Dearden back on sideline for Ewing in Valley Division
With the return of fans and postseason tournaments after COVID-19’s impact last winter, it’s shaping up to a momentous high school boys basketball season.
The competition should be fierce in the Colonial Valley Conference’s Valley Division with Robbinsville and Hamilton West looking like the preseason favorites.
The big storyline is the return of Mercer County coaching legend Shelly Dearden at Ewing. Dearden retired in 2019 after leading the Blue Devils to five sectional titles and one state title in 15 years, but the itch to coach again brought her back as the program tries to rebound from two straight losing seasons.
Ewing always produces talent and could be a sleeper team. It will be a season-long process as Tyreek Rollins, Darnelle Forrest, Naire Preston and Kenric Davis are the only returning varsity players.
“We are a youthful team when it comes to varsity experience,” Dearden said. “Our team goals are always high and our expectations are playing together as a team for us to reach our high standard goals.”
Robbinsville features two Player of the Year candidates in wings Brian Herbert and Luke Billings. Pratham Nadig is an experienced forward, and Tyler Handy is an impressive sophomore who is stepping into the starting point guard spot to make this a dangerous squad.
“We are a long, athletic team with lots of experience and high expectations,” coach Conor Hayes said. “We will look to push the ball offensively when we can but be disciplined and execute our offense when we’re forced to play half court games. Defensively, we have the size and athletes to be a force this year. We will continue to mix up our looks defensively to control tempo but we will rely heavily on our man-to-man defense.”
Hamilton West also boasts two top-tier players in point guard Maurice Williams and forward Arterio Williams. Donavine Domine is a smooth combo guard who brings excellent court vision, and Tyler Barber is an athletic wing with nice touch around the basket and rebounding ability.
“We are going to be a tough defensive team who likes to play fast and get out in transition. Our size will be huge for us this year as we look to dominate both ends of the paint,” coach Brandon Williams said. “Expectations are to be an MCT finalist and sectional champions with the possibility of playing for the state championship. We are looking to have a historic year this year and take this section by force.”
Allentown is excited about guard Ryan Kozlosky and forward Ray Gooley as returning varsity players. Danny Doran is a newcomer who brings intensity and scrappy play.
“We have a very youthful team,” coach Walter Kelly said. “Our strengths are that we have great chemistry, are fundamentally sound and enjoy playing with each other. Our identity is fast paced and working towards being great defenders. Despite how young we are I have high expectations for this group. I believe we are going to have a great season.”
Hopewell Valley should also be competitive as it brings back Kevin Ellis, one of the county’s bright allaround talents, as well as brothers Brendan O’Reilly and Brian O’Reilly on the perimeter and Ryan Kuuskvere and Jake O’Grady in the paint.
“This season we are very optimistic and should be competitive,” coach Matt Stein said. “We return two starters and three other players who got significant time last sea- son. Our identity is our toughness and playing our tempo. If we play our style, play tough defense and handle other teams’ pressure, we will be in a lot of games.”
Lawrence hasn’t had a winning record in five years but is capable of contending as it returns leading scorer Brandon Ford, three-year varsity starter Gabe Mitchell-White and point guard Reilly Cahill.
“We have a lot of guys returning so I am hoping their varsity experience will help our team this year,” coach Jeff Molinelli said. “We will look to get out in transition and to play with an upbeat tempo.”
Nottingham is undergoing the biggest transition in the area as it graduated nine seniors from a team that went 13-2 and won the CVC’s Pod A championship to cap the abbreviated 2021 season.
The Northstars are essentially a brand-new team with two players who have minimal varsity experience. Quiyon McMillan, Joe Lemly and JP Dickerson are expected to lead the squad until younger play- ers develop.
“This season we are going to play differently than how we did in the past. We are going to have to slow the ball down to compete with other schools. We don’t have the scoring that we did in the past,” coach Chris Raba said. “Nottingham basketball has a great culture of winning and we expect to continue those winning ways. We just need time to get everyone experience at the varsity level.”