Pre-season high school boys basketball preview

Rock mining

Pre-season basketball scrimmages mark initial step in season quest

By RICHARD A. ROSS

SULLIVAN COUNTY — Fall sports may have recently ended, but for area basketball teams there is a sense of urgency to get ready for the looming basketball season, which follows closely upon the conclusion of the football and soccer post-seasons. For some athletes, that has literally translated into an overnight change from their fall sports uniforms and mindsets to the radically different attire and milieu of basketball.

Watching pre-season scrimmages is valuable to get an early look at what teams have lost from graduation and what they have to offer for the new season. There is much that is noteworthy about these raw, arduous and imperfect set-tos, despite the fact that the flow of the action is interrupted by coaches’ teachable moments and that the players run the floor without their numbered school jerseys. There is a crisp newness of the first contact that evinces a profusion of sweat, nerves and the rush of adrenaline.

What is taking place in these early outings establishes the groundwork for what comes later. For some special teams that could mean sectional, regional or even state championships.

To cover the game of basketball thoroughly is no small undertaking. It begins with the complex process of sorting out the faces and names of those now playing from those who graduated. As the scrimmages give way to actual games, so begins the annual gauntlet through the basketball season that runs unceasingly night after night, tournament after tournament, and finally ends at the mecca of New York State High School Basketball at Glens Falls for the boys championships on March 14 and 15 and at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy on the same dates for the girls finals.

For teams and the sportswriters who wish to cover them effectively, it’s a matter of starting at the beginning and building from there. Basketball seasons are stories with their own unique prologues, compelling chapters and unpredictable endings.

While the 2006 basketball season is now a dim memory to some, to others it still resonates with the strong stamp of emotional wins, crushing defeats, sectional runs and titles and, in the case of Tri-Valley, a near miss at getting to the state final four. It was a season to remember with remarkable moments in both boys and girls basketball. With space at a premium, this week’s preview is on the boys teams. The girls preview article can be found at riverreportersports.com and will appear in next week’s issue of The River Reporter.

The breakdown of the Sullivan County boys teams offers a brief flashback to the final results of the 2006-07 season and a preview of 2007-08. At this writing, a couple of teams have already tipped up the ball in their first games, while others are poised to do so in the coming week. Teams are listed by class in descending order from largest to smallest. Sullivan County does not have any Class AA teams. Monticello, the county’s largest school district, is in Class A. Each school’s class appears in parenthesis.

Monticello (A): The Panthers finished 11-11 in 2006-07 and won their sectional quarterfinal over Saugerties, before falling in the semifinals to Section Nine runner up Red Hook. Graduation stripped the team of its dominant post presence in Mike Normann. Gone, too, are veterans Shane Jones, Wayne Fletcher, Omar Diaz, Tyrone White and Justino Paredes, just to name a few. The only returnees to the ’07 squad are seniors Dior Jackson, who Monticello coach Dick O’Neill has named captain, and forward Tyrus Walker, a freshman who O’Neill brought up late in last year from jayvee.

Taking the court this year is an array of players that possess speed and determination, but enter the daunting world of Class A basketball with a lack experience. O’Neill will see to it that their wetness behind the ears dries out quickly. In a scrimmage against Red Hook, the iconic coach, on the brink of his final season, minced no words in reminding his young charges about what they were supposed to do at both ends of the floor.

Monticello’s squad also contains freshman guard Davon Singleton, senior forward Kyle Wigfall, junior guard Devon Mathis, senior forward John Hernandez, sophomore guard Briar Patterson, senior forward Kevin Wigfall, junior guard Sean Williams, junior forward Rodney Allan, junior wingman Tyler Hutching, sophomore guard Thomas Gonzalez and junior forward Derrick Miller.

O’Neill currently has 399 career wins and hopes to get that elusive 400th in the Panthers’ season opener at Wallenpaupack High School on November 30. Cornwall is the defending Section Nine Class A Champion.

Liberty (B): As far as the Indians and their new coach Jason Semo are concerned, the less said about the Indians’ 4-15 season in 2006-07, the better. Though Liberty lost one of the area’s best players in Lakarri Byrd, as well as Rashaun Sellers and André Brand, this year’s team is densely packed with talent, speed and verve. In the center of the excitement is junior forward Dashawn Williamson, who will be a force to be reckoned with in the paint. Added resonance comes from the inclusion of Tri-Valley junior guard transfers Dustin and Ryan VanLieu. Dustin was a major contributor in the Bears’ 22-2 season that left them one win shy of Glens Falls. Ryan was recovering from a football injury last year but is now healthy and ready to play his part.

Senior forward Trevor Tompkins is the only starter to return from last year’s team, though others, including senior forward Justen Mills and junior guard Connor Hinton, were on the squad as well. The remainder of the Indians include junior guard Jose Mendez, junior forward Matt Hersh, junior guard Steve Hewlett, senior forward Pedro Alvarez, senior forward Anthony Rodriguez, junior guard Ivan Rivera, junior guard Chris Lake and senior guard Joe Ruiz.

The Indians did well in their November 18 scrimmage against the Family School, Livingston Manor and Tri-Valley. They open their 2007-08 campaign at home against Port Jervis on December 4. John S. Burke is the defending Class B champion. An interesting sidebar to the Class B story is that Red Hook is once again in the mix.

Sullivan West (B): The Bulldogs went 12-9 in 2006-07, defeating James I. O’Neill in the Section Nine quarterfinals, before being crushed by eventual Section Nine champion John S. Burke in the semifinals. Lost to graduation was the nexus of the team in guards Kevin Cappiello and Kienan Garn and forwards Derek Hahn and Alan Ackermann. This year, Cliff Kelly returns to coach the team. Former co-coach Bob Menges is not on the coaching roster.

The 2007-08 Bulldogs return juniors Justin Armstrong, Brad Reimer and James Spruill, along with seniors Jason Leewe and Chris Story. Filling out the rest of this year’s team are sophomores Robert Rosa, Austin Sauer and Gabriel Lagrutta and juniors Dan Figueroa and Harold Smith. Young but enthusiastic, the Bulldogs will hope to continue the standard of excellence set by Sullivan West over the past several years and will have to find new ways to do so. The Bulldogs open their season at home in a non-league game against Class C Webutuck on December 1 at 2:30 p.m. in Lake Huntington.

Tri-Valley (C): Posting the best record in Section Nine in 2007, Tri-Valley streaked to a 22-2 mark, losing only to Sullivan West in the regular season and to Friends Academy in the Class C Regional Final in Old Westbury.

For coach Brian Tingley and the few remaining Bears from that magical run, this year figures to be a new challenge, as other teams will circle the games with Tri-Valley on their calendars with a special bull’s eye. In addition to the VanLieu twins, who are now at Liberty, Tri-Valley lost standout John Merchant, dynamic Fred Moore and Michael Kaplan, along with William Elberth, all graduating seniors in last year’s run.

Still on board, though, is paint-presence senior Bo Murphy, along with senior guards Kevin and Sean Drown and David McDonald and junior forward Bruce Moore. Tingley will look to get contributions from juniors Timmy Martin, Ryan Ansboro, Dan Killian, Andrew Yager, Robert Favre and sophomore Brendan Moore.

Tri-Valley, the reigning Section Nine Class C champion, got set to open its season against Ellenville at home on November 28.

Fallsburg (B): The athletic Comets struggled in their first year in Class B, ending up with an overall record of 3-11 and missing out on sectionals. In 2003, the Comets made it to the state final four, and lost to Buffalo City Honors in the semifinals. The Comets lost Chris York to graduation, but return a host of great athletes to the mix this year, including standout senior forwards Darius Buckner and Randy Gilmore. That tandem has many of the coaches in Class B already on edge. Also returning to the fold for coach Pete Dworetsky are seniors Reggie Bici, Colin Whitaker and Noah Espinoza.

The Comets opened their season with a 63-47 win over Bainbridge-Guilford on November 20, and lost to Oneonta 63-48 in their second game of the young season.

Livingston Manor (D): Last season, the Wildcats finished 7-13 and missed making sectionals with a late regular-season loss at Roscoe. A win there would have given the Wildcats a .500 league mark even with final losses to Chapel Field and S.S. Seward.

Returning this year is standout senior point guard James Baker. Coach Charlie Hicks will also benefit from the return of junior guard Shane Lewis, junior power forward Mike Hendrickson and senior power forward Justin Mendez. Included in this year’s Wildcats are junior guard Justin Miranda, junior guard Justin Maggio and junior forwards Dion Mendez, Dan Turner and Patrick Severing. Senior Jonah Hinkley will also see time off the bench. “We’ve got a good starting five players,” said Hicks, who hopes he can get valuable minutes from the players, who will have to come in and spell his starters.

Manor opens its season at Ellenville on December 3. John A. Coleman Catholic is the reigning Section Nine Class D champion.

Roscoe (D): The Blue Devils missed sectionals in ’07 with a record of 4-15, but Coach Fred Ahart has a strong returning group of players that should make the team a strong Class D contender. Lost to graduation were big man Justin Klinger, along with Justin Haas, Patrick Mershon and Walter Bury. Back this year is senior Jayson Harris, Roscoe’s point guard sharpshooter, though Ahart would like to find a way to move Harris to the front court. Harris will be joined by senior forwards Clay Banks, Chris Jaindl, John Clancy and Seth Darbee, junior guards Dylan Bowers and Joe Ladenhauf and senior guard Dave Lake.

Roscoe opened its season at Margaretville on November 27.

The Family School (D): While the Falcons won the Class D title in 2005, they struggled last year, ending up 6-13. But, they made the sectionals where they lost 61-49 to S.S. Seward in the opening round. This year looks promising with a strong host of athletic and quick players taking the floor for coach Ted Towsley. The Falcons will feature junior guards Christian Homsey, Vincent D’Agnese and Juan Garcia, junior forwards Chris Robinson, John O’Reilly and Devin Corvino, senior returning forward Kyle Messner, returning senior guard Alan Alco and returning freshman forward Chris Fagan. The Falcons scrimmaged against Liberty, Livingston Manor and the Family School on November 18 and showed hustle and tough defense. The Family School opened its season at Milford High School on November 23.

Eldred (D): The Yellowjackets recently got their football players onto the basketball court, giving coach Charlie Donnelly a late start and leaving him reluctant to discuss this year’s team makeup. Eldred returns to the court from a difficult 4-15 season in 2006-07 that saw Donnelly resume the reins of the boys hoop program after a long hiatus.

Donnelly hopes that his team will be competitive this year, but given the athleticism of a number of Eldred’s players, the coach’s musings about the season could be an understatement. Time will tell. Back in the fold from last year will certainly be guard John Scully. Eldred lost only two players to graduation in John Genninger and Dan Driscoll.

Fresh off their recent football campaign, Bobby Moriggia, Kojo Williams and Chris Mehedin were practicing last week, but comments about other players will be left for the first game that Eldred plays to allow coach Donnelly more time to figure out who will be wearing the green and white this winter.

The Yellowjackets were scheduled to scrimmage at Port Jervis on November 29 and open their season at home against S.S. Seward on December 4.

Visit riverreportersports.com for a preview of girls basketball and an album of pictures from preseason scrimmages.