By: Drew Humphrey
Basketball season is officially here! We put together a short synopsis of the 6 boys hoops teams we’ll be covering this season so you can get to know your local teams.
Seton Catholic
Last year the Division IV Sentinels went 10-17. Expect an improved team as sophomore Jake Rueter will return to lead this team after a strong freshman year. Rueter averaged 9.7 points per game, and was second on the team behind only Sam Engelbert. With Engelbert graduating Rueter could have a breakout year. This team is young, and has a bright future as most of their roster is split evenly between seniors, juniors and sophomores. To have a shot at winning their section this year they must beat Salpointe. “We hope to contend to be among state’s elite”, said Coach Commander King, “We hope to be in the sectional tournament and fight for a spot in the state tournament..” This team struggled last year on offense averaging 36.2 points per game. If some new players step up offensively this year this team could easily flip their record.
Key Loss: Leading scorer and long-range threat Sam Englebert (graduation).
Who to Watch: Sophomore Jake Rueter. He played well as a freshman, scoring 13 in his first ever varsity game against Basha. Look for Rueter to be the Sentinels main scoring threat.
Key to Success: David Stanley is the returning leading rebounder, and will have to shoulder a lot of responsibility as the team’s tallest player at 6’4″. If Seton Catholic wants to succeed this year, they’ll need Stanley’s help crashing the boards.
Valley Christian
Division III Valley Christian went 22-10 last season, and four of those losses came against eventual state champion Gilbert Christian. With GCHS moving up a division, and most Trojans returning from last year’s team, you can expect Valley Christian to compete for the title. I caught up with Greg Haagsma recently and when asked about the roster he said, “We have our top 2 scorers and rebounders back from last season (TJ Widner and Brandon Haagsma). Both of these players can be expected to lead our team this year as well.” There is also some other key players to look for such as Corey Kasperson and Zach Wolf to name a few. They have a tough section this year and they have to face off with the state favorite Cortez.
Key Loss: Graduated seniors Cole Gentry (long range ability) and Alec Chavez (gritty play at PG).
Who to Watch: Brandon Haagsma- there’s not really a place on the court that he isn’t dangerous from, but he’s not always as aggressive as someone with his talent could be. Look for Haagsma to be a threat to have a 20-10 game every night.
Key to Success: TJ Widner. Some had thought he would focus on football and not play basketball this season, but his footwork and play around the basket are as good as anyone’s in the division. When he gets going, the Trojans are hard to stop.
Basha High School
Basha had the worst record among the CUSD D1 schools last season, and this year they are hoping to bounce back. They went 1-5 against Perry, Hamilton, and Chandler combined. This year could be called a rebuilding year as they are “trying to set a foundation for the program looking forward”, said first year coach Mike Grothaus. He recently replaced John Burns as head coach after last year’s 9-18 campaign. Nate Markovich, who averaged 13.5 points game, will be returning for his senior year to lead this team. Expect them to be more competitive this year.
Key Loss: Maurice Kirby, who is now playing his college basketball at Virginia Tech. Kirby averaged a double double and made life difficult for opposing players who wanted to attack the basket.
Who to Watch: The juniors. Last year Basha got tons of varsity minutes out of sophomores like David Perez, Chris Ahern and Cole Kepler. That experience and chemistry could be huge for the Bears this season.
Key to Success: Markovich makes a heck of a wingman when someone else is in the spotlight, but Basha could really benefit to have him embrace the “go-to-guy” role on the team.
Chandler High School
In his second go-round at the helm of a CUSD squad, Mark Nold will lead a team that went 12-15 last year. Chandler’s main focus will be improving in their sectional games, as they were only 3-10 last year with two of those wins coming against Basha High School. This Chandler team has perhaps its best chance of getting back to state playoffs in recent years, which they have not done since 2009.
Key Loss: Daquise Gaines graduated, and in his short time at CHS he set records for assists. The Wolves will need to replace his shot creating ability.
Who to Watch: Marco Morales. Morales showed flashes last year of being an elite marksman, but Chandler will need him to take on an expanded role this year.
Key to Success: Kameron Casey and Jared McCleery need to be the annoying defenders that they were in all of Chandler’s wins last season on a full time basis. PG Kevin Vogl also has a chance to show his stuff and earn increased minutes with the graduation of Gaines.
Perry High School
After Mark Nold left, Joe Babinski took over and led the young 2012/13 Pumas to a record of 16-11, finishing just outside the playoffs. This team will be led by senior Jordan Howard who averaged a whopping 25.6 points per game. To put that in perspective that is just 11 points less than Seton Catholic as a team averaged last year. Howard will be complimented by Geoffery Vredevoogd and Luke Siwek among many other returning contributers.
Key Loss: Nathan Henderson- the only senior on last year’s team who played major minutes, and the most dependable ball handler.
Who to Watch: Jordan Howard. There were several times last year when Howard went over 30 points and it felt closer to 15, because it happened in the natural flow of the game. It’ll be interesting to see if he becomes more aggressive as a senior.
Key to Success: Open shots. If they can get guys open, shots will go in. The Pumas won’t spend a lot of time pushing the ball down low, so if they can facilitate quality looks, they’ll outscore opponents.
Hamilton High School
Last but not least, the team that swept Chandler. They went 21-8 to claim the 5th seed in the state tournament. Coach Kevin Hartwig said that he was looking forward to games against “any Chandler school, and Corona Del Sol.” I watched this team in their scrimmage at Mountain View, and they looked sloppy, but if they can straighten things out before the opener they will do more than fine. Anthony Withers should have a breakout year despite averaging only two points per game last year. Luke McCook should also become more productive after putting in work during the off season.
Key Loss: Mikee Garcia- the 2013 graduate could score in bunches, and at times, completely took over games.
Who to Watch: James Sosinski. The 6’7″ F/C plays very well around the basket. As a sophomore last season, he impressed and surprised many with his maturity on the court. No surprises this year, Sosinski is on the radar.
Key to Success: The basketball team is like the football team. They’ll attempt to win by any means necessary. Whatever you give them, they’ll take it. PG Zach Evans seems to have a great handle on how to handle in-game situations, and if the Huskies want to climb back into the top 10 in division 1, they’ll need to do so by following Evans’ lead.
Categories: Basketball
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