SCBL fall season wraps up — with another star emerging
When the 2021-22 high school boys basketball season tips off next month, many returning stars figure to make it one of the most anticipated winters for local hoops in years.
There are first-team all-staters back such as Central Catholic’s Tyson Thomas and Liam Joyce and Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Brendan Boyle. Division I recruits like Executive’s Kobe Magee and Jeremiah Bembry and Pocono Mountain West’s Christian Fermin. Plus, wellknown standouts like Parkland’s Nick Coval, Allen’s Nate Ellis and Bethlehem Catholic’s Edixon Gomez.
But if the 11th season of the Select Competition Basketball League proved anything, it’s that more talent will be on display this season than first thought.
Parkland’s Will Meeker is one of the many local kids who used the SCBL as a launching pad.
Meeler had a solid junior season last year, averaging 10.8 points per game. However, he has taken his game to a new level as evidenced by his 28-point effort in the SCBL Fall League NBA division final on Sunday afternoon at the Swain School.
He scored 17 second-half points and was clutch down the stretch with four consecutive free throws in the final two minutes of a 61-58 win for his Heat team over the Celtics.
The 6-foot-5 forward hit four 3-pointers, three in the second half, and came up with several big rebounds. He was the league’s playoff MVP.
“It was a lot of fun,” Meeker said. “We just had to come out here and give everything we had. We didn’t have Nate Ellis today and it was tough. But we still had a lot good of players.”
The Heat roster also featured Will Barber of Emmaus and Patrick Allieu of Executive, both of whom scored 10 points. Tim Spinosa, a district tennis champ and sophomore at Central Catholic, scored seven points. Will Csensits,
son of CCHS coach and athletic director Dennis Csensits and Meeker’s Parkland teammate Connor Johns also contributed to the win.
Meeker said playing in the SCBL, in which the players are not playing with their regular high school teams, was a great experience.
“You learn to do moves in games, you learn how to play with other people,” Meeker said. “In high school, you’re always playing with the same people and you have that built-in chemistry. But having to build that chemistry over a shorter period of time is really helpful. I’m a better player coming into this season having played in the summer league, AAU, and now this league. It really boosted my confidence.”
Meeker summed up the thoughts of many when he said: “I think it’s going to be a great season. Our conference is loaded. Every team is good. There can’t be any off nights. It’s going to be great, and a lot of fun.”
Also set to have a lot of fun at the middle school level are Nitschmann eighth graders Jake Pukszyn and Blake Hargrove who led their UNC team to an 85-68 win in the NCAA division for players in grades 7-8-9.
Pukszyn, the son of Moravian University football coach Jeff Pukszyn, had 37 points and Hargrove, the son of former Faith Christian Academy standout and UNC-Greensboro recruit Danny Hargrove, scored 21. Both of them bode well for the future of the Liberty High basketball program.
“I had a lot of fun in this league and we put a lot of effort into these games,” Hargrove said. “Jake is a great kid and it feels like we’re building something special at Nitschmann, but it was also great to play with other guys from other areas.”
Hargrove said that his dad, who is now a prominent high school official, always talks to him about playing good defense.
“He said that’s important and he wants me to handle the ball well and be smart on the court,” he said. “This was my first year in this league and it was a great experience.”
Hargrove was the NCAA division’s most outstanding player in the regular season and Pukszyn was the playoff MVP.
In the NBA division, Joyce and Executive’s Jalil Schenck were the co-MVPs in the regular season.
“This league offers a different type of basketball because you’re playing with kids from all over,” said Joyce, who played in the league for the third time in four years. “You’re not playing for your high school coach, so it’s much more free-flowing and lots of fun. We get up and down the court. There are not any set plays. You’re with four other kids you don’t really know. As I continue to work on my game, I am looking to become more of an outside threat and here I can shoot a lot more.”
Ed Jennings, the SCBL founder, and director said it was great to be back every Sunday for seven weeks. Even though there were no fans allowed due to COVID-19 restrictions, the games were spirited, competitive, and entertaining.
“This was our 11th year and each year going into it we don’t know how many kids are going to play because they’re playing with their high schools and in some fall events,” Jennings said. “But each year I get an overwhelming response. We had over 120 kids playing every Sunday and at the end of the day, kids just want to play and get better.”
Jennings said the high school coaches want their kids to play in the SCBL.
“They have their open gyms throughout the week and the kids can play here in a non-structured environment where the kids can work on things they can’t typically work on with their own teams,” Jennings said. “We try to balance the rosters to create more competitive games. I like to brag on the fact that in 11 years of doing this, I’ve only lost four kids who said this wasn’t for them. I’ll take those numbers.”
Jennings thanked his volunteer coaches like Kyle Mills and Jordan Young, who went head-to-head in the NBA division finals. He also appreciated the officials and the Swain School for allowing the SCBL to use the gym.
“As long as kids want to continue to want to play, I will continue to run the SCBL to give them that opportunity,” Jennings said.