Tip-off time arrives
A number of stellar players return to their respective teams for the 2015-16 boys basketball season.
Tyler Frederick at Butler, Tristan Newcamp at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Austin Hannes at Knoch, Josh Beale at Freeport, John Castello at Mars, Ryan Dutton at Slippery Rock and Cole Morris at Union are among the players figuring to shine again this season.
Here is a look at Butler County area teams for this year:
A-C ValleyCoach: Andy Rapp, third season.Last year: 1-21.After going 2-41 over the last two seasons, the Falcons will turn to their defense in a search for respectability.A-C Valley averaged just 32 points per game last season and coach Andy Rapp knows offense will be hard to come by once again.“We’re not a good shooting team and were over-matched in a lot of games last year,” he admitted. “Our turnovers were so high that they put us in a position that we just couldn’t expect to win.“We will try to cause chaos with our man-to-man defense. We have to close out, protect our paint and rim. Every player needs to know what they are supposed to do.”The starting lineup should include some combination of the team’s six returning letter winners — guards Zach Muhl, John Anderson, Brady Terwilliger and Kody Wolfe and forwards Austin Heeter and Joe Manculich.Heeter, a senior, appears to be a solid player to build around, leading the team last year with 9.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
ButlerCoach: Matt Clement, seventh season.Last year: 14-9, 5-7 in section.The Golden Tornado bring back one starter — 6-foot-6 junior forward Tyler Frederick — from last season. Despite missing a few games with an injury, Frederick was still named all-section.“We hope he can perform at the level you would expect from a returning all-section player,” Clement said. “Tyler runs the floor really well and put back a lot of offensive rebounds that way.“Now we want him more involved in our sets as well.”Butler seniors Kaden Rock, Damien Pickett and Kelley Kuharic all saw varsity minutes last year. Junior guards Joel and Jace Stutz saw plenty of action as well and join Pickett and Rock as team captains this season.Luke Michalek, who averaged 8.5 assists per game for the junior varsity last year, is a sophomore in the mix at point guard. Junior varsity MVP Connor Ollio is a 6-3 sophomore forward who also saw varsity time a year ago.“I’m not set on a starting lineup yet because we have a number of things we can do with our guards and I’m still weighing all of that,” Clement said.Pickett, Ollio and junior Jefferson Ford are other forwards who can accompany Frederick up front. Jake Kradel, a 6-4 sophomore, has joined the team and adds muscle up front as well.“People coming to our games will enjoy this team and how hard it plays,” Clement said. “There are no egos on this team. Everyone is unselfish and the chemistry is really good.”
CW North CatholicCoach: Dave Long, 15th season.Last year: 16-10, 10-2 in section. Lost WPIAL Class A quarterfinals, PIAA first round.Spacing and speed will be the important thing for Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic to be competitive.The Trojans don’t have a lot of size underneath or experience down low.“I think if we could get people to chase us down the floor, that’s always a bonus,” Long said. “We’re going to be a little more patient and the opportunity to use our foot speed to our advantage.”Long will be counting on Tristan Newcamp, who averaged close to nine points per game last season, and Kenny Fukon to take a step forward.North Catholic will also be looking to try and develop a point guard.Erick Taylor, who played quarterback for the Trojans, will be counted on to play inside.“I think hopefully it’s a desire to be competitive,” Long said. “Maybe we might have an edge with team speed and I don’t see us having a very powerful inside game.”
FreeportCoach: Mike Beale, fifth season.Last year: 13-9, 6-8 in section.Being swept by Valley left the Yellowjackets on the outside looking in on the playoff picture last season.With the top of the section loaded again, the Yellowjackets will need to find a way to steal some games to compete for a playoff berth.Senior forward Josh Beale, who averaged 17 points per game, returns to lead Freeport’s offense.Mason Eddinger, who led the team with 38 3-pointers last season, gives the Yellowjackets a dangerous threat on the perimeter.Ryan Weigold, who is 6-foot-3, and Derek Jones, also 6-3, give the Yellowjackets some size at the guard position.Freeport averaged 56 points per game last season and will need to keep, or improve upon that number, to earn its first playoff bid since 2012.
Grove CityCoach: Jeff Loughry, first season.Last year: 13-10As transitions go, this one has been smooth.Don Fee, who coached for 23 years and won 417 games, resigned and Loughry, who coached the Karns City boys basketball team for four years until he resigned in 2002, took over.Loughry spent the last three seasons as an assistant on Fee’s staff.“We’re still going to do the Don Fee defense and the Don Fee offense,” Loughry said. “I was very fortunate to work with him.“Nobody can beat Don Fee,” Loughry added. “He’s a living legend.”Fee left Loughry a lot to work with on the roster.Brendan Record, a 6-foot guard, returns. Record scored 12.1 points per game last season and also hit 29 3-pointers.Kameron Patterson, a 6-2 junior forward, will also be counted on to add an offensive punch.The region is a difficult one.“It’s an outstanding league,” Loughry said. “It’s going to be a grind every time out.”
Karns CityCoach: Chris Bellis, seventh season.Last year: 13-8.No starters return for the Gremlins and nine of their 16 varsity players are still playing football.“We always expect to get off to a late start in basketball, but it’s a little worse this year because the football season started a week later,” coach Chris Bellis said.KC does return three players who started a few games last year in senior guards Reese Barger and Holden Martin, along with junior forward Chandler Turner. Turner netted four points per game last season and is the Gremlins’ top returning scorer.Also battling for starting positions are guards Ian McElroy and Noah Pollock, forwards Ben Ealy, Jacob Friel and Jimmy Thompson.“We’ll be starting fresh and we’re inexperienced to begin with,” Bellis said. “We’ll have to roll with the punches making the transition from football.“We simplify things, teach a few things to the guys instead of throwing a whole lot at them right away. This will be a team effort. Our JV’s only lost one game last year, so these guys can play. They’ve played 50 to 60 games together, so we will mesh well.”
KnochCoach: Ron McNabb, fourth season.Last year: 14-10, 8-6 in section.The Knights always pride themselves on defense.“There will be games when you don’t shoot the ball well, but you can always defend well,” coach Rob McNabb said. “Our annual goal is to be at or near the top of the WPIAL in team defense.“Only this year, we have a few more offensive weapons as well.”Austin Hannes returns at point guard after missing much of last season with an injury. Aiden Albert, who slid into the point guard role after Hannes got hurt, returns as well. So does Jackson McKee, who wound up starting in the backcourt as a sophomore.“We will have two very capable point guards on the floor and Jackson can handle the ball, too,” McNabb said.Mac Christy returns as a starter at forward. Sophomore Ben Lucas will help up front and the Knights received a bonus with the quick return of 6-foot-4 junior PJ Gourley.“PJ had major shoulder surgery and we didn’t think he’d be cleared until close to February,” McNabb said. “We’re getting him back much sooner.”The coach said Knoch’s players put the off-season time in working on individual skills.“We’ve got a good mix of outside shooting and an inside game,” he enthused.
MarsCoach: Rob Carmody, 18th seasonLast year: 26-3, 14-0 in section.One game at a time.For Mars coach Rob Carmody, that’s the only way to approach the upcoming season, despite a team with such high expectations.The Planets bring back all five starters and the top reserves from a squad that finished last season 26-3 and reached the state quarterfinals, but looking ahead is not an option.“Navigating through this section (1-AAA) will be brutal,” Carmody said. “We’ll play each game to win that game. If we stray from that mentality, we’ll be in trouble.”Center John Castello, now a senior, won the Butler Eagle’s Boys Player of the Year last season with 17.1 points and 14 rebounds per game. Joining him in the frontcourt will be senior forward Alex Gruber (13.3 points/11.7 rebounds). The backcourt is in good hands with point guard Ryan Giallonardo and shooting guards Christian Schmitt (11 ppg.) and Robby Carmody (13.9 ppg.). Last year, Schmitt and Carmody combined to hit 99 three-point goals.“The experience of last year will benefit these guys,” said Carmody. “They have all done a great job improving their game and that’s the exciting part for me.”Guards Bailey Trzeciak, Aaron Gruber, Sam Morrissey and Brent Ashbaugh and forwards Steve Castello and Nate Sablowski give Mars reliable options off the bench.
MoniteauCoach: Jerrod Markle, third season.Last year: 10-14The Warriors were inconsistent last season.That’s something Markle is hoping will change this year with a deep and hungry team.“I think every coach is hoping for consistency,” Markle said. “Good consistency, not bad consistency.”Markle will also have a team with balanced scoring.Last year, Cody Skiver and James Bair accounted for nearly 30 points per game.This year, Moniteau will have a slew of scoring options, which Markle is hoping will make the Warriors a more difficult team to defend.“I think we’ll be able to spread the ball around, penetrate and kick, and have lots of guys who can contribute points.”Senior Aaron Marterella returns at point guard.“He’s played solid across the board for us,” Markle said. “He can score, dish and he can be a lockdown defender.”Senior Derek Boben will also be a big part of the offense.“He hit some big shots for us last year,” Markle said.J.J. Waid, McKinley Baptiste and Laken Pry will also be key contributors, Markle said.The Warriors will also have a deep bench.“I think one of the things that is really good is we’ll be sharing the basketball,” Markle said. “We won’t be leaning on one guy. We have guys who can do multiple things well. We can go eight-to-10 deep.”
Seneca ValleyCoach: Victor Giannotta, 12th season.Last year: 13-9, 5-7 in section.Jack Cook displayed his big-play ability in his first season as a starter on the gridiron.Boys basketball coach Victor Giannotta is hoping there’s something left in the tank on the hardwood.“We need him to be a leader,” said Giannotta. “He played well at quarterback for a Quad-A football team. Hopefully, his football season can carry over into the basketball season. This is the least amount of experience we’ve brought back in my (12) years here.”Cook, a 6-foot-1 junior shooting guard, is the lone starter returning from last year’s team that just missed out on a WPIAL playoff spot. He averaged seven points per game and will be counted on to increase his point production.The rest of the starting lineup remains up in the air, though Giannotta mentioned guards Jamir Carter, Justin Koken, Payton Skalos and Patrick Uher and frontcourt players Andrew Smathers, Mark Smathers, Nate Trzeciak and Chris Hart among those who could see significant playing time.Aside from Cook, Hart saw the most varsity action last year as a freshman at about five minutes per game.Despite a lot of inexperience, Giannotta says the team sports the right attitude.“The kids have been in the gym and I’ve seen some excellent chemistry and energy since day one,” he said. “Our goals haven’t changed and those include making the playoffs.”
Slippery RockCoach: Randy Armagost, first season.Last year: 11-11The evolution of the Rockets was already under way before varsity coach Phil Bushre stepped down in November.Armagost, who was an assistant under Bushre last season and spent 13 years as the Moniteau boys coach, will oversee a more up-tempo attack this season.“We were already going to play a faster-paced offense and play a little more pressure-defense,” Armagost said.Of course, Armagost has a stellar player to build both his offense and defense around in 6-5 junior forward Ryan Dutton, who averaged 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.Dutton is coming off a broken wrist, but will be ready to go.The challenge for Armagost will be finding the right combination of players to slot in around Dutton.Senior guards Josh Bowser and Chase Allen will be asked to fill the huge voids left by Jake Whitmer and Brady Kadlubek, who graduated after combining to average 29 points per game last season.Another key will be how quickly the young and inexperienced players find their form, Armagost said.“The future is bright here,” the coach said. “The sophomore class is really deep and talented.”The region won’t do Slippery Rock any favors, either.Last year, Slippery Rock lost three games in overtime and nine games by six points or less.
Summit AcademyCoach: Adam Petrosky, fourth season.Last year: 3-18, 2-12 in section.Mark Beavers’ teammates on the Knights have already learned to appreciate his style of running the offense.Beavers penetrates and kicks. Shooting is really of no concern to him.He also gives Summit Academy something it lacked season, someone to run the show.“We were a little rudderless last year, rotating between a couple of 2s at the point,” Petrosky said. “Having a point guard makes things easier to convey. He doesn’t care about shooting. His teammates love playing with him.”Petrosky hopes Beavers’ ability will let some of his teammates settle in. Akeem Harris, a 6-8 forward, has displayed early athleticism.His partner on the block, Tony Sprinkle, who is 6-2, will provide him with support.“I think this group is very coachable and is motivated and have accepted their goals,” Petrosky said.
UnionCoach: Jeff Hepler, fourth season.Last year: 13-11, 5-5 in KSAC South. Lost District 9 Class A quarterfinals.The Golden Knights picked up their first playoff win since 2011 last season. With a little more consistency, Hepler is excited with what Union has in the mix for this season.The Golden Knights return three starters — Cole Morris, Lucas Bowser, and Hank Murphy — and also return a letterman in Gavin Hawk.Morris averaged 21.5 points per game last season, while Bowser and Murphy were both around 8 points per game.Making sure the job gets done on both ends of the floor is the major concern.“We have to be more consistent,” Hepler said. “We need to be better on defense and with rebounding.”Hepler said Union is counting on Sutton Varner, Dana Logue and senior forward Gavin Guntrum to be key contributors.
