The Suburban Council boys basketball landscape has changed dramatically since February.
Many of last season’s top players have moved on to college, leaving many of the league’s coaches scrambling to fill holes in their line-ups. And in some cases, coaches are having to build new starting line-ups from scratch.
All of this is leading to what many coaches are calling a wide-open race for the North and South division titles.
I think there are a lot of teams in the mix this year, said Shenendehowa coach Tony Dzikas, whose Plainsmen are seeking their fourth consecutive North Division crown. `I think Bethlehem is going to be big and strong. I think Shaker is going to have some good size, and they’ll be tough. [Mike] McElroy is going to be big for Saratoga this year. Mohonasen has a lot of players back, too.`
`Guilderland is going to be good, and Bethlehem is going to be good but there will be a lot of parity this year,` said Mohonasen coach Ken Dagostino.
Here is a closer look at the two divisional races in the Suburban Council:
North Division
Ballston Spa Scotties
Head coach: Tim Moseman
Returning players: Drew Bishop (junior forward), Ryan McVaigh (junior forward), Austin Stenglien (senior forward)
Key newcomer: Matt McDonald (junior guard)
Outlook: The Scotties lost a key component to their offense when Jon Hammond transferred to Hudson Falls, but Moseman said the team he has this year should pick up the slack.
`We’re pretty young, but we have some experience with our three returning players [Bishop, McVaigh and Stenglien],` said Moseman. `I think the team we have now will play well together.`
Moving up the North Division standings will be tough, but Moseman said he believes that the program has turned a corner.
`The last couple of years, it’s been hard to get kids to come out [for basketball],` said Moseman. `Now, we’re at a point where we can get back to where we were four or five years ago.`
BH-BL Spartans
Head coach: George Dudas
Returning players: Jake Batty (senior forward), Brandon Beatty (senior guard), Keaton Flint (senior guard), Devon Stark (senior guard), Jayson Sullivan (junior guard)
Outlook: The defending Section II Class A champs took a major hit in the frontcourt with the graduation of Zach Morton and Jacob Meyers. Then, Rory Little suffered a back injury, sidelining him for the season.
`We lost our inside, but that’s OK,` said Dudas. `We’ll piece it back together. We have our outside back.`
Not having a strong inside presence means that players like Beatty and Flint will have to be accurate with their perimeter shots.
`Everybody has new roles that they have to get used to,` said Dudas. `[The offense] won’t run through the centers that much anymore. It will be more balanced.`
Niskayuna Silver Warriors
Head coach: Mike Black
Returning players: A.J. Akpanikat (senior forward), Kyle Bayly (senior guard), Chris Finn (senior guard), John-Michael Fragnoli (senior forward), Peyton Houghtaling (senior forward)
Newcomer: Chris Giglio (junior guard)
Outlook: The Silver Warriors are one of the few teams in the Suburban Council not facing a major rebuilding project, as they return five key players from last year.
`The thing we like about this group is that there is some skilled size and that’s something that we haven’t always had,` said Black. `Also with the experience factor that we have, these guys know how hard it is to win in the Suburban Council and what it takes to win.`
Bayly and Fragnoli were two of Niskayuna’s most consistent scorers last year, but Black said that his team won’t have to rely on just those two players.
`We feel that we have legitimately five or six guys who can put the ball in the basket,` said Black.
Saratoga Blue Streaks
Head coach: Mitch Snyder
Returning players: Emmett Hollyer (senior forward), Mike McElroy (senior forward), Brian Owen (senior guard), Matt Podesva (senior guard)
Newcomer: Dan Keehn (senior forward)
Outlook: The Blue Streaks possess one of the Suburban Council’s top offensive players in McElroy, which gives them a leg up on much of the league.
`Mikey had about 14 points a game for us last year, and he made a great leap up from the JV level,` said Snyder. `We also know it won’t be a one-man show, and everyone needs to step up their game.`
If Saratoga builds a strong supporting cast around McElroy, the Blue Streaks have a chance to end Shen’s reign atop the North Division. But getting there will still be a battle.
`We [all the league coaches] are in agreement that the Suburban Council is tough all the way through, and we can’t look past the next team that we play,` said Snyder.
Shaker Blue Bison
Head coach: Jeff Holmes
Returning players: Ben Capeless (senior guard), Casey Hall (junior forward), Jeff Hoffman (senior guard/forward), John Holland (senior guard/forward), Ryan Polsinello (senior guard)
Newcomers: David Morrison (sophomore forward), Michael Talarico (senior guard)
Outlook: Despite having several players back, the level of varsity playing experience is low for the Blue Bison. None of the returning players saw much playing time last season.
`We’ve got some guys back, but we lost about 85 percent of our scoring last year,` said Holmes.
To compensate, Holmes said the key for Shaker will be to use its athleticism and try to run opponents off the court.
`We’re going to push the ball up the floor, and we’re going to play tough defense,` said Holmes.
Shenendehowa Plainsmen
Head coach: Tony Dzikas
Returning players: Jose Reyes (senior guard), Matt Pierson (senior forward), Farshad Sarrafi-Nour (senior forward), Bryan White (senior forward), Brandon Miller (junior forward)
Newcomer: Jackson Shea (junior guard)
Outlook: Replacing the points produced by Matt Miner and Dan Lee won’t be easy for the Plainsmen, but they do have the benefit of having a veteran point guard in Reyes.
`Jose has done a great job of running the team,` said Dzikas. `We can’t expect him to bring the ball up the court, score points and then defend their top player at the other end [this year]. We can expect him to continue doing a good job of running the team.`
It will be up to former role players such as Sarrafi-Nour and White to help Shen in its quest to win the North Division for a fourth consecutive year.
`So far, they’re working hard, and they’re listening to what we’re saying in practice,` said Dzikas. `We’ll see what happens.`
South Division
Averill Park Warriors
Head coach: Dave Pugliese
Returning players: Ryan Macari (senior guard), Kyle Radzmynski (senior forward), Nick Hess (junior guard)
Outlook: The Warriors must find new scoring sources after the graduation of twin brothers Matt and Mark Joe, along with the other three starters they had last year.
`We’re going to play a lot different,` said Pugliese. `We’re going to share the ball more and get more touches. I don’t know who our leading scorer will be night in and night out, but I’m excited about the possibilities that we have.`
As a result of having only three players with varsity experience, Pugliese said Averill Park will endure some growing pains as it goes through its league schedule.
`I would think that Bethlehem, Columbia and Mohonasen are the favorites [in the South Division],` said Pugliese. `They return a lot of players.`
Bethlehem Eagles
Head coach. A.G. Irons
Returning players: Scott Clas (senior forward), Bryan Dolan (senior forward), A.J. Generali (senior guard), Mike McLeer (senior guard), Shane Natale (junior guard), Jordan Sperber (senior guard), Ryan Stempsey (senior forward)
Outlook: The Eagles return most of their starting lineup from last year, which will give them an advantage both in terms of experience and size, as both Clas and Stempsey are taller than 6 feet, 3 inches — the average height of a Suburban Council forward.
`Looking around and watching some of the summer leagues, I’d say there is some height out there [around the league], but not with the numbers we have,` said Irons.
The experience factor will be another key for Bethlehem, but Irons said that the young talent their opponents possess will balance that out.
`There’s a lot of talented players still floating around this league,` said Irons.
Colonie Garnet Raiders
Head coach: Doug Kilmer
Returning players: Mark Papuzza (junior guard), Zeian Polanco (senior guard), Mike Zielinski (senior forward)
Newcomer: Godfrey Freeman (sophomore guard)
Outlook: For the first time in his coaching history at Colonie, Kilmer doesn’t have a returning starter to build his team around.
`This is the youngest team we’ve ever had,` said Kilmer. `They’re very hard working, and they’re very energetic.`
Kilmer said he plans on harnessing his young players’ energy by turning them into a run-and-gun team.
`We’ll have to extend the floor [with a full-court press],` said Kilmer. `We’re smaller and quicker this year. We won’t be a throw-it-in-the-middle team anymore. We don’t have a big guy to do that with.`
Columbia Blue Devils
Head coach: Jim Obermayer
Returning players: Tyler Hart (junior guard), Christian Brown (senior guard), Daniel Jaromin (senior forward), Lucas Dillenbeck (senior forward), Kelly Davis (senior forward), Corey Gibson (senior guard/forward)
Outlook: Gibson, Davis and Hart form the core of a veteran Columbia squad hoping to move up the South Division standings.
`We do have some experience,` said Obermayer. `We’re going to have to count on their leadership to help us.`
There isn’t a great deal of difference in size between Columbia’s forwards and guards. Most of the guards are about 6 feet tall, while many of the forwards are 6-2.
`We have a lot of interchangeable parts, and one our biggest assets is that they are all athletic,` said Obermayer.
Guilderland Dutchmen
Head coach: Ron Osinski
Returning players: Brendan Doak (senior guard), Justin Horne (senior guard), Jordan Weeden (senior forward), Chris Yankowski (senior forward)
Outlook: The Dutchmen are looking to rebound from a middle-of-the-pack finish in last year’s South Division. Doak and Weeden played significant roles last year, while Horne and Yankowski will be asked to contribute more this season.
Mohonasen Mighty Warriors
Head coach: Ken Dagostino
Returning players: Killian Tallman (junior guard), Quinton Brown (senior guard), Ben Dalton (senior guard), Josh Schaninger (senior forward), Billy Manikas (junior guard), Jeffrey Kruzinski (senior guard), Garrett Sisson (senior forward)
Outlook: The Mighty Warriors were the kings of close losses last year. Many of their defeats were by single digits.
`I think our total [point] differential was three points,` said Dagostino. `There were seven or eight games where we had a double digit lead at halftime and then blew it.`
With a veteran-laden lineup this year, Dagostino said he hopes his team will turn those close losses into victories in 2010-11.
`We have a lot of minutes and a lot of points coming back,` said Dagostino.“
