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High School Basketball Preview
- Jim MacLean
- 13 hours ago
- 8 min read
Young roster ready to take over for John Jay girls
By JIM MACLEAN
When you see six sophomores and an eighth grader on a varsity roster you would have to say that is a young team, and that is the case for the John Jay girls varsity team this year as the Wolves get ready to hit the court.
John Jay lost its entire starting five from last year to graduation, including leading scorer Sela Halaifonua, but coach Matt Gallagher believes the Wolves have a nice combination of eight returning varsity veterans to go along with the talented newcomers to make it a successful season on the court.
“A brand new starting five, some new bodies and definitely a young team,” admitted Gallagher. “We have eight kids back from last year and they’re all working really hard. They’re stepping up to the challenge. They’ve got big shoes to fill, but they’re ready to compete. I’m excited.”
Leading the way will be seniors Helena Schembri, Avery Bisignano and Ronnie Weisfelner, along with juniors Charlotte Omin, Heather Martinsen and Caitlin Brennan as returning varsity players.
Sophomores Gianna Pelosi and Gabby Camaj also contributed on varsity last year as freshmen, and they will be counted on to step up among the returning veterans to lead the way. The sophomore class is a big one to build on for the future with four more sophomores joining the varsity roster including Beatrice Hill, Elise Templeton, Lina Halaifonua and Lorelei Schembri all expected to play a big role.
Rounding out the varsity roster will be eighth-grader Kylie Bishop, and Gallagher will be counting on her to contribute right away as he kept her with the varsity.
John Jay will be competing against a league schedule that includes Somers, Hen Hud, Croton-Harmon, Westlake and Pleasantville. That league includes familiar rivals in Somers and Hen Hud, while adding three new teams for the Wolves to compete against.
“It will be a good mix, good competition, and it’s nice to play some new teams,” Gallagher said of the league schedule. “We always try to play a tough schedule and play against good teams.”
John Jay will find out where it stands against the league foes right away as the Wolves were scheduled to open up the season on the road at the Hen Hud tournament. The Wolves will face host Hen Hud in the first round on Thursday, Dec. 4, and then play again in either the championship or consolation game on Saturday, Dec. 6, against either Mahopac or John Jay of East Fishkill. The Wolves then have their home opener Monday, Dec. 8, against league foe Westlake.
Fox Lane girls hoping for another big year on the court
By JIM MACLEAN
Last year was a good year for the Fox Lane girls varsity basketball team as the Foxes won 15 games overall, and just about everybody returns from that roster, creating high hopes for another successful season on the court.
However, Fox Lane ran up against another good team in the season opener at home on Wednesday, Dec. 3, as the Foxes hosted Clarkstown South. The Vikings were red hot to open the game, nailing five three-pointers in the first quarter, and they never looked back, pulling away for a 57-37 victory over the Foxes.
It was a good example of what Fox Lane will be up against facing a tough schedule, and every opponent will come ready to play after the success Fox Lane enjoyed last season.
“When you have a successful season, we won 15 games and were really good, then you get rewarded with a really tough schedule,” explained Fox Lane coach Kris Matts. “Opening up against them, first game of the season, and that team is very talented,” Matts said of Clarkstown South. “I was very happy with our defense, but Clarkstown South just did not miss from three. We will be going through trial by fire with our schedule, but we’ve got the girls who can take us through it. Eight seniors, a lot of veterans like Riley New and Morgan Clinton, and this group has been playing together since Mr. New and Mr. Clinton were coaching them in youth leagues. They know each other in and out and we’re excited about this season.”
Against Clarkstown South, one of the top Class AAA schools in Section 1, Fox Lane fell behind early and the Foxes just could not close the gap as the Vikings had a balanced attack with three players scoring in double figures to pull away. Clinton led Fox Lane with 14 points, while Riley New was also in double figures for the Foxes with 12 points.
Despite the loss, Matts knows what his roster is capable of doing on the court and he knows the Foxes have a lot of talented athletes and it will come together once the offense starts clicking.
“Every time I look at my roster I feel really good,” said Matts. “Defense will keep you in games and these girls live and die for defense. They will lie down and hit the floor, they’ll take the charge, they rebound, it’s amazing, and we just have to get our offense going. When the offense comes around, nobody will want to play us later in the season.”
Riley New is the returning starter at point guard for the Foxes, while Clinton, Cora Moore and Kamiryn Boniello are all returning starters on the front line. Other returning varsity veterans include senior twin sisters Amanda and Natalie Mazzuca, senior Nora Dooley and senior Lily Rosenthal. Junior Dylan New is another returning varsity player who saw a lot of minutes last year. Rounding out the varsity roster are juniors Avery Stark and Jordyn Forlenza, along with freshman Taylor Webb.
Matts will be counting on them all to contribute if the Foxes want to compete against a tough league schedule that includes Ossining, Horace Greeley, Rye, Harrison and Eastchester.
“There are no easy games there,” Matts said of the league schedule. “Hopefully, we will come out of it ready to go for the playoffs.”
Fox Lane will be back in action Thursday, Dec. 11, when the Foxes host perennial powerhouse Ossining. The Foxes then travel to rival John Jay on Saturday, Dec. 13.
John Jay looks for talented cast to step up on the court
By JIM MACLEAN
It is never easy when you lose your entire starting five from the previous season, but John Jay varsity boys basketball coach Tyler Sayre feels his Wolves have the talent and desire to fill those roles and turn in an exciting season on the court.
Despite losing the starting five, John Jay has a veteran lineup returning with seven seniors on the roster, and it’s their turn to step up into starting roles and lead the Wolves this year. Several of them saw a lot of minutes last year off the bench, and Sayre knows they have the talent to compete.
“I’m optimistic with this group, I think there is a lot of talent to work with, but we’re essentially replacing all of our production from last year,” admitted Sayre. “There will be a learning curve, but I think we have enough pieces to compete and win games as we grow. We have to be good defensively and rebounding the ball early on, because our offense will take some time to develop some consistency.”
One of the returning seniors Sayre will be counting on is Will Green, as he will take over the role as starting point guard this year for the Wolves. In addition to Green, the Wolves have some size inside the paint and a bunch of shooters on the wings to provide a balanced attack on offense.
“Returners on varsity are Will Green, Marc Fein, Owen Gitelson, Alex Palacio, Patrick Ryan and Charlie Sanz, and they’ll all be important pieces,” explained Sayre. “Will is our point guard, Patrick, Charlie and Marc are on the wings, and then Alex and Owen are two classic bigs who I think will have good years.”
In addition to those six seniors, Jacob Gottesfeld is another senior returning on the roster, and juniors Dion Prelvukaj, Seth Denker, Braydon Gates, Jacob Knopke and Auden Lindberg are all on the varsity roster. Newcomers include sophomore Timmy Pastore, and a pair of freshmen in Nate Summer and Jake Blank.
Sayre feels the roster has a lot of talent and depth, and he will be counting on everyone to contribute.
“Nate Summer is a freshman who will be counted on right away as a scorer and playmaker, he’s really talented,” said Sayre. “Denker, Gate and Prelvukaj are all juniors who also will have roles early on. As I’ve had the past few years, we have 11 or 12 guys in the rotation and we’re hoping to get to a place where seven or eight of them establish themselves as the main rotation.”
John Jay will face a league schedule that includes rival Somers along with Hen Hud and Croton-Harmon. Somers has a veteran team returning and Sayre knows they will be a big test for the Wolves competing for the league title.
“Our league is Somers, Hen Hud and Croton, and Somers returns almost everyone, so they are going to be a tough team this year,” Sayre said of the Tuskers. “We played Hen Hud in summer league and they have a lot of talented kids. Overall, I think we can hold our own in all of the matchups, but it really depends on how quickly we can get as a group, because our league games are early in the season this year.”
The Wolves were set for a showdown in the first game of the season as John Jay opens at home on Saturday, Dec. 6, against Somers.
Fox Lane boys ready to reload around senior guard Shevick
By JIM MACLEAN
Every opponent the Fox Lane boys varsity basketball team faces will have one goal in mind: they all know they have to shut down Arthur Shevick, a senior guard who has been on varsity for four seasons, Shevick was one of the top scorers in Section 1 last year.
The question for Fox Lane is how the supporting cast around Shevick will step up this year for the Foxes to find success.
Fox Lane graduated four starters, but the Foxes return a veteran team with 12 seniors on the roster, including Shevick, and coach Mike Tomassi likes what he sees from his team so far in the preseason getting ready for the challenge ahead.
“I feel really good about this season, we have a great group of hardworking kids who are looking to make a statement,” said Tomassi. “We do have some players to replace, but we also return eight guys who saw a lot of minutes last year.”
Shevick is a great place to start. He finds a way to score, from outside or driving to the hoop, and he is used to the attention from opposing defenses. Every team the Foxes faced last year focused their defense to stop Shevick, and he still averaged around 20 points a game despite all the attention.
“We’re hoping Arthur can take another step forward as one of the top players in Section 1,” Tomassi said of Shevick. “He is committed to play basketball at Vassar College next year.”
In addition to Shevick, senior forward Janak Bain played a big role inside for the Foxes coming off the bench. The Foxes have some size to compete underneath the boards for rebounds and Bain will lead the way. Senior Will Broghammer also was a key contributor last year along with sophomore Ethan Mayers, and both of them will have to step up to score more points and provide other options on offense to keep the opposing defenses honest so they can’t collapse on Shevick.
“We are optimistic as this group likes playing together, practices hard and truly wants to be good,” added Tomassi. “Ethan Mayers, Janak Bain, and Will Broghammer all played major minutes last year and should make a huge stride this season. We’ll also need contributions from seniors Chris Sanchez, Joe Cerone and Sebastain Getz as we continue to develop.”
Other seniors on the roster include Ryan Hardie, Paul Hirschhorn, Jacob Katz, Christopher Killion, Wiliam Nero and Sean Singleton. Junior Reinold Shehaj and sophomore Samuel Lewis round out the varsity roster.
The Foxes will compete for the league title against Lakeland, Walter Panas and local rival Horace Greeley.
Fox Lane was set to open the season at home today, Friday, Dec. 5, against out of Section opponent Albany High School. The Foxes also get the opportunity to play on the court at the Westchester County Center in the Slam Dunk Challenge Tournament, as Fox Lane will face rival Byram Hills on Saturday, Jan. 3.
