Saratoga County high school boys basketball fans have three tournaments to choose from this weekend to prepare themselves for the start of the 2006-07 season.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake is hosting the Shawn Walsh Memorial Tournament Friday and Saturday with Shenendehowa, Berkshire and Columbia in the field. On those same days, Saratoga Springs plays its annual tournament with Glens Falls, Vestal and Washingtonville.
On Saturday, Saratoga Central Catholic is hosting a one-day tournament featuring Mayfield, Hudson Falls and Broadalbin-Perth.
Here is a look at BH-BL, Shen, Saratoga, Saratoga Central Catholic and Ballston Spa:
Ballston Spa Scotties
Head coach: Tim Moseman
League: Suburban Council (Gold Division)
Key veterans: Dom Monaco, Mike Gibson
Key newcomers: Cody Robinson, Jake Davis, Chris Schaefer
Outlook: The Scotties find themselves in a challenging division this year. Guilderland is already off to a 2-0 start after beating Albany and LaSalle in the CDPHP Tournament, Bethlehem returns several starters from last year and Columbia remains dangerous, despite the graduation of leading scorer Alex Zampier.
Guilderland is very strong this year, Columbia is going to be decent and Bethlehem is probably going to be good, said Moseman.
Moving from the smaller-school White Division to the larger-school Gold Division isn’t the only transition the Scotties must deal with. They graduated nine players from last year’s team including their two big men, Elijah Summersell and Vince Gonzales, and starting guard Nick Payne.
`We’re down this year, but with some hard work and some luck, we’ll be OK,` said Moseman. `We’ll be in a lot of close games, and hopefully we’ll pull some out.`
The Scotties open their Suburban Council season Tuesday against Guilderland.
BH-BL Spartans
Head coach: Bill Martin
League: Suburban Council (White Division)
Key veterans: Jacob McCrindle, Tyler Place
Key newcomers: Dave Fischer, Jaret Falkowitz, Dan DiSorbo
Outlook: The Spartans have a lot of holes to fill this year. Besides the graduation of six seniors from last year’s team, they lost two projected starters ` Paul Skarka, who joined the wrestling team, and John DellaPia, who had knee surgery to repair a torn ACL.
Martin is encouraged by his team’s work ethic. `They’re diligent workers ` I’ll give them that ` and they want to win. They come ready to play every day,` he said.
McCrindle will be one of BH-BL’s key offensive players following the graduation of Kevin Himmelwright and Anthony Bevilacqua.
`He’s a good shooter, and he’s working on the areas of his game that weren’t so strong last year,` said Martin.
The Spartans aren’t the only White Division team facing a major rebuilding project. Averill Park and divisional newcomer Niskayuna also graduated several players. Only Mohonasen returns a significant portion of its roster, which makes the Mighty Warriors ` a perpetual cellar dweller in the Suburban Council ` the preseason favorite in Martin’s eyes.
`Mohonasen is going to be very good this year,` said Martin. `I think with these guys having one year with coach (Ken Dagostino) and knowing what to expect, they should be very good. I hope I’m wrong about them when we play them, but I hope they’ll do well against everybody else.`
BH-BL plays Berkshire in Friday’s opening round of the Shawn Walsh Memorial Tournament.
Saratoga Blue Streaks
Head coach: Mitch Snyder
League: Suburban Council (Blue Division)
Key veterans: Garrett Bishop, Jordan Stevens, Pat O’Connor, Dan Harkins, Vonzel Legall, Dan McLaughlin
Key newcomers: Ryan James, Don Allen
Outlook: Snyder possesses one of the most veteran-laden teams in the Blue Division, which he said he hopes will help the Blue Streaks move up the standings.
`There were a lot of good seniors that graduated last year, but I’ve been around the league long enough to know that there will be some talented players coming up,` said Snyder.
Stevens is already one of the top forwards in the league, and with Bishop coming back from a 2005-06 season cut short by a foot injury, Snyder feels the pieces are in place for a strong season.
`We’re hoping we can go out and compete in a tough Suburban Council,` he said.
The Blue Streaks play Vestal (Section IV) Friday in the opening round of the Saratoga Tournament.
Saratoga Central Catholic Saints
Head coach: John Catone
League: Western Athletic Conference (Northern Division)
Key veterans: Pat O’Rourke, Ryan Knotek, Neil Callahan, Zack Carlson
Key newcomers: Tucker Carlson, Vince Farfaglia
Outlook: The Saints will try to overcome the graduation of Kyle Stevens ` one of the most dominating forwards in the WAC last year ` with strong play from O’Rourke at shooting guard and Knotek at forward. Callahan and Zack Carlson will also contribute in the low post for Saratoga Catholic.
The Saints face Broadalbin-Perth in Saturday’s Spa Catholic Jamboree.
Shenendehowa Plainsmen
Head coach: Tony Dzikas
League: Suburban Council (Blue Division)
Key veterans: Todd Degnan, Mike Hammond, Michael Schauffert
Key newcomer: Bob Tudor
Outlook: Like Saratoga, Shen is hoping for a better finish this season.
`We’ve scrimmaged some of the top teams to see where we’re at,` said Dzikas, who is entering his second season at Shen. `We have some work to do, but I think we have a capable team.`
Degnan and Hammond give the Plainsmen two good perimeter shooters, while Schauffert and Tudor ` a transfer student from Georgia ` provide a strong interior presence. That combination should help Shen keep up with Saratoga, Colonie and Shaker this year.
`Saratoga will be tough this year. The Stevens kid is on another plane,` said Dzikas.
The Plainsmen face Columbia in Friday’s opening round of the Shawn Walsh Memorial Tournament.“