Mercury Area 2016-2017 Boys Basketball Preview

Boyertown

Head coach: Mike Ludwig, eighth season.

Last year’s record: 7-6 PAC, 13-10 overall (Advanced to District 1-AAAA playoffs).

Players to Watch: Jack McCloskey, Sr., 6-0; Sean Tamasitis, Jr., 5-11; Jerry Kapp, Jr., 6-3 (15.3 ppg All-PAC and Mercury All-Area First Team selection); Marcus Thomas, Jr., 6-2 (12.6 ppg).

Outlook: The Bears will look to continue to press forward with the return of two of their three top scorers from last season and will look to earn their third straight postseason appearance. Albeit inexperienced at certain positions, the Bears look like contenders in a strong PAC Liberty Division. “We hope to quickly find our identity offensively and defensively as the PAC Liberty Division figures to be very competitive night in and night out,” Ludwig said. “A balanced offensive attack this season should help Boyertown compete for a playoff berth.”

Daniel Boone

Head coach: Ian Gendreau, fifth season.

Last year’s record: 1-9 Berks I, 2-20 overall.

Players to Watch: Ryan Okuniewski, Sr., 5-11 (10.6 ppg); Ian Rathgeb, Sr., 6-1 (8.6 ppg.); Ty Dorang, Sr., 5-9 (5.0 ppg.).

Outlook: The Blazers return Okuniewski, Rathgeb and Dorang and will hope the trio’s experience (all have started since freshman year) will bring success to the team this season. A playoff run might not be in the cards for Daniel Boone this season, but the Blazers hope to start strong and surprise a few along the way. “We’re still very small for a 5A team with no one on the varsity roster over 6-1,” Gendreau said. “It will be a struggle once we get into Division I play with the likes of Reading and Wilson so we need to get off to a good start in the non-league schedule where we should be able to be more competitive.”

Hill School

Head coach: Seth Eilberg, 16th season.

Last year’s record: 18-6 overall (lost in PAISAA semifinals).

Players to watch: Solomon Ruddell, Sr., 7-1 (NLI with UC-Irvine); Ethan Norton, Sr., 6-3; Chase Audige, Jr., 6-4; DaQuan Morris, Jr., 6-0.

Outlook: The Hill looks poised for a big year with the return of UC-Irvine commit and interior presence Ruddell with Audige the leader in the backcourt (he has multiple DI offers including St. Joe’s and Drexel). Morris and Norton will bring experience into the backcourt with a new crop of players looking to make contributions that include senior forwards Donnell Hill and Colton Lawrence, sophomore forward Xavier Mayo and freshman guard Caleb Dorsey. “I’m excited about our improved depth and size and growth of the returners,” Eilberg said. “We’re playing our toughest schedule ever, and hope these early season challenges help us continue to improve to play our best basketball at tourney time.”

Methacton

Head coach: Jeff Derstine, seventh season.

Last season’s record: 5-8 PAC, 6-16 overall.

Players to watch: Patrick O’Neill, Sr., 5-10; Crandall Jones, Sr., 5-10; Andrew Pisano, Sr., 6-0; Liam Malachowski Sr., 6-3; Noah Kitaw, Jr., 6-3.

Outlook: The Warriors stumbled down the PAC standings after winning the conference and advancing into the state playoffs two years ago. Led by O’Neill, Jones and a senior class that goes nine deep, the Warriors are hoping their veteran-laced lineup can bring some new success to Fairview Village. Derstine is also hoping to get contributions from sophomores David Duda (guard), Marcus Girardo (guard) and Ammar Brown (forward) along with 6-8 freshman center Jeff Woodward. “The 2016-2017 Warriors are made up of a hard-working, committed group of players,” Derstine said. “They have dedicated themselves to getting better during the offseason and are beginning to gel as a group. This year’s roster is talented and deep, including nine seniors, along with numerous underclassmen who are ready and eager to establish their own identity as a team. Our guys understand that every game in the PAC will be a battle and they are looking forward to the opportunities and challenges of the upcoming season.”

Owen J. Roberts

Head coach: Kevin Kirby, fourth season.

Last year’s record: 3-10 PAC, 8-14 overall.

Players to Watch: Bobby Walker, Sr., 5-9 (11 ppg., 35 3-pointers); Dawson Stuart, Jr., 6-4 (12 ppg., 6 rpg., All-PAC Second Team).

Outlook: The Wildcats look to get out from the PAC Liberty basement this season and will rely on 3-point threat Walker and forward Stuart to help lead them there. Junior Sean Praweckyj will take over the point guard duties full time with sophomore Sa’Vaugh Davidheiser and senior Justin Cervi expected to contribute after starting well over 10 games last year. Shyheed May, Justin Bailey, Nick Massa, Jake Vondercrone, Jake Umstead, Matt Lewis and Austin Demech are all pushing for playing time and Kirby says could contribute in a variety of ways. “We have a deeper and more athletic team than we have had in years past,” Kirby said. “The kids have been working really hard. We are hopeful that our depth, athleticism and versatility will enable us to match up with the many different types of teams that we will see. We have a lot of guys that will have to adjust to the physical nature and speed at the varsity level. How quickly we can do that will ultimately decide how successful our season is.”

Perkiomen School

Head coach: Thomas Baudinet, first season.

Last season’s record: 10-8 overall (lost in TCL semifinal).

Players to watch: Nick Guadarrama, 6-5; Atakan Sahiinkaya, 6-5.

Outlook: Perkiomen School will look to build upon its 10-8 season last year. Guadarrama and Sahiinkaya will be the team’s two primary scoring threats as they look to contend for a Tri-County League title.

Perkiomen Valley

Head coach: Mike Poysden, fifth season.

Last year’s record: 8-5 PAC, 16-11 overall (Lost in PAC Final, Lost in second round of District 1-AAAA playoffs and then playback).

Players to Watch: Justin Jaworski, Sr., 6-0 (19.7 ppg., All-PAC and All-Area First Team); Sean Owens, Sr., 5-11 (All-PAC and All-Area Second Team); Hogan Millheim, Sr., 6-1.

Outlook: A second place finish in last year’s PAC final still brings some bitterness to the Valley, which fell to Spring-Ford in one of the wildest and most controversial finishes the Mercury Area has seen. That fire will be burning for Jaworski and Owens, who will look to cap off their senior seasons in nice fashion. The Vikings lost big-man Cullen O’Connor, versatile Sean Moriarity and Ethan Hodson to graduation and will hope Millheim, junior guard Andrew Light and sophomore Tyler Stretchay fill in the pieces. “The 2016-2017 Vikings team is looking to build off of a very productive offseason. Both returning varsity players and rising JV players committed themselves to improvement in the offseason and are looking forward to competing every night in practice and competition,” Poysden said. “Jaworski and Owens, with support from Millheim, Light, and Stretchay, will be asked to lead the team through a challenging schedule both in and out of the PAC. The new format of the schedule this season makes every single PAC game have playoff implications. With the addition of Norristown and Upper Merion to the league, come two talented and well coached teams. Every league win must be earned because there will be no easy PAC games for anyone.”

Phoenixville

Head coach: Eric Burnett, third season.

Last year’s record: 13-0 PAC, 20-6 overall (Advanced to PAC Final Four, Lost in District 1-AAAA second round and playback round).

Players to Watch: Hunter Herschell, Sr., 6-1; Phil Meszaros, Sr., 6-0; Avery Close, Sr., 6-6 (10.2 ppg., All-PAC Second Team selection); Shyheim Abernathy, Sr., 6-3; Nasir Green, Sr., 6-2; Brendan Jenkins, Jr., 6-6.

Outlook: How do you replace a player that led Southeastern Pa. in scoring (1,300 points) and averaged 23 ppg? You don’t. However, a senior-laden squad will be just what the Phantoms need as they move on from the Christian Kelly era. Herschell, Meszaros, Close, Abernathy and Green will all look to fill the shoes left by the class before them, which saw the departures of Kelly, Marquise McDuffee, Jeff Conboy and Matt McLaughlin. “Our toughness and leadership is going to need to be at an all-time high as our schedule is extremely demanding,” Burnett said. “We are extremely excited about this group of players in 2016-2017 and we are fortunate to have seven seniors who have experience playing very valuable minutes and contributing to back to back Final Four appearances the last two seasons. It has been great to see this group step in to bigger roles both on the court and off. Additionally, we know this group of seniors have embraced their leadership roles and have helped prepare our sophomores and juniors for big games and big moments to help contribute to our depth off of the bench.”

Pope John Paul II

Coach: Matt Rafferty, first season .

Last year’s Record: 7-6 PAC, 11-13 overall. (Lost to Spring-Ford in PAC Final Four, advanced to District 1-AAA quarterfinals).

Players to Watch: Scott Stockunas, Sr., 6-6; Fran Interrante, Sr., 5-10 (6.3 ppg); Dan Cirino, Jr., 6-0; Aidan McCarthy, Jr., 6-0; Ricky Bearden, Jr., 6-2; Vince Viney, Jr., 6-3.

Outlook: The Golden Panthers enter their first season without head coach Jack Flanagan, who accepted the head role at Pottsgrove. PJP loses its leading scorer in Rich Dunham (18.2 ppg. and third in PAC last season) and will look to fill his shoes collectively. “We are very excited to start this upcoming season. Since the first day we started, we have stressed that we want to compete and win every day. Compete and win every drill, every practice, every day. We look forward to competing in the improved PAC this year against great programs.”

Pottsgrove

Head coach: Jack Flanagan, first season.

Last year’s record: 5-8 PAC, 8-14 overall.

Players to Watch: James Dardan, Sr., 6-2; Steve Hein, Sr., 6-1; Nik Curnew, Sr., 6-2; Nick Decurtis, Sr., 6-3; John Obassy, Sr., 6-3; Tre Whitehurt, Sr., 5-10; Jayden Blakey, Jr., 6-2; Alex Salata, Jr., 6-1.

Outlook: The Falcons took a step back after earning a spot in the PAC championship game two seasons ago and will look to Flanagan, who spent six seasons at PJP, to guide them through. The team lost leading scorer Nazir Goldston (11.2 ppg.) along with Deyon Doctor (9.2 ppg.) and perimeter threat Louie Gibbs to graduation and will look for an emerging scorer as the season gets started. “The team is working very hard everyday as we try to improve ourselves for the upcoming season,” Flanagan said. “The PAC schedule along with our non-league schedule will provide quality opponents that we must be ready for if we look to accomplish our stated team goals of: No. 1: earn a spot in our Conference Playoffs … and No. 2: qualify for the PIAA State Tournament.”

Pottstown

Head coach: Cal Benfield, fifth season.

Last year’s record: 6-7 PAC, 7-16 overall. (Advanced to District 1-AAA playoffs).

Players to Watch: Malik Brown, Sr., Aaron Diamond, Jr., Larry Wingo, Jr.

Outlook: Pottstown advanced to the district playoffs last season and will look to build upon that with the return of Brown and Diamond. “We hope to improve on last year’s record,” Benfield sad. “The league looks tough with the usual suspects looking strong.”

Spring-Ford

Head coach: Chris Talley, fourth season.

Last year’s record: 11-2 PAC, 23-8 overall. (PAC Champion, Advanced to PIAA Tournament).

Players to Watch: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Sr.; Adam Geremski, Sr.; Chucky Drummond, Sr., (9.3 ppg); Stone Scarcelle, Sr.; Nick Heller, Sr.; Eric Page, Sr.; Chandler Salutric, Sr.; Nestor Diaz, Jr.; Harrison Pierce, Jr.

Outlook: The Rams graduated two All-PAC first team selections in Matt Gnias and Nigel Cooke along with Cam Reid (second team All-PAC), Danny Zack, Charles Scalies and JT Cuthbertson and will look to reload in order to defend their PAC title. Drummond, who averaged 9.3 ppg. last season, is the team’s leading returning scorer. The rest have averaged four points or less during their time on varsity last season. “The 2016-17 season will feature some new faces as the Rams have graduated all-league players in Gnias, Cooke and Reid,” Talley said. “Senior leadership will be important due to the graduation of last year’s class. We have two returning starters in Diaz and Drummond with the rest of the nucleus relatively new to the speed at the varsity level. Our goal is to always clinch a league, district and state playoff spot. In order to achieve that we will need to find a way to get our inexperienced players caught up to speed.”

Upper Merion

Head coach: Jason Quenzer, fourth season.

Last year’s record: 9-5 Suburban One League American, 16-7 overall (Lost to Academy Park in District 1-AAAA first round).

Players to Watch: Matt Faw, Sr., 6-8 (committed to Holy Cross, First team SOL); Ethan Miller, Sr., 6-6 (Second team SOL); Aidan Newell, Sr., 5-9 (SOL Honorable Mention); Andrew Persaud, Sr., 5-10; Chris Carita, Sr., 6-4.

Outlook: The Vikings return all five starters from their district playoff appearance last season and look to be favorites in the Frontier Division in their first go-around in PAC play. Faw, a Holy Cross commit, is the team’s primary threat. So is having 12 seniors. “We were very pleased to host a home district playoff game last year for the first time in over a decade,” Quenzer said. “This is a very senior heavy team, holding 12 roster spots. Each of them play different, yet important, roles that will dictate the success of this season. This is a group that has been together through some difficult times and they are prepared to take on a new challenge in the PAC. Our goal is to compete every night in this difficult league with a league championship as our goal.”

Upper Perkiomen

Head coach: Jared Krupp, fourth season.

Last season’s record: 0-13 PAC, 4-18 overall.

Players to watch: Nolan Graber, Sr., 6-5; Nick Groff, Sr., 5-10; Ryan Kendra, Jr., 6-3 (15 ppg. 8 rpg., All-PAC Second Team and All-Area); Liam Boyle, Jr., 5-10 (9 ppg.); Will Walker, Jr., 6-7; Jon Brown, Jr., 6-2.

Outlook: The Indians have gone the last five years without winning a PAC game but return their leading scorer from the past two years in Kendra. A league win (and more) should be well within reach this season. “This year we possess a team of hard working basketball players that have grown up playing basketball together,” Krupp said. “As always, our goal is to compete and improve on a daily basis. Our student athletes have embraced this ideal. We look to improve upon last year’s record and compete in every game.”