Blaven
12-11-2009, 11:55 PM
Indians, others sport new look
by charlie roth (sports editor charlie_r@newsitem.com)
Published: December 11, 2009
The graduation losses are staggering.
Seven of Shamokin Area's top eight scorers are gone from the team that went 24-2 last year, won the Heartland Conference Division I title with a 14-0 mark, won the District 4 Class AAA crown and gave eventual PIAA champion Archbishop Carroll more than it wanted - or likely expected - in a 62-51 second-round PIAA loss.
So you would think it would be a total rebuilding job for Joe Klebon in his 22nd season as Indians' head coach.
And, to a degree, you might be right.
Matching last season's record might be difficult, but the Indians should once again be a contender for HAC-I and District 4 honors. That's what their program has become. "Last year, we knew what we had going in," Klebon said. "This year, we're waiting for players to emerge.
"We have potential, but we have to be able to sustain that potential for 32 minutes."
Brent Forbes, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound standout as a fullback/linebacker on the Indians' football team, returns as the only starter on the basketball team.
He brings 10 points and seven rebounds a game, a strong presence down low and three years of varsity experience, giving Klebon a good starting point to build this version of the team.
Senior Tim Bousson, along with juniors Jake Phillips and Dave Reed and sophomore Devon Craft all bring various, but small, amounts of varsity experience. Add into that mix 6-foot-4 sophomore transfer Kimi Newborn and a host of talented players moving up from the junior varsity ranks.
"Brent (Forbes) is showing a lot of leadership, both on and off the court," Klebon said. "Hopefully, our young guys who will be out there with him can be better and better as the season goes on.
"We're being pretty basic right now, and last year we didn't have to do that. We have a lot of new faces, and we're taking small steps."
Klebon points to Mifflinburg and Danville, neither of which suffered much in the way of graduation losses, as potentially strong teams in both the Heartland Conference I and District 4.
Heartland II
Everybody will be chasing Hughesville and Loyalsock in Heartland II. Powers on the state level, neither sustained much in the way of graduation losses.
Mount Carmel Area and Southern Columbia hope to be among the teams in the top half of the division, although both will have plenty of new faces in key roles on the court.
At Mount Carmel, leading scorer Mike Domaleski, is the leading returner, along with guard Seth Scicchitano. Both are seniors, and Domaleski, at 6-foot-5, brings the versatility to play almost anywhere on the court.
TJ Heromin, another senior, is the third Red Tornado returning to the fold with a considerable amount of varsity experience.
"We're going to have to get better as the season goes on," 10th-year Mount Carmel coach John Lazicki said. "We only have three kids with varsity experience, but we could be tough by the end of the year.
Senior Brock Long, juniors Ian Kanezo, Joey D'Andrea, Tyler Karyski, Jesse Barwicki and Josh Maloney, and sophomore Jacob Kleman could all figure into the Red Tornadoes' plans.
"We could end up being .500 or better as long as we stay healthy, and the players understand and embrace their roles," Lazicki said.
At Southern Columbia, senior guard Kurt Kessler is the only returning starter on a team that will be almost completely re-tooled from starting lineup to the head coach.
Dave Yost, a Southern Columbia grad with coaching experience at several schools in the Susquehanna Valley, is set for his first season as the head coach. He takes over for Curt Stellfox, who resigned after last season.
Senior Jared Hallick, along with juniors Ian Stout, Alex Fidler and Zach Malett all have a degree of varsity experience, although not much in the way of being starters.
"Our goal has to be to get better every day," Yost said. "We probably going to take a little different approach.
"We'll be a little more up-tempo. Right now, we're taking a team approach, emphasizing great team defense."
The biggest loss, obviously, for the Tigers is all-time leading scorer Colin Klebon, the 6-foot-8 center, who has taken his talents to Bucknell University.
Schuylkill League
Coming off a .500 season and a berth in the District 4 Class A playoffs, Lourdes Regional could be in a position to improve upon that this year. Playing in what might be the most balanced division in the Schuylkill, Division II, however, doesn't offer much in the way of easy games.
Raiders' head coach Pete Long, in his eighth season, points to Schuylkill Haven as the division favorite, but adds that everybody else - Williams Valley, Tri-Valley, Minersville and his own Raiders - will be tough as well.
"Haven has four starters back and is probably the favorite, but the rest of the division is very balanced too," Long said.
Seniors Mike Bastian and Matt Gilger make the Raiders strong at the guard position, a strength Long plans to take advantage of.
"We have to push the ball a little better more this year, and we have athletic guards who can do it," Long said. "And we have to improve our perimeter shooting to open some things up inside for Joe (Gownley)."
At North Schuylkill, 7th-year coach Curt Ziegmont lost leading scorer Garrett Kelly to graduation, but returns a guard-oriented lineup with enough talent to keep the Spartans in the thick of the Division I race.
Defense and quickness will continue to be their forte as they attempt to repeat both the Division I and overall league titles they won last year.
Tri-Valley League
Juniors Mike Marciniak and Trae Wren, an inside/outside combination who both have the ability to score, will be the leaders for the Eagles this season.
Two others who were being counted on heavily, guard Ben Williard and forward Marty Beninsky, are out of action due to injuries incurred during the recently completed football season.
The Eagles biggest problem comes from youth and inexperience. Of 16 players in the program, six are freshmen and five are juniors. Only one senior, Karl Howerter, who has some varsity experience, is on the roster.
District 4 change
In the recent past, teams needed a .500 record or better to qualify for the District 4 postseason.
That all changed with an offseason decision by district officials to open the tournament to every team.
As it stands for this season, any team that elects to participate in the postseason may do so
by charlie roth (sports editor charlie_r@newsitem.com)
Published: December 11, 2009
The graduation losses are staggering.
Seven of Shamokin Area's top eight scorers are gone from the team that went 24-2 last year, won the Heartland Conference Division I title with a 14-0 mark, won the District 4 Class AAA crown and gave eventual PIAA champion Archbishop Carroll more than it wanted - or likely expected - in a 62-51 second-round PIAA loss.
So you would think it would be a total rebuilding job for Joe Klebon in his 22nd season as Indians' head coach.
And, to a degree, you might be right.
Matching last season's record might be difficult, but the Indians should once again be a contender for HAC-I and District 4 honors. That's what their program has become. "Last year, we knew what we had going in," Klebon said. "This year, we're waiting for players to emerge.
"We have potential, but we have to be able to sustain that potential for 32 minutes."
Brent Forbes, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound standout as a fullback/linebacker on the Indians' football team, returns as the only starter on the basketball team.
He brings 10 points and seven rebounds a game, a strong presence down low and three years of varsity experience, giving Klebon a good starting point to build this version of the team.
Senior Tim Bousson, along with juniors Jake Phillips and Dave Reed and sophomore Devon Craft all bring various, but small, amounts of varsity experience. Add into that mix 6-foot-4 sophomore transfer Kimi Newborn and a host of talented players moving up from the junior varsity ranks.
"Brent (Forbes) is showing a lot of leadership, both on and off the court," Klebon said. "Hopefully, our young guys who will be out there with him can be better and better as the season goes on.
"We're being pretty basic right now, and last year we didn't have to do that. We have a lot of new faces, and we're taking small steps."
Klebon points to Mifflinburg and Danville, neither of which suffered much in the way of graduation losses, as potentially strong teams in both the Heartland Conference I and District 4.
Heartland II
Everybody will be chasing Hughesville and Loyalsock in Heartland II. Powers on the state level, neither sustained much in the way of graduation losses.
Mount Carmel Area and Southern Columbia hope to be among the teams in the top half of the division, although both will have plenty of new faces in key roles on the court.
At Mount Carmel, leading scorer Mike Domaleski, is the leading returner, along with guard Seth Scicchitano. Both are seniors, and Domaleski, at 6-foot-5, brings the versatility to play almost anywhere on the court.
TJ Heromin, another senior, is the third Red Tornado returning to the fold with a considerable amount of varsity experience.
"We're going to have to get better as the season goes on," 10th-year Mount Carmel coach John Lazicki said. "We only have three kids with varsity experience, but we could be tough by the end of the year.
Senior Brock Long, juniors Ian Kanezo, Joey D'Andrea, Tyler Karyski, Jesse Barwicki and Josh Maloney, and sophomore Jacob Kleman could all figure into the Red Tornadoes' plans.
"We could end up being .500 or better as long as we stay healthy, and the players understand and embrace their roles," Lazicki said.
At Southern Columbia, senior guard Kurt Kessler is the only returning starter on a team that will be almost completely re-tooled from starting lineup to the head coach.
Dave Yost, a Southern Columbia grad with coaching experience at several schools in the Susquehanna Valley, is set for his first season as the head coach. He takes over for Curt Stellfox, who resigned after last season.
Senior Jared Hallick, along with juniors Ian Stout, Alex Fidler and Zach Malett all have a degree of varsity experience, although not much in the way of being starters.
"Our goal has to be to get better every day," Yost said. "We probably going to take a little different approach.
"We'll be a little more up-tempo. Right now, we're taking a team approach, emphasizing great team defense."
The biggest loss, obviously, for the Tigers is all-time leading scorer Colin Klebon, the 6-foot-8 center, who has taken his talents to Bucknell University.
Schuylkill League
Coming off a .500 season and a berth in the District 4 Class A playoffs, Lourdes Regional could be in a position to improve upon that this year. Playing in what might be the most balanced division in the Schuylkill, Division II, however, doesn't offer much in the way of easy games.
Raiders' head coach Pete Long, in his eighth season, points to Schuylkill Haven as the division favorite, but adds that everybody else - Williams Valley, Tri-Valley, Minersville and his own Raiders - will be tough as well.
"Haven has four starters back and is probably the favorite, but the rest of the division is very balanced too," Long said.
Seniors Mike Bastian and Matt Gilger make the Raiders strong at the guard position, a strength Long plans to take advantage of.
"We have to push the ball a little better more this year, and we have athletic guards who can do it," Long said. "And we have to improve our perimeter shooting to open some things up inside for Joe (Gownley)."
At North Schuylkill, 7th-year coach Curt Ziegmont lost leading scorer Garrett Kelly to graduation, but returns a guard-oriented lineup with enough talent to keep the Spartans in the thick of the Division I race.
Defense and quickness will continue to be their forte as they attempt to repeat both the Division I and overall league titles they won last year.
Tri-Valley League
Juniors Mike Marciniak and Trae Wren, an inside/outside combination who both have the ability to score, will be the leaders for the Eagles this season.
Two others who were being counted on heavily, guard Ben Williard and forward Marty Beninsky, are out of action due to injuries incurred during the recently completed football season.
The Eagles biggest problem comes from youth and inexperience. Of 16 players in the program, six are freshmen and five are juniors. Only one senior, Karl Howerter, who has some varsity experience, is on the roster.
District 4 change
In the recent past, teams needed a .500 record or better to qualify for the District 4 postseason.
That all changed with an offseason decision by district officials to open the tournament to every team.
As it stands for this season, any team that elects to participate in the postseason may do so