Konkrete Kids plan on same defensive approach
New Northampton High boys basketball coach Matt Scholl is a psychology teacher at the school, but he also knows some math.
Scholl did some calculations and figured out that the Konkrete Kids graduated 94% of their scoring from last year’s 21-8 team, which was the last local boys team standing in the state tournament after posting PIAA 6A wins in overtime over Methacton and Warwick. The K-Kids had a 37-34 lead over Fox Chapel in the state quarterfinals, but couldn’t make shots in the final two minutes and fell 39-37.
Gone from the 2021-22 squad that went 11-5 in the EPC and lost in double-overtime in the district 6A semis are Isaac Harris, who scored 19.3 points per game, and Lucas Lesko (15 ppg), Isaiah Harris (5.6 ppg), Cooper King (4.1 ppg) and Caden Reph (3.9 ppg).
The leading returner is Tristen Pinnock, who scored 71 points last season, averaging 2.5 points per game. Only three other returning players scored at all.
And of course, also gone is Coy Stampone, who did a remarkable job in rebuilding the Northampton program over 10 seasons. He resigned in early April after going 107-76 and leading Northampton to the District 11 6A finals twice and the semifinals two other times.
Last year’s team was the first Northampton boys hoops unit to win two state playoff games since the 1972 district champs.
Scholl, Stampone’s assistant for seven years, inherits a team that doesn’t have a lot of game experience but did get to go against Northampton’s starters in practice deep into March last season. Those practices should help prepare them for the rigors of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference’s South Division.
“The kids coming back had an opportunity to practice against those seniors and when you make a run like we did, you’re able to get a lot of extra work in,” Scholl said. “These new guys coming in gave those seniors a run and that was part of why we were able to go so far last year. It also gave these guys confidence that they can compete. We have a smart team that picks up on things quickly and schematically we’re going to be able to do some things like we have in the past.”
The staple remains the matchup zone defense that Northampton used to hold teams down last season. Northampton had the fifth best defense in the league, allowing 48.7 points per game.
Scholl learned the matchup as a player for Jerry Radocha at Whitehall. He played on district and league championship teams before graduating in 2000 and the trademark for Zephyrs success was always its defense.
“We’re all in on the match,” Scholl said. “We don’t have any height, so we’re going to play the match and do something different things out of it. Coy and I worked really hard on developing a system that fits our kids. We figured out what works and now we’re teaching it throughout the whole system. Our middle school kids are running it, our freshmen team is playing it and so will our JV team. We even have a 5th and 6th-grade grade team that’s going to use it.”
If played properly, the matchup zone might be able to hold teams down, but it’s still a game of points, and where those points will come from is a concern.
“It’s going to be tough to replace all of that,” Scholl said. “But if you look at the last 10 years under Coy, other than maybe the first two years we’ve been competitive. I don’t know how many games we’re going to win. Are we going to win 18 or 20 games? Probably not, but we’re going to play hard. The goal is to get into the district tournament.”
A capsulized look at the 2022-23 Konkrete Kids:
Northampton Matt Scholl (first Head coach: season)
Last season: 21-8, 11-6 EPC. Lost to Parkland 56-37 in the EPC quarterfinals; beat Allen 49-47, lost to Pocono Mountain West 59-55, and beat Nazareth 74-70 in the District 11 6A tournament consolation game to reach states. Beat Methacton 50-49, beat Warwick 60-59, lost to Fox Chapel 39-37 in the PIAA tournament. Won a holiday tournament at Salisbury High School.
Season opener: Dec. 3 at Northwestern Lehigh.
EPC opener: Dec. 6 at Parkland.
Nonleague games: Dec. 3 at Northwestern Lehigh; Dec. 10 host Bangor; Play Pocono Mt. East Dec. 27 in Pine Grove Area holiday tournament, play either Freedom or Pine Grove on Dec. 28; Jan. 21 at Blue Mountain; Jan. 30 host Palmerton.
Players to watch: Tristen Pinnock (5-10, Jr. G) 2.5 ppg; Tyler Kauffman (5-10, Sr. G) 1.9 ppg; Sam Koplin (6-2, Sr. F); Parker Christman (6-2, Sr. F);
Tristan Duch (6-3, Sr. F); Trent Moyer (6-0, Jr. F); JJ Kolumber (5-8, Jr. G); Brody Graff (5-8, Jr. G); Shakim Dunbar (5-6, So. G).
Take note: Scholl’s staff has a lot of returnees from Stampone’s last staff. Phil Hall will be the varsity assistant, Brian Davies will be the JV coach, Ed Seidick and Tyler Nicholas will be roving assistants; Travis Cheeks, who had been on the Northwestern Lehigh staff, will coach the freshman, Scott Johnson is the middle school head coach and Joe Winters is the middle school assistant.
Why the Konkrete Kids are
Top 10 material: This program and the entire Konkrete Kids athletic program have developed a winning culture that should remain. Even after the departure of last year’s star players and Stampone’s retirement, Northampton will be formidable. The matchup zone is the great equalizer with its ability to slow down opponents and frustrate them into taking poor shots. Pinnock is one of the area’s best athletes and comes from the football field where he’s a playmaker and he will look to be more assertive offensively.
Final word: “I’m excited about this opportunity,” Scholl said. “We have good kids. I will say that across the board as someone who teaches and coaches here. It’s a great community and I love Northampton. The core group that we will count on has been consistent at summer workouts and have put in a tremendous amount of work in the offseason to prepare for the opportunity. All I can guarantee is that we’re going to play hard. I don’t know how many wins we’ll get, but we’re going to play hard every night.”