Luke Kopetchny hauls down an offensive rebound in first-half action against Lake-Lehman on Jan. 28.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area returns four of the top six players, including all-state selection Luke Kopetchny, from just the second division championship boys basketball team in school history.
Kopetchny averaged 20.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game last season as a sophomore when he was selected third-team Class 4A all-state by Pennsylvania Sports Writers and Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 Most Valuable Player by the coaches in the division. He led the Warriors to their first championship since 1971.
“Luke will be all over the place,” Warriors coach Anthony Macario said. “That’s one of his strengths. He’s so versatile.
“He can play on the perimeter. He can play on the post. He can play on the ball. He can play off the ball.”
Shane Pepe is also back as a starting guard and Drew Keating returns at forward. Mitchell Rusinchak, the sixth man and a spot starter, is also back at guard.
Pepe and Rusinchak will have the task of helping the Warriors overcome a significant loss to graduation. Lukas Burakiewicz and Anthony DeLucca, in one combination or another, handled much of the team’s ballhandling duties over the past four years and they were two of the team’s top three scorers last season.
“Those two guys as our two primary guards, they’re ready for increased responsibility,” said Macario, who was selected by colleagues as the division Coach of the Year.
Pepe, an outstanding defender, takes over as the primary point guard.
“Shane’s got a lot more on his plate,” Macario said. “He’s got some big responsibility ahead of him, but it’s a role that he is taking really seriously to this point.”
Rusinchak showed that he was a 3-point threat last season, but also will be counted on for added duties.
“Mitchell I expect to have the ball in his hands a lot as well,” Macario said. “I think in our league, he’s going to be one of the better shooters. He’s a really skilled player.
“He’s come a long way since the end of last year.”
Keating was fourth on the team in scoring last season while battling in the post as a sophomore, often facing older and bigger opponents.
“Drew has really expanded his game,” Macario said. “He best operates inside for us because of his size and the physicality with which he plays. At the same time, he’s improved his shooting and his ballhandling a lot.
“I’m expecting Drew to have a very good year and open up some eyes within our league. He’s very athletic, can play anywhere on the floor and he’ll do whatever the team needs of him.”
The fifth starter could depend on opponents or other situations, but the leading candidate is senior forward Bruno Pizzano, a valuable reserve a year ago.
“Bruno got some good varsity experience last year,” Macario said. “The best way to describe Bruno is that he’s one of those lunch pail guys. He does a lot of the dirty work.
“He rebounds; he defends; the plays his role unbelievably well. He’s a great teammate. He’s very physical. … He loves it. Teams need guys like that and Bruno brings a lot of those intangibles to the game.”
Donavon Miller, who is coming of a strong season at linebacker for a 10-win football team, has returned to the program after time away.
Collin Casterlin, a junior who gained limited varsity experience last season, is another option along with promising freshman Nate Schoener and senior Liam Meier.
The Warriors were 12-2 in the WVC to win the division by two games last season. They wound up 17-10 after reaching the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament by finishing third in District 2 when they won the third-place game over Dallas, a team that had pounded the Warriors in the WVC Tournament semifinals just two weeks earlier.
