Back to the Basket
Following are preview capsules for the Butler County area boys basketball teams:
Coach: Jim Marron, 13th yearLast Year: 11-12 overall, 6-4 in KSAC-SouthThe Falcons have finished third in the South Division two straight years, but Marron believes his squad has the horses to climb the standings this winter.“I have 10 seniors and eight of our kids are as talented as anybody we'll see,” he said. “I'm optimistic.”Two big reasons for Marron's positive outlook are forward Ryan Bartley and point guard Brody Irwin, both seniors.Bartley put up 20.3 points per game last season and earned First Team All-KSAC honors. Irwin scored 14.3 per contest and was named Second Team All-KSAC.“Ryan has been starting since his sophomore year and Brody is the point guard we've been waiting for since Sean Foust graduated (in 2006),” Marron said. “We'll be looking to those two for the majority of our scoring this year, though we have several other guys who can score 20 points on any given night.”That list includes guards Landon Delisio and Cole Terwilliger and forward Jeff Eaton, who could all start alongside Bartley and Irwin. All five can shoot from long range. Irwin paced the Falcons last season with 45 trifectas.Marron expects 6-foot-1 senior forward Kevin Kaufman to be a key contributor off the bench.“He's a good defender,” he said.
Coach: Matt Clement, fourth yearLast Year: 13-13, reached WPIAL semifinalsClement will be without versatile point guard Nate Snodgrass for the first time, the latter moving on to Northern Kentucky University.But instead of having a go-to player, the coach may now have a go-to team.“We have a lot of players we can use a lot of ways,” the coach said. “Everybody on this roster can play and has worked hard to earn a spot. There are no charity cases on this team.”The Golden Tornado have three true point guards in sophomores Keenan and Arum Krause, along with senior Shae Stobert. Senior Dom Pusateri and sophomore Nick Patten can also handle that role.“Pretty much any guard on this team can run our offense,” Clement said.The only players back with varsity experience from last year are Pusateri and senior forwards Luke Hartung and Seth Horwat. Team captains are senior newcomer Seth Cook, Pusateri and senior forward Zach Neudorfer.Cook is a 6-foot-3 forward who provides a strong presence inside.“Sam's a good rebounder and he has true leadership ability,” Clement said. “His family moved here from Michigan and it's not easy for a senior new to a school and a team to quickly become one of the boys. But he's done that.“This is the biggest team I've had in my four years here. We hope to do something with that.”Butler has five players standing 6-3 or taller.Clement said he has plenty of players who can shoot from outside as well.“We should have games where we score a lot of points,” he said. “But, as always, the defensive side of the ball needs to be our strength.“We could play 12 to 14 players on varsity. We can adjust our lineup to match up against whoever we're playing. Everyone's going to say we're inexperienced, so we don't stand much of a chance. These guys can use that as a chip on their shoulder all year.”
Coach: Mike BealeLast Year: 10-10 overall, 7-7 in Section 1-AAAfter returning to the postseason last year, the Yellowjackets will be looking to their returning starters — Brendan Lynch, Robbie Miller and Tony DeVivo — to help guide them back again.“They've been around our program a long time,” said Beale. “Our seniors have been great leaders on a daily basis in practice.”“Our seniors are a hard-nosed group. They want to leave their imprint before they leave,” Beale added.Lynch averaged 12.8 points per game, while Miller chipped in with 9.6 points per contest last year.The team will certainly lean to those three, especially since Freeport has moved up to Class AAA this season.“The classification might have changed, but not the Freeport brand of basketball,” Beale said. “We'll be physical, rebound, play defense and share the basketball.”Another senior, Fred Pastoria, will see some time at point guard while first-year player Ethan McCormick, a 6-6 forward, will provide rebounding and defense. Juniors Seth Bowser and Eric Davis and freshman Josh Beale will also see time.“These are the main ones that will see major minutes,” Beale noted.“The playoffs are always one of our priorities,” Beale said. “They experienced it last year after missing it the year before. The seniors want to get back there again.”
Coach: Don Fee, 22nd yearLast Year: 17-6Fee is at 399 wins and counting.The longtime Grove City coach was hoping for 400 last season, but the Eagles were upended in the first round of the District 10 playoffs by Girard after a miraculous late-season push took the Eagles from outside the playoffs to region champions.“A lot of teams have a lot of people coming back,” Fee said. “It seems like that is always the case (in this region). Every win is going to be a struggle in this league.”Fee believes he has the players to win again.The big loss was Torin Smith, who was a 3-point shooting machine for the better part of his four seasons in gold and white.Smith hit 133 3-pointers over the last two seasons.Grove City does have Matt Thrasher back at guard. The 6-1 senior hit 30 3-pointers a season ago.Also back is Foster Reznor, a 5-11 junior who provided a spark off the bench for the Eagles in 2011-12, but will be a starter this season.Mac Young, 6-foot senior guard; Jorden Dolan, a 6-2 senior center; Derek Turner, a 6-1 junior forward; Danny Torok, a 6-foot sophomore guard; and Colby Polkabla, a 6-2 junior forward will also see significant minutes.
Coach: Chris Bellis, fourth yearLast Year: 7-15 overall, 3-7 in the KSAC-SouthHow much improvement the Gremlins show this year will depend on how well younger players can make the transition at the varsity level.“We have only one returning starter in (junior guard) Tyler Kepple and we have kind of another starter in (senior forward) Josh Wallace, who started some games for us last year,” Bellis said.“They give us experience and (senior guard) Andrew Johnston will provide leadership,” Bellis added.The team lost leading scorer Tucker Preston (13.0 ppg, 44 3-pointers) as well as Brandyn Bowser (9.4 ppg) and Ethan Williams (8.5 ppg), but still have Kepple, who averaged 12.0 points per game and added a team-high 50 three-pointers.The Gremlins, however, lost their top-two post players from the junior varsity team last year — Logan Moroney and Dan Filges — to injury and will be out until later this month and possibly January, respectively.Look for David Olszak, Nathan Weckerly and David Markel to compete for the third guard spot, while Wallace could be joined by Austin Murray and Ryan Pfeifer in the interim at forward.“A lot of guys got experience in varsity games last year, who were not starters,” Bellis said. “We'll go pretty deep. We shouldn't give up much and we should be balanced.“When you have good, young players starting, you can be good for a little while and when you have competition, people get better,” he added.
Coach: Ron McNabb, first yearLast Year: 10-13, lost in first round of WPIAL playoffsSize and defense will be the key to the Knights' season.“Everywhere I've coached, my teams have squared up and played good, sound defense,” McNabb said. “That's definitely what we want to have here as well.“Size will be to our advantage and I expect us to be strong on the boards.”Knoch has three forwards — seniors Dakota Bruggeman and Marc Vaughan, sophomore Matt Zanella — standing 6-foot-3 or taller.The guard play is in good hands with juniors Austin Miller and David Gallagher.“Both of those guys handle the ball well,” McNabb said. “We've got two very capable seniors in Ben Pfeiffer and Alex Campbell at that position, too.“I think we're pretty deep overall. I see us going nine deep in the rotation.”Other players among that group are junior forward Chris Kier and junior guard Adam Albert.
Coach: Rob Carmody, 15th yearLast Year: 18-8 overall, lost in WPIAL quarterfinals and PIAA first roundExperience and talent are two things all high school basketball coaches would love to have entering a season. Carmody is one of the few who will have plenty of both this season.The Planets return almost every player from last year's 18-8 team that reached the WPIAL quarterfinals and the state playoffs for the first time in program history.Guards Mitch Buzard, Garrett Ashbaugh and Owen Nearhoof return as starters in the backcourt. Ashbaugh will start at point guard for the second straight season. Buzard led the Planets in scoring last year at 13.6 points per game and Nearhoof was right behind at 13.3. The duo combined for 82 three-pointers.Forward Matt Getsy (6-foot-3) and center Josh Goetz (6-8) will provide a formidable presence in the frontcourt on both ends of the floor after combining to average over 15 points and 15 rebounds per game as juniors.But Carmody is quick to point out that potential without results will simply lead to a disappointing year.“We can't just show up and expect to win games,” he said. “We have to be hungry to get better, hungry to compete.”The veteran coach has seen no letup in his team so far.“We're really pleased with the players' approach in practice,” he said. “They are really getting after it.”While Mars' starting lineup is very good, it is the team's bench that could make the difference in a lot of games this season.Guards Zach May and Ben Erdahl, forward Alex Locher and center Adam Bayuk, among others, will see significant playing time.
Coach: Randy Armagost, 13th yearLast Year: 15-8, 7-3 KSAC SouthAt this time last year, Moniteau was just wrapping up football season and the Warriors were a couple of weeks behind on the hardwood.Armagost believes an early end to football in 2012 should be a benefit to the boys basketball team this season.“The nice thing about it is we get to know a lot more about the team,” said Armagost. “The last four or five years, we've gotten off to slow starts.”The Warriors return last year's third-leading scorer in Andrew Armagost, who tallied 9.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while running the point in his junior campaign.This season, the senior will spend more time in the paint to help make up for a lack of big bodies inside.“We don't have a ton of post players,” said Coach Armagost. “We're going to be more of a fast-paced kind of team — more press, more run and gun.”Junior guard Colton Cumberland is expected to start at point guard, while sophomores James Bair and Cody Skiver should provide threats from beyond the arc. Drew Yeckel, a senior forward, will have an expanded role on the floor this year, as well.“Our goals are to hold teams under 30 percent shooting and outrebound them,” said Armagost. “You do that and you're going to win some games.”
Coach: Victor Giannotta, ninth yearLast Year: 15-11 overall, lost in WPIAL quarterfinals and PIAA first roundA tough section just got tougher.The Raiders are used to scratching and clawing for wins in Section 3-AAAA against the likes of Shaler, North Allegheny, Butler and Central Catholic, among others. Last season, seven of the Raiders' section contests were decided by two points or less.While Central Catholic has been moved out of the section, two top-notch Class AAA teams have been added in New Castle and Hampton.Last season, the WPIAL Class AAA title game was between the Red Hurricanes and Talbots, with New Castle winning 57-44.“There's going to be a team from our section to miss the playoffs that could contend for a title in any other Quad A section,” said Giannotta. “That's how tough this section is going to be. You can embrace it or make excuses and we're not into making excuses.”The Raiders return just one starter from last season's 15-11 team that qualified for the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs in 6-foot-5 senior guard Easton Bazzoli.As a junior, Bazzoli averaged nine points per game, but showed his potential by scoring 51 points in a three-game stretch.“We're looking for Easton to do whatever it takes to help us win games,” said Giannotta. “Whether that means shooting it or passing it, we need him to focus on doing that. He's our best player.”Senior forward R.J. McCauley will join Bazzoli as the team's co-captains.“R.J. is the most dependable kid I've ever coached,” Giannotta said of McCauley, who will make the switch from reliable sixth man to a starter.Matt Darby, a 5-11 junior, will start at point guard and Zach Spangler, a 6-4 forward, should also crack the starting lineup. The rest of the playing time is up in the air.
Coach: Phil Bushre, fifth yearLast Year:7-15The Rockets were busy this summer, playing nearly 50 games in their own summer league and elsewhere.Still, Bushre has some question marks for a team that has lost their fair share of close games over the past two seasons.“You can only get so much in summer leagues,” Bushre said. “I do know this. They'll compete.”Bushre must replace his top two scorers from last season: point guard Ryan Thompson and Ty Udy.Sophomore Jake Whitmer will move into Thompson's role.“Jake helped us out last year as a freshman,” Bushre said. “He works really hard at it. He really wants it. I think he has it.”Ryan Currie, a 6-2 senior, will see his role expand as will sharpshooting 5-10 senior guard Dustin Mellott and 5-8 sophomore guard Brady Kadlubek.Slippery Rock has a pair of wild cards in the mix, as well.Newcomer Bruce Pellitier gives the Rockets a big body inside. The senior forward stands 6-foot-4.“He's really long and lanky,” Bushre said. “But you can tell he's never played basketball before. I don't know when he'll be ready, but he can help us.”The other wild card is 6-1 senior Ryan Northcott, who is coming back from a knee injury suffered shortly before football season.His recovery has been swift and the forward could see the floor in as little as two weeks, Bushre said.
Coach: Art McCray, third yearLast Year: 17-5 overall, 11-1 in Section 2-AA for first placeBecause of having an almost new roster each year, one would think McCray is concerned his squad did not capture a victory during fall-league play.That team, however, is a bit different than the one in the gym right now.“We have some different faces from that team,” McCray said. “The fall league to now, we're 10 times better. We have some guys into the program who came out and some who had played football.“Once we got more athletes in, things started to gel,” McCray added.Douglas Brooks will man the shooting guard position, joined by fellow captain and guard Tevante Hoskins as well as Lorenzo Abner while Sean Walker and Maurice Howard are slated to start at forward.“We've had two good point guards since I've been here with Arley Townsend and Rakim Reedy and Douglas Brooks is a combination of those two,” McCray said. “Tevante has a decent basketball IQ and Lorenzo is a pretty good shooter.”
Coach: Jeff Hepler, first yearLast Year: 20-4 overall, 10-0 KSAC SouthMany players on the Union boys basketball team are fresh off one of the most successful football season in school history.Hepler, who was an assistant for former head coach Karen Davis last year, believes the hoops team can follow a similar path.“Hopefully, we can continue the success of the football team,” said Hepler. “They kind of snuck up on some people and we hope to do the same thing.”The Golden Knights will have to fully heal from football season first, though.Brody Shick, Aaron Graham and Kaden McGregor figure to be the focal points of Union’s squad this year, but all are nursing injuries from the gridiron.“We’re going to have to stay healthy,” Hepler noted.Juniors Dylan Shirey and Wanya Harris, along with senior Shawn Hazlett should also make an impact. Seniors Derek Priester, Brandon Stitt and 6-foot-4 sophomore Tyler Wiser could also develop into difference makers.The Knights don’t boast a lot of size, but Hepler plans to counter that weakness by playing to the team’s strengths.“We’re going to have to run. We’re going to have to press,” the coach said. “We’re fairly athletic and we have very competitive kids who are disciplined and work extremely hard.”
