“Summer” Hoops Preview 2022
OK, I admit. I’m looking ahead just a little bit and took some liberties with the use of the term “summer” basketball in this week’s blog title. Perhaps, I’m still feeling a little chilly inside after sitting through a couple local scholastic baseball games this past week in which the temperature dipped down into the 40-degree range (and later, that evening, the 30s!), before things warmed up this past weekend.
However, believe it or not – the spring/summer high school basketball official league schedule will be starting in just a couple weeks. It has become a key time of year for gauging how next season’s varsity teams will shake out and will factor in for our thought processes when it comes time to put our winter sports season together for the following school year.
History has shown us that, while the final scores of these games may not be as important as other times of the year, it is important to keep an eye out for developing players, unique storylines and the ever-changing landscape of local talent–whether it be players coming in or moving out of the region.
A few items to keep an eye on as we approach the first set of games:
- Teams like Northampton, Nazareth, Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Parkland and Allen–to name a few–have lost some very big names to graduation after this past winter season. Which players will step-up to fill their shoes and how will the chemistry be trying to replace so many talented athletes? All of these teams had success during the ‘21-22 seasons and each program will be in the spotlight with high expectations for the season going forward.
- Northampton’s Coy Stampone recently stepped down after 10 years as the head coach of the Northampton boys basketball program (if you missed his appearance on our ATVN SportsTalk show, ATVN customers can hear his comments for yourself through our On-Demand services, available for free). Who will take over a program that has had so much success in recent years and how smooth will the transition be?
- There’s rumors of other coaches who may be on the move in Eastern Pennsylvania and also in our Washington, DC region..which coaches will stay and which may move on?
- The Easton girls teams had one of the most successful seasons last winter–yet had no title to show for it…how will the Rovers respond and who will step up to take over running the offense and distributing the basketball as the squad graduated its starting point guard?
Also, here are a few pictures for last year’s summer hoops action that never made it to publication. See if your favorite sports stars are listed in the gallery below.
Keep checking back to the “SportsTalk Shop,” throughout the spring and summer months as we continue to follow the action on the Lehigh Valley basketball courts, bringing you news, rumors and developments on local storylines, along with pictures of the “new” basketball season coming up.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
