Time to get the ball rolling
Wilson is the defending league champ, but Bangor, Notre Dame-Green Pond will challenge in division
The Colonial League East had been dominated for years by Bangor and Notre Dame-Green Pond. In 2020-21, the teams met in the league finals and both played in district finals with the Slaters winning the 5A crown.
Last year, however, another team came on strong late.
The Wilson Warriors shook a three-game losing streak in the middle of the season and a 2-point loss to Notre Dame-Green Pond in the regular-season finale to go on a memorable 4-game run that carried the team to its first league title since 2009.
They also reached the District 11 4A finals before losing to Bethlehem Catholic.
As the 2022-23 season begins, Wilson will be one of the more intriguing teams in the Colonial League’s East Division, along with Bangor and Notre Dame. In addition, Moravian Academy, Saucon Valley, Pen Argyl and Palisades all expect improvement in a season that will see each team play 18 league games.
Here’s a look at the division:
5 players to watch
Bangor’s Josh Giaquinto: A veteran who was a major contributor with 170 points and 30 3-pointers on the Slaters’ Colonial League and District 11 title team two years ago, Giaquinto averaged 15.7 points per game last year and made 49 3-pointers. He figures to be one of the top scorers in the league.
Wilson’s Shamel Gibson: The senior guard returns with hopes of improving his all-around game after he was a second-team Colonial League all-star selection last year. Gibson scored 15 points per game last season with 53 3s, but his biggest contribution may be stepping up as a leader for a young Warriors team. He is also looking at elevating others around him on the court with his passing ability.
Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Zach Rodgers:
With two-time Colonial League MVP Brendan Boyle graduated and now at Kutztown University, more of the ballhandling and scoring role will belong to Rodgers, the son of former Allentown Central Catholic coach Jim Rodgers. Rodgers is off to a good start after scoring 17 in a win over Roberto Clemente and 15 in a title-game loss to Pocono Mountain West and making the Jeff Dailey Memorial All-Tournament team.
Palisades’ Malachi Stiansen: The senior small forward thrives on guarding the opposition’s best player every night. “He is one of the best defensive players in the league and is a leader and competitor. He wants to be great at every aspect of the game to help his team win.”
Pen Argyl’s Damian Tyminski:
He was his team’s leading scorer last season and is a quality athlete coming off a solid football season for the Green Knights. As a receiver, he had 65 catches for 1,032 yards and six touchdowns and figures to bring that playmaking ability to the basketball court.
4 questions to be answered
1. Will Bangor, a league and district champ two seasons ago, get back in the hunt for both titles?
2. Can Notre Dame-Green Pond stay elite after the graduation of Brendan Boyle?
3. Can new coach Brett Snyder make a difference at Saucon Valley?
4. Can Wilson, the defending league champ, overcome the graduations of Na’shawn Jones, Eric Shunk and Cayden Stem, to stay among the league’s best?
3 league openers
The Colonial League begins Tuesday night with Moravian Academy at Bangor, Wilson at Palisades, and Pen Argyl at Saucon Valley.
2 dates to remember
Bangor will play at Northampton at 1 p.m. Saturday in a rare EPC-Colonial League matchup. The two met last year when former Slaters standout Coy Stampone was the Konkrete Kids coach.
Saucon Valley will host Jim Thorpe on Saturday afternoon to complete a busy first week for first
year coach Snyder, whose team plays Pen Argyl on Tuesday and Wilson on Thursday.
1 man’s opinion
Predicted order of finish: 1. Bangor;
2. Notre Dame-Green Pond;
3. Wilson; 4. Moravian Academy;
5. Palisades; 6. Saucon Valley;
7. Pen Argyl.
Here’s a team-by-team look at the Colonial League East:
BANGOR Coach:
Colin Kessler (fourth season, 40-27)
2021-22 season: 12-11, 10-7 Colonial League
Players to watch: Alex Farensbach (5-9, So. G); Hunter McShane
(5-10, So. G); Ashton Kluska (6-0, Sr. G); Bryan Marmol (5-10, Jr. G); Marquise Acree (5-10, So. G); Gavin Nelson (6-2, Jr. F); Josh Giaquinto (6-2, Sr G); Nick Castelletti (6-1,
Sr. F); Jeremiah Singer (6-1, So.
G); Ryan Wildrick (6-2, Sr. F); Quin Karner (6-1 Sr. F); Cody Quagliato (6-3, Jr. C)
Outlook: Kessler said he has a team that loves to play and constantly works and does the little things it takes to get better each day.“Our main focus is our defense, as we are hoping to change up a few things from last season to hopefully make another run at the Colonial League title,” he said. “We have two of our top three scorers from last season back this year and some other nice pieces to hopefully make that run.”
MORAVIAN ACADEMY
Coach: Steve Gabryluk (ninth season, 82-91)
2021-2022 season: 7-15, 7-11 Colonial League
Players to watch: Kendall Bolden (6-2, Sr F); Gabe Borsuk (6-2, Sr.
F); Tayden Miller (5-10, Sr. G); Chris Ray (6-1 Sr. G); Kali Hossain (5-8, Sr. G); Kyle Bolden (6-1, Jr. F); Joseph Phillips (6-1, Jr. F); Jackson Reid (6-0, Jr. G); Keegan Miller (6-0, So. G); Demarcus Klotz (5-0 So. G); Cormac McKenna (5-10 So. G); Salim Calis (6-2, So. F); Oliver Xia (5-9, So. G); Xavier Zumba (5-10, So. G); Winston Hornik (5-8, Fr. G).
Outlook: Gabryluk said he has many players back from a young team that went through some growing pains last season. The Lions graduated just two starters. “We had a slow start last year but came on stronger to finish the season,” he said. “We expect to be more competitive to start this year.”
NOTRE DAME-GREEN POND Coach:
Pat Boyle (27th season, 463-226)
2021-22 season: 19-8, 15-2. Lost to Wilson 67-53 in Colonial League semifinals. Beat Panther Valley 49-47, lost to Dock Mennonite 78-75 and beat Palmerton 69-58 in the District 11-1 subregional. Lost to Philly champ Math, Civics and Science in the first round of 3A state tournament.
Players to watch: Zach Rodgers (6-0 Sr. G); Chase Marcks (6-0, Sr. G); Colin Boyle (6-1, Jr. G); Jordan Smith (5-11, Jr. G); Cameron Bohn (5-9, Jr. G); Dainn Vassallo (6-2,
Jr. F); Caleb Hobbie (6-4, Jr. F); Michael Maslonka (6-3, Jr. F); Andrew Lessig (6-3, Jr. F); Gavin Hoff (5-9, Jr. G); Anthony Pez (5-10, Sr. F); Daniel Darno (6-2, Jr. F); Isaiah Miles (5-10, Fr. G)
Outlook: Notre Dame opened the season with a split in the Jeff Dailey Memorial Tournament, beating Roberto Clemente and falling to Pocono Mountain West. The Crusaders will miss first-team all-state player Brendan Boyle, who finished his career with a school-record 1,900 points, but there are still big expectations for one of the area’s elite programs. Rogers and Colin Boyle will move the ball and make things happen at the offensive end. Marcks is a solid player at both ends of the floor and Coach Boyle said he has a team that developed great team chemistry through an aggressive summer schedule playing several large schools outside the area. “We should be a fun team to coach and very difficult to play against,” he said.
PALISADES Coach:
Phil Ham (fourth season, 26-46)
2021-22 season: 5-17, 4-13 Colonial League
Players to watch: Malachi Stiansen (6-2, Sr. F); Tyler Bonelli (6-1, Jr. PG); Riley Sessinger (6-1,
Jr. G); Sheadon Carr (6-3, Sr. C); Gianluca Leblanc (6-0, Sr. G); Will Anderson (6-5, So. F)
Outlook: The Pirates are striving to play as a team and approach each game with tenacity. “We want our guys to leave it on the court and that hard work will allow us to reach the league playoffs and districts,” Ham said. “We’re looking toward Stiansen and Sessinger to give us leadership this season and Carr is definitely our heart and soul in the locker room and on the court.”
PEN ARGYL Coach: 2021-2022 season:
Mike Morris (fifth season)
6-16, 4-13
Colonial League
Players to watch: Damian Tyminski (6-2, Jr. F); Jace Hershey (5-10, Sr. G); Trowne Irwin-Hill (6-0, Sr. G); Chase Kennedy (6-0, Jr. PG); Brad Rissmiller (6-2, Jr. F); Mason Soos (6-0, Fr. F); Caiden Vishnesky (5-11, Fr. G); Ethan Holland (6-0, Jr. G) Outlook: The Green Knights had a competitive second half last year and look to build on that momentum with a strong core of key returners. The two freshmen, Soos and Vishnesky, figure to make an impact. Rissmiller, who was the quarterback of the Pen Argyl football team, is another addition and Morris is hoping the newcomers will give the team a tough-minded defensive edge.
SAUCON VALLEY
Coach: Brett Snyder (first season) 2021-22 season: 7-15, 6-11 Colonial League
Players to watch: Alex Magnotta (6-5 Sr. G/F); Braden Weiss (6-1,
Jr. G); Constantine Donahue (6-1, Jr. G); Jacob Albert (6-4, Sr. G/F); Jack Robertson (6-0, So. G); Henry Kreschollek (6-4, Jr. F); Jacob Klotz (6-3, Sr. G); Kieran Walsh (5-10,
Sr. G); Rudra Thakkar (5-11, Jr. G); Brandon Thompson (5-9, Sr. G); Elijah Miller (5-9, So. G); Cydae Joseph Davis (6-3, Sr. F); Adam Clark (6-5, So. F); Caleb Grim (6-3, So. F); Carmelo Stokes (6-1, Jr. G-F) Outlook: Snyder, who had been a member of Ken Termini’s staff at
Palmerton, replaces Avery Wright, who coached just one season.
“The boys had a positive summer because they won some games in the league’s small school division, however, we want to be able to compete with anyone on any given night,” Snyder said. “The boys have responded well to everything we have thrown at them.” Snyder wants to tighten up a defense that allowed 57 points per game last season.“They are buying into our defensive principles practice by practice and I anticipate us to be mentally and physically tougher on that side of the game this year,” he said. “Offensively, we need to know what constitutes a good shot and those are the shots we want to take. The program has been down for quite some time, but this is a tight group that can lay a great foundation. We expect to play hard on a nightly basis and hope to be playing our best basketball in the second half of the season.”
WILSON Coach:
Mike Glovas (seventh season, 85-56)
2021-22: 19-8, 13-4 Colonial
League. Beat Salisbury 45-38, Notre Dame 67-53, and Southern Lehigh 56-50 to win Colonial League finals. Beat North Schuylkill 44-42, lost to Bethlehem Catholic 47-42 in the District 11 4A tournament. Lost to Cardinal O’Hara 54-46 in PIAA 4A first round.
Players to watch: Nick Meuser (6-4, Sr. C); Gavin Krauskopf (6-1,
Sr. F); Austin Johnson (5-11, Sr. F); Gavin Ehlman (5-8, Sr. G); Shamel Gibson (6-0, Sr. G); Jaire Kellyrange (6-3, Jr. F); Brian Samayoa (5-8,
Jr. G); Anthony Shaw (6-3, Jr. F); Brooklyn Rivers (5-9, Jr. G); Brady Westbrooks (6-2, So. G); Isiah Singleton (6-0, So. F)
The big question: Wilson made a remarkable postseason run last season that included a league championship and trip to the District 11 finals and state tournament. The Warriors lost four key players to graduation and Glovas will be looking for new players to emerge.“Who will make the hustle plays to make the team successful?” he said. “We are looking for new faces to step up.”