Section V Class B1 Basketball previews

[UNCTarheels]

Bath-Haverling Rams

League: Livingston County D1

Coach: Randy Brzezinski 4th Season

Last Season: 9-12 Lost to Hornell in 2nd Round (Started 2-10, finished 7-2 (2 losses to Hornell)

Key Losses: Mike Rossi (6'3") 12.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG Leading Scorer & Rebounder Last season (two year starter) Tyree McCloud (6'0") used up Eligibility. McKenzie Durham (5'10") 3.0 PPG, Graduated, Josh Butler (6'2") 2.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG Graduated

Key Returnees: Sr. Sean Lyke(5'10") 6.0 PPG, Jr. Brett Sutryk (5'10") 7.0 PPG, Sr. Andre McCloud (5'10") 10.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 3.0 SPG (Still Playing Football) Sr. Chris Leonard (6'1") 6.0 PPG 4.0 RPG (Still Playing Football) Sr. Brett Santacroce (6'5") , Sr. John Moore (6'1") Sr. Karl VanAmburg (6'0")

Top Newcomers: Soph. Nick Rossi (5'11") Jr. Nick Hillman (5'9") Sr. Juan Cortez (6'3") Foreign Exchange Student from Brazil, Jr. Drew Seager (6'2") Still Playing Football. Soph. Devante Staton (5'10") Transfer From Hammondsport.

Strengths: "Depth in the guard position – 5 or 6 players who are quick, good ball handlers & shooters. Decent size inside – Santacrose, Cortez, Seager, Moore are going to need to play physical and control the boards. This was a weakness for us last year.
Good athletes, but for many, basketball is not their number one sport. Time in the off season is focused on football, Baseball, soccer, etc. 7 guys returning that understand the system."

Weaknesses: Court time and experience is limited for some.

Other Notes of Interest: "Durham and Butler were solid role players, but core of last year’s team is returning.The Loss of Rossi will be noticed at first, but other players should be ready to step up and fill the void. Returning 7 players from last year’s team including 4 starters, 5 new comers are expected to have an impact immediately.

Quotes: "With the success of the football team, we will have four guys joining us 3-4 weeks late. It will be an interesting month of December playing half our schedule (10 games) and trying to get everyone on the same page."

Outlook: "It may take some time to build the team continuity necessary to compete in the LCAA Division I. We are looking to be competitive in every game and improve on last year’s record."

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Hornell Red Raiders

League: Livingston County Division I

Coach: Rob Stedman

Last Season: 17-5 Lost to Freddie-Thomas in Semi-Finals

Key Losses: D.J Schwartz (6'4") 12.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, Ryne Hunt (6'0") 13.0 PPG 8.0 RPG Eric Davidson (6'4")

Top Returnees: Sr. Kyle Murphy (6'0" 160 lbs) 7.5 PPG 3.0 APG, 3.0 SPG, Sr. Joe Mauro (6'1") 5.0 PPG, Brad Lawson (6'0" 185 lbs)

Top Newcomers: Jr. Guard Spencer Flint, Soph. Jordan Schwartz, Soph. Dylan Dunn, Jr. Keegan Pierce, Jr. Josh Burdett, Jr. Mikie Smith

Coaches Quote: "In contrast to last year’s team, this year’s group is very young and inexperienced. We graduated all 5 starters from a group that was able to achieve some nice accolades last season, but I’m very excited with the talent that we have coming up this year. We should be able to go 9-10 deep into our rotation most games and our guard play will be a big key to our success. I’m expecting Kyle Murphy and Joey Mauro to bring some consistent scoring and leadership to our young group and I’m really optimistic about our 2 sophomores (Schwartz and Dunn) and all of our juniors being able to make the quick adjustment to playing at the varsity level and make an immediate impact. I think our schedule this year, which includes a tough league slate, 2 Olean tournaments, and Non-league games against Aquinas, Wellsville, and Avon, will really help get us battle-tested for a wide open sectional bracket.

Key Matchups: **Olean Tip-off (Olean, Hornell, Batavia, Maple Grove) **St. Bonaventure X-Mas Tourn.(Olean, Hornell, Grover Cleveland, Bradford (PA)

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Wayland-Cohocton Eagles

League: Livingston County DI

Coach: Bob Skoczylas

Last Season: 4-17 Lost to Freddie-Thomas in 1st round

Key Losses: Sam Wallace (5'9") Greg Koch (6'2") Owen Peaty (5'11") Jr. Dane St. George (Broken Leg out for Season)

Top Returnees: Sr. Mike Nowatzki (6'0" 165 lbs)-Mike is a versatile player who has the ability to be a scorer inside or outside depending on the match up. His dedication to the weight room allows Mike to cover an outside threat or an inside threat on the defensive end. Sr. Alex Pragle (6'3")- Alex is working hard to improve his inside game. He also has a nice touch on his shot. Jr. Kyle Carman (6'0")- Kyle has seemed more comfortable with his role on the team with his experience as a sophomore on the varsity last season. In addition to his shooting ability, he has improved on getting to the basket with either hand and finishing his drives.

Top Newcomers: Seniors Tim Chapman and Brent Gibbs are new to the program this year. Tim is a scrappy player who leaves it all out on the floor. Brent brings an ability to finish near the basket. Brent will be out for a few more weeks with an injury to his hip. Juniors Freddie Kuhn, Billy Briggs and Scott Stephens are also newcomers to the team. Freddie and Billy strongest skill they bring to the team is their outside shooting while Scott is a strong player inside. Ryan Spall will be out for another two months with an injury to his thumb. Ryan played very well this past summer and will be an asset for the program when he returns. Sophomores Ryan Gibbs, DJ Harris and freshmen Tyler Thielges round out the Eagles team this year. All three were key players on the JV team last year. Ryan has shown nice skills around the perimeter and in the paint so far this season. DJ has shown the ability to go around his defender and makes good decisions when he is in the paint. Tyler shows the same decision making ability inside and has been shooting the ball very well for the Eagles

Outlook: "With a tough league schedule along with non league home and home’s with Wellsville and Penn Yan, it’s important for this young Eagles team to grasp the importance of playing tough defense night in and night out. There will be some growing pains with such a young team. If this team plays with some consistency they will have the ability to win the tough league games necessary to have a successful year record wise.

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[UNCTarheels]

Livonia Bulldogs

League: Livingston County DI

Coach: Matt Young 6th Season

Last Season: 13-10, lost to eventual champion Charlotte in the class BB semi-finals

Key Losses- Corey Brizzee (5’10 200 lbs) 12.0 ppg 10.0 rpg, Royce Flickner (5’8 150lbs) 7.0 ppg (88% FT shooter), Dan Schuster( 5’11 175lbs) (DNP last season due to knee injury)

Key Returners- Matt Girolmo.SR G/F (6’3 205 lbs) 11.0 ppg 6.0 rpg, Ryan Metz SR F (6’2 200 lbs) Bobby Schuster JR G (6’3 180 lbs) 8.0 ppg 5.0 apg, Devon Schlesing SR F (6’2 215) Jake Mastasio SR G ( 5’9 160) Casey O’Connor SR G ( 6’2 175)

Top Newcomers- Jessie Grisham SR, G ( 6’1 200 lbs) ,Scott Smith, So. C ( 6’5 220 lbs) Mike Knapp, So. G ( 5’8 150lbs)

Strengths- "Our starting five ranges in height from 6’1 to 6’5 so hopefully that will give us an advantage on the offensive and defensive boards. Also we have pretty decent experience with Girolmo and Schuster( 3rd year varsity players) and Metz playing a lot of minutes last year. Jessie Grisham is another player who will be a nice edition this year with his speed and athleticism."

Weaknesses- "Depth may be a concern but hopefully we can get some quality minutes from those role Players."

Outlook- "We are one of the more “experienced” teams in Div. 1 but we know every night is going to a battle. We really need our veterans to step it up a notch to be in contention for a league title. If that happens I think we will be right in the mix of things at the end and that also might ensure us a good seed for sectionals."

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Midlakes Screaming Eagles

League: Finger Lakes East

Coach: Jeff Panek

Last Season: 8-13, Lost to Bath in 1st Round

Key Losses:Joshua DeBoover (6'2") 12.0 PPG

Top Returnees: Jr. Sean Sweeney (5'9" 175 lbs) 13.0 PPG 4.0 APG 1st Team All FL All-Star, Sr. Erin Kelly (6'4" 175 lbs) Sr. Sully Fratto (6'4" 170 lbs) Sr.Justin Huntsman (6'3" 220 lbs) Sr. Ben Uveges (6'2" 180 lbs) Sr. Jake Clyde (6'2" 155 lbs)

Top Newcomers: JR. Derek Reafsnyder (5'9" 155 lbs)

Strengths: "We return 6 guys who played alot of valuable minutes last season. All 6 started at some point during the season."

Weaknesses: "We are going to need others to score in order for us to be successful."

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More to come...........................

[UNCTarheels]

Dansville Mustangs

League: Livingston County DI

Coach: Kevin Greenway 7th Year

Last Season: 14-7, Lost To Livonia in Quarterfinals

Key Returnees: Matt Schuster – senior - 6’1” 165 lbs guard – 10.0ppg 5.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 2.0 steals/game, Kyle Schuster – senior – 6’1” 175 lbs guard –6.0 ppg 2.0 rpg, 2.0 apg Justin Lathrop – senior – 6’2” 190 lbs forward – 10.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg Jordan VanDunk – junior – 6’3” 185 lbs forward 9.0 ppg 7.0 rpg Colton Green – senior – 6’3” 205 forward – 4.0 ppg 4.0 rpg, Matt Thomas – senior – 6’5” 200 forward -3.0 ppg 3.0 rpg Garrett Hoag – junior – 6’0” 185 lbs guard 3.0 ppg, 2.0 apg Max Koch – junior – 5’11” 155 lbs guard 2.0 spg

Top Newcomers: Ethan Perry – junior – 5’9” 165 lbs guard, Jon Pierce – junior - 6’0” 165 lbs guard

Other Notes of Interest:"Hard working group of athletes. Very motivated and have a strong mindset to be even more successful that the previous year. Successful core has been together since Junior Varsity basketball with the addition of a strong junior class that received a great deal of varsity playing time as sophomores. Coming off a successful season – 4 returning starters – Deeper off the bench than we have been in years. Possibility to go 8 or 9 deep. Variety of ways to score – many options on the offensive end."

Matt Schuster – strong all around player, rebounds well from the guard spot and looks to find his teammates. Most well rounded player we have had in years.

Justin Lathrop is our version of “The Big Fundamental” uses both hands well and can finish around the basket.

Jordan VanDunk – well, just look at the name. Loves the game and is getting stronger everyday. Has developed a jump shot and dribble attack to go with his size. One of 3 to play up as sophomores and contribute.

Max Koch and Garrett Hoag are the other two juniors who played quite a bit as sophomores last year. Max is a quick defensive guard while Garrett is solid with the ball and has great court vision.

Solid play from our other big men Colton Green and Matt Thomas gives us the ability to sub without loosing skill or intensity.

Kyle Schuster is our “Sniper” with a good jumper and is developing into a strong all around player

Outlook: If we can get consistent play from our bench, we have a very solid team. We do not really skip a beat when changing guards or big men in and out of the line up. This core group has been playing together for years and developed a great chemistry. They know where to find each other on the court and work as a family to push each other to the best of their ability. It is exciting for the players as well as the town to think of the level that we have the potential to get to.

Livingston county Div. I is always so competitive – tight games Vs. Hornell,HFL, and Livonia are expected and anyone is capable of knocking off a top dog at any time. Bath is getting stronger every year and you can never count out our rival Wayland.

[Lukelakers]

That Olean tip-off tournament looks like a good one. Wow, 4 really good squads....You would have thought, a tournament with more than 3 teams ha ha

[theinsider]

Bonnies tournament looks even better. With Grov. Cleavland coming out of Buffalo and is a very very good squad and three other good teams between Hornell, Olean, and Bradford P.A