THEY’RE BACK AGAIN

Abington, Cheltenham and PW look to return to D1-6A semis

This year’s District 1 Class6A tournament could look very similar to last year’s. Abington, Cheltenham and Plymouth Whitemarsh — the three 2017 semifinalists along with Coatesville — all return key players and promise to be the top teams in the Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery area.

Abington brings back senior guard Robbie Heath and junior forward Eric Dixon. Heath started for the Ghosts district championship teams in 2015 and 2017. Dixon is a tough matchup for any player in the district and is on Villanova’s recruiting radar.

Cheltenham returns plenty from last year’s team and is led by senior guard Jack Clark. Clark, a La Salle commit, is in range once he crosses the timeline.

Plymouth Whitemarsh will look to get to the district final four for the fourth straight season, winning the title in 2016. Senior guards Ahmin Williams and Ahmad Williams are two of the best defenders in the area, senior guard Ish Horn led the offense down the stretch last year and 7-foot junior center Naheem McLeod continues to improve.

Others to watch in the area include Archbishop Wood, Archbishop Carroll, La Salle and Wissahickon. Wood — the defender Catholic League, District 12 and state champions — will lean on Tyree Pickron, Andrew Funk and Seth Pinkney to defend their titles. The other three schools return plenty of talent, such as Carroll’s AJ Hoggard, La Salle’s Zach Crisler and Wissahickon’s Zach Reiner.

North Penn and Upper Merion both appear to be in rebuilding mode. The Knights lost nine seniors from last year’s Suburban One League Continental Conference championship team and the Vikings graduated all of their varsity minutes last season after reaching the District 1 Class-5A finals.

Norristown, Upper Dublin and Upper Moreland will have new

BOB RAINES — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Abington’s Eric Dixon, center, takes a shot against Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Matt Walker, left, and Naheem McLeod.