HS Basketball Preview: 2015-16
With scholastic basketball season upon us, I asked three of the most astute basketball minds in the RCN Sports Department, Gary Laubach, Tom Stoudt and John Leone, to join me in giving our thoughts on this winter’s District XI high school basketball season in the RCN-TV viewing area.
Check out our responses to some of the most intriguing storylines of the 2015-16 campaign:
1. Who’s your top EPC team (after Parkland)?
Gary Laubach: Central and/or Emmaus
Tom Stoudt: Emmaus
JL: Emmaus
ME: Allen. I was very impressed with them in summer league play, although they didn’t win as many games as some thought. Still remember them challenging Parkland late last winter, and if they can put together performances like that on a nightly basis…?
2. Who’s your pre-season Colonial League favorite?
TS: Bangor
JL: Saucon Valley
ME: Solehi. Head Coach Ben Tannous has a great basketball mind and did a great job molding last year’s team into contenders. I see no reason why they don’t continue to improve and contend for a league title
3. Top Three HS basketball players to watch this winter?
GL: Sam Iorio (Parkland), David Kachelries (Emmaus), Zay Jennings (CCHS) , Aidan Ellwood (transferred from Northampton to Central Catholic)
TS: David Kachelries (Emmaus), Sam Iorio (Parkland), Taleek Williams (Allen)
JL: Sam Iorio (Parkland), Matt Kachelries (Emmaus), Michael Martino (Bangor
ME: DeVante Cross (Parkland), Talek Williams (Allen), Amir Griffin (Liberty). Cross and Williams are two of the most dynamic scoring threats in the area, and Griffin might just be the region’s best defensive player and is really fun to watch
4. Off the radar player to keep eye on?
GL: Jahan Dotson (Nazareth), Chance Neilley (Liberty), Talek Williams (Allen)
TS: Tashon Roberts (Dieruff)
JL: Mitch Daniel (Notre Dame)
ME: Mitch Daniel. He’s getting a late start due to his team’s success on the football field, but he’s always struck me as a player with great ability. The confidence he (and some of his teammates) built during the fall sports season will carry over for him and the Crusaders during the winter sports campaign
5. A surprise team to keep an eye on this year?
GL: Liberty
TS: Bethlehem Catholic
JL: Saucon or Bangor
ME: Catty. They suffered a disappointing season a year ago, and once again didn’t get several of their players due to the football team’s Turkey Day game, but Eric Snyder has worked his magic before. If a few players step up to join Kevin Bond and Shaquon Mason as scoring options, the Rough Riders could find themselves back in the district playoff picture.
Also, I don’t think it’ll be too long before we start talking about Pen Argyl basketball again. With Kyle Hutnik embarking on his third year in charge of the program, I believe we’ll start to see some improvements from the Knights—despite the fact that it will be a very competitive season once again in the Colonial League.
6. One “must-see” game this winter?
GL: Parkland/Imhotep (January 24th)
TS: Parkland/Emmaus (Jan. 5th)
JL: Freedom/Easton (Dec. 8th) *LIVE on RCN-TV!
ME: Emmaus/Nazareth (December 18th). Some of the best, most talented guards in the area will be squaring off against each other. Two teams I really like and feel they could play with Parkland, so I am curious who’ll win out in this early season showdown.
Who’ll be most accurate with these preseason predictions? Which teams, players and games do you think we should keep an eye on? Email us your thoughts to rcnsportstalk@rcn.com and find out as the season unfolds on RCN-TV. Be sure to check out our broadcast schedule (LINK) for each week’s best games and bookmark it on your browser so you can access it for changes throughout the season!
We’ll also jump deep into the high school hoops conversation in much more detail starting with the January editions of “RCN SportsTalk” (seen live, Thursdays, 7-8 pm on RCN-TV) and our podcasts.
