Pittston Area enters the boys basketball season with a new coach in veteran Al Semenza, but the Patriots have much of the same lineup with six of the top seven players returning from last year’s squad.
Senior guard Brennan Higgins is back after earning Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 first-team, all-star recognition from division coaches.
Mike George, a senior guard, and Logan Booth, a senior forward, joined Higgins in averaging in double figures in scoring on a team that finished 13-10 last season. The Patriots went 9-7 in the WVC to finish fourth of six teams in Division 1.
Andrew Krawczyk, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, was the team’s leading rebounder a year ago.
“Obviously, with it being my first season, our coaching staff will need to evaluate every player to determine who gets playing time,” said Semenza, a former Old Forge and Wyoming Area coach who most recently turned around a struggling program at Western Wayne, leading the Wildcats to their first state tournament appearance as a District 2 member. “But those four – Higgins, George, Krawczyk and Booth – have certainly drawn our attention early.
“Higgins was an all-league selection last season and it is pretty clear we will rely on him heavily in our system. George was a point producer and has shown he can knock down the three.”
Semenza said Krawczyk and the 6-foot Booth are athletic and will need to battle against bigger players on the inside.
Sophomore guard J.J. Walsh and 6-4 senior forward Adam Penxa were the first two players off the bench last season.
Senior Joe Cencetti, a 6-3 forward, saw some varsity playing time as a freshman, but has not played since because of injury. He returns and joins junior Matt Johnson and sophomore Dominic Januzzi, both guards, as players who will add to the rotation.
Semenza said the starting five will likely come from that group of nine players but there are other young players competing for playing time.
“I expect us to improve and like what we have done in these first two weeks,” Semenza said. “Guys are being asked to maybe do some things they have not done in the past and are getting to know what I expect.”
The combined varsity/junior varsity roster also includes junior guards Matt Macaluso and Devin Adkins; junior forward David Behm; sophomore forwards Ethan Maslowski, Cole Ferrani, Ethan Ghannam, Alex Hoban, Jack Locker and Omar Aziz; and sophomore guards Matt Mayers, Zach Elko, Connor Manganiello and Brayden Powers.
Pittston Area opens at Hanover Area Friday, plays its home opener against Delaware Valley Dec. 17 and begins WVC play at home Jan. 3 against Dallas.
The Patriots remain in Division 1 after the WVC realigned from three divisions to two.
Jim Blaskiewicz and Andrew Bennie will serve as Semenza’s varsity assistants in the reorganized coaching staff. Pat McGoff and John Walsh will coach the freshmen. Jamie Armillay and Bill Ardoline are junior high coaches. Stephen Semenza is a volunteer coach.
