year in Class A, had a sterling season and defeated Saugerties to earn the right to face Kingston in the sectional finals. Though they lost that game to the Tigers, the Panthers hoped to rebound in the 2004 season, but things never quite gelled for Hall of Fame coach Dick O’Neill, who had to settle for a rebuilding year.

This year looks brighter. With the return of T.J. Walker, Luis Paredes and Devin Jackson, a dominating Brad Cooper, Darnell McCloud, Sinan Tertemiz and Sean Thompson, the Panthers should be able to deploy their up-tempo style of play. One drawback may be a lack of size. Jackson is the Panthers’ biggest player at six feet. The Panthers open this weekend with a tournament in Wallenpaupack, PA. Next week they will host Minisink Valley.

The Fallsburg Comets (5-11) had a rough go of it last year. In the season following a remarkable run to the New York State Class C semifinals, which resulted in a loss to Buffalo’s City Honors, the Comets hoped to use youth and quickness to compensate for the loss of superstars Jon Hinton, Zaquan Hilliard and Lionel White. It wasn’t to be.

By the time senior Doug Novogrodsky left the team for academic reasons, the wheels were already coming off the cart. This year Fallsburg hopes to regain some of its past glory with returning veterans David Anthony at point guard, Daniel Frasier at the three spot, Reggie Brown at the five, Adam Gold at the two spot and Chris Gates at power forward. Veterans Rob Sneckenberg and Ryan Kirtack should add some experienced frontcourt support for Coach Paul Marsden’s Comets. Greg Klopchin, one of the Comets’ big men, was hurt last year and should get major minutes this season. Fallsburg opens its season on December 2 in the Coaches Versus Cancer Tip Off Tournament at Warwick against Cornwall. The following day the team will play either Warwick or Walkill. On December 10 the Comets will play at the Family School, and on December 14 the Comets will travel to Livingston Manor. Rounding out the December schedule, the Comets will have a road game at Chester on December 21 and will host Tuxedo on December 23. Chester and Tri-Valley are Fallsburg’s main rivals.

The Livingston Manor Wildcats (8-9) made it to the Class D sectional finals last year but lost to juggernaut S.S. Seward 79-51. The defending state-champion Spartans were too much for the Wildcats, whose best shooter Terence McCann had to spend a stretch of the third quarter on the bench in foul trouble. This year the Wildcats will begin their season with a game versus a retooled Family School team at Roscoe on November 30. The Wildcats return seniors Josh Mendez at point guard, Timmy Bryant at shooting guard, Marvin Bonilla at forward and Danny Hinkley at forward. The team includes two new seniors, Derek Irwin at forward and Alex Santiago at guard. Juniors Mike Perry and Robbie Baker will play at guard or forward. Ethan McCann will be the backup point guard and John Stanton will fill in as point guard as well.

The Liberty Indians (1-15) had an uphill battle last year but this year the Indians look to be better. Sophomore guard LaKarri Byrd made a strong impression at Sullivan County Community College’s summer league. Byrd was initially going to play with the champion Bearcats, but decided it would be more beneficial to play with his teammates in order to prepare for the 2004-2005 season. Byrd will be joined by guards Jared Levine (senior) and Mac Isseks (junior). Casey Pazzalia (junior), Larry Edwards (junior), Chris Paddock (junior), Jason Garritt (junior) and Pete Panagakes (junior) will fill in the frontcourt for the Indians. Liberty will open its season on December 2 at Sullivan West against Livingston Manor. On December 3 they will play either Sullivan West or Chapel Field. The Indians will then play at the Family School on December 6 and at Eldred on December 13.

The Eldred Yellowjackets (3-14) hopes to get things going this week, playing at the Roscoe tournament on November 30. The Yellowjackets feature a cadre of senior and juniors under coach Doug Reiser. They include seniors Brenton Nash at forward, Kyle Ranne at guard and Mike Clearly at forward. They will be joined by juniors J.T. Vogt at forward, Mike Prunka at guard, Kweku Williams at center, Nick Klufas at forward, Steve Lather at forward, Patrick Kean at guard, George Fountain at center, Jacob Smith at center and Tyler King at forward.

The Roscoe Blue Devils (5-15), always a factor in Class D, struggled a bit last year but are looking forward to a better showing in 2004-05. Long-time veteran coaching guru Fred Ahart will field a team that features three returning players. They include Dusty Sullivan, Troy Kirchner and Chris Mershon. Filling out the roster will be junior Dan DeVantier, who looked extremely sharp in summer league, and juniors James Madiera and Justin Murphy. Justin Haas, a sophomore, will also see some minutes. The Blue Devils hosted their own tournament on November 30 and opened with Eldred (see next week’s paper for results).

The Family School Falcons (11-8) got off to a brilliant start last year, but discipline issues resulted in a mid-season overhaul of the team. Under coach Ted Towsley, the Falcons returned three veteran players to the floor when they opened against Roscoe at the Blue Devils tournament on November 30. Junior Tom Gould returns to play at small forward. He is joined in the frontcourt by junior-veteran power forward Bryan Dobbs. Dan Zobell will bring his 2003-04 experience to bear at the two spot. The team is rounded out by first year players Will Gahn, a junior at center and Joe Kettle, a senior at point guard.

See next week’s River Reporter for an overview of girls basketball.