What the Coudersport boys basketball team might lack in height, it will make up for in skill.
At least that’s the hope of Falcons’ coach Brian Furman, who will rely on a guard-oriented team this year that will, on occasion, trot out five guards at once. That also means a fast-paced attack for a team that averaged 66 points per game last season, went 23-4 and advanced to the PIAA Class A quarterfinals.
“They’re five good guards, so that helps,” Furman said. “We’re going to play up-tempo with them. It’s kind of a fun team to watch because we like to spread the floor and get some good ball movement. When you have five guys who can handle the ball, you can be successful.”
With such a small lineup on the floor, the success of the Falcons this year could ride on simple acts of the game, such as boxing out.
“We’re really going to have to work hard on the boards, battle every night,” Furman said. “Defensively, if we come up against some size, we’ll have to double down a lot and do some things there and use our quickness.”
Furman was also quick to add that while last year’s team enjoyed success, the clock has been reset. Four starters return, as does the nucleus of the roster from last year.
However, the glaring missing piece is Darren Keglovitz, who averaged 16 points last winter, which was good for 12th in District 9 and best on the team. He was one of a pair of seniors to graduate from the team that also won the North Tier League title and lost to Elk Catholic in the District 9 Class A championship game.
“We have to build toward that,” Furman said. “It’s a new season. It certainly is a goal to get back to where we were playing as well as we were at the end of last season.”
When the Falcons go small, handling much of the offensive duties will come down to senior Aaron Wolfinger, junior Jared Green and sophomore Owen Chambers. Green is the leading returning scorer at 13.6 points per game and also led the team in rebounding (9.2 rebounds per game), which landed him on the North Tier League and Big 30 all-star first teams. He was also a second-team D9Sports.com all-district pick.
“Jared is just a solid all-around player,” Furman said, noting Green will have to come up big on defense and controlling the rebounds for Coudersport. “He just does a lot for us.”
Chambers scored more than 12 points a game last year as a freshman, while Furman likes the jack-of-all-trades approach Wolfinger brings to the team.
“Aaron just works hard,” the coach said. “He’s one of those kids who you just love to have on your team. He does all the little things – loose balls, defense. It makes a nice mix when you have a player like that.”
With the PIAA’s new classifications, Coudersport now bumps up to Class AA with Smethport, while the seven other NTL schools are Class A.
The district landscape also changes, as Ridgway – a perennial power but a team Coudersport took down in last year’s district semifinals – is also up to Class AA, as is last year’s AA runners-up Brockway.
Other Class AA teams include Curwensville, Clarion-Limestone, Clarion, Cranberry, Keystone and Redbank Valley.
“It is certainly different,” Furman said. “We’re going to see different teams we haven’t used to, some of the teams down south. Ridgway is going to be really good. I think Clarion-Limestone is going to be really good and then there are other teams we don’t know anything about. We’ll kind of be score-watching throughout the season to gauge that way.”
Elsewhere in the NTL, Oswayo Valley returns just one starter from last year’s 16-7 team that finished second in the standings behind Coudersport. The 16 wins were the fifth-most in school history, but head coach Clark Cummings will rely heavily on returning starter Theo Henry (8.2 points per game, 4 rebounds per game).
Otto-Eldred and Cameron County have an intriguing mix of players returning from teams that were third and fourth in the NTL last year with both advancing to the D-9 Class A playoffs.
O-E brings back three starters, while senior Seth Drummond returns from a knee injury that sidelined him all last year. Head coach Dan Dalton notes this team might be able to go 10 players deep, while the top six players all have a year of varsity experience under their belts.
Meanwhile, Mark Guido’s Cameron County squad has size – five players measure between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-1 – while the void left by the graduated Trae Smith is the team’s biggest question mark.
In Smethport, Jay Acker is back on the sidelines after a few years away from the Hubbers. He’s 72-48 in five years – which includes an appearance in the 2007 D-9 Class AA title game – but the Hubbers are coming off a 4-18 season.
BRADFORD
Coach: Brian Hobbs (7th year, 48-92)
League: D9 League
2015-16: 10-13
Postseason: Clearfield (L, 59-34, D-9, Class AAA semifinals)
Roster: Kyle Kirk (5-6, sr., G), Nate Higbie (6-0, sr., G, 6.5 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.1 apg), Adam Boyer (5-9, jr., G), Cade Hayden (5-7, jr., G), Dalton Fiero (5-8, jr., G/F), Deondre Terwilliger (5-10, jr., G, 10.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.2 asg), Danny Manion (6-2, jr., F), Alec Kuzmeskas (5-10, jr., G), Nate Evan (5-8, jr., G), Donny Pattison (6-1, so., F), Blake Bryant (6-3, so., G), Isaac Smith (5-7, so., G), Anthony Bruno (5-8, so., G), Tyler Gigliotti (5-8, fr., G)
From the coach: “This season, we are returning three letterwinners, so we are looking for our younger guys to step up and contribute. Within our group, we have guys that are well-skilled at their respective position. However, we are going to need those individuals to step out of their comfort zone from time to time to fill some voids.”
AUSTIN
Coach: Rich Glover (4th year)
League: North Tier League
2015-16: 1-21
Postseason: none
Roster: Brian Shupe (5-9, sr., G), Nick Leightley (6-3, sr., C), Mason Valenti (5-9, so., G), Blake Burgett (5-8, so., G), Trent Fowler (5-10, so., G/F), Garrett Rees (6-4, so., C), Parker Glover (5-8, fr., F), Matt Daniels (6-2, fr. F/C), Joseph Glover (5-10, fr., G/F), Caden Rees (5-3, fr., G), Payton Shupe (5-4, G, fr.), Sage Setzer (5-5, fr., G)
From the coach: “We’re a very young team. We only have 13 kids total. We have our key sophomores that are coming back. They started varsity last year as freshmen. Their play and the younger guys coming up will be key to the success. Hopefully the transition will be quick.”
CAMERON COUNTY
Coach: Mark Guido (8th year)
League: North Tier League
2015-16: 14-10
Postseason: Oswayo Valley (W, 49-48, D-9, Class A first round), Ridgway (L, 49-12, D-9, Class A quarterfinals)
Roster: Derek Reider (sr.), Andy Richnafsky (sr.), Brennan Guisto (sr.), Hunter Horning (sr.), Adam Shaffer (jr.), Bryce Bauer (jr.), Justin Bush (jr.), Alex Umble (jr.), Moe Yarborough (jr.), Nate Williams (jr.), Marcus Brown (so.), Jake Walters (so.)
From the coach: “I think we have decent size this year and need to incorporate that into our offense. We also have depth, and, again, need to utilize that to our advantage. Question marks would be who is going to step up to fill the void made my Trae Smith, our leading scorer from a year ago and someone that led us by his example. I love our size this year.”
COUDERSPORT
Coach: Brian Furman (3rd year, 42-9)
League: North Tier League
2015-16 record: 23-4
Postseason: Coudersport (W, 61-51, D-9, Class A quarterfinals), Ridgway (W, 60-58, D-9, semifinals), Elk Catholic (L, 48-42, D-9 finals), Bishop Guilfoyle (W, 64-57, PIAA first round), Kennedy Catholic (L, 65-26, PIAA quarterfinals)
Roster: Zach Layag (5-9, sr., G, 9.8 ppg, 6.3 apg), David Rigas (5-8, sr., G, 2.1 ppg, 2.7 apg), Aaron Wolfinger (5-10, sr., G, 9.1 ppg, 2.1 spg), Khalik Murray (5-9, G, sr.), Jared Green (6-0, jr., F, 13.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg), Derek Keglovits (5-9, jr., F, 3.8 ppg), Hunter Ricke (6-1, jr., 1.2 ppg), David Burd (5-11, jr., F, 1.2 ppg), Owen Chambers (5-11, so., G, 12.6 ppg), Kullen Crosby (5-10, G, so., 2.0 ppg)
From the coach: “This is a hard-working group that has a lot of experience and good team chemistry. We are small and at times will have five guards on the court. We have a quick, athletic team that plays an up-tempo style. We should be fun to watch.”
NORTHERN POTTER
Coach: Gary Ransom
League: North Tier League
2015-16: 4-18
Postseason: none
Roster: Blake Jeffers (5-11, sr., G/F), Tucker Kosa (5-11, sr., G/F), Joe Holbrook (5-11, sr., C), Austin Outman (5-10, sr., G/F), Brandon Buck (5-11, jr., G/F), Holden Cowburn (5-10, so., G), Mac Potter (5-10, jr., G), Foster Kosa (5-10, so., G), Tristan Byron (5-10, so., G/F), Ezra Sprow (6-0, fr., C), Travis Snyder (5-11, fr., F), A.J. Leyman (5-10, fr., G/F), Willis Morgan (5-10, jr., F), Clay Cady (5-10, fr., F)
From the coach: “My goals for the team are to see improvement with individual basketball skills and to be competitive in our league.”
OTTO-ELDRED
Coach: Dan Dalton (5th year, 34-57)
League: North Tier League
2015-16: 14-9
Postseason: DuBois Central Catholic (L, 47-28, D-9 Class A first round)
Roster: Seth Drummond (sr., F), Dylan Close (jr., G, 9.5 ppg, 3.2 apg), Sawyer Drummond (jr., F, 7 ppg, 6 rpg), Damen Palmer (sr., F), Trey Dalton (jr., F), Jordan Sherwood (jr., F), Nick York (jr., G), Brett Baldwin (jr., G), Mark Miller (sr., F), Juan Bosco Ramiro Alonso (jr., G), Keagan Bisker
From the coach: “Our first goal every year is to win the NTL. With exception to Coudy, we feel we return the most depth and experience in the league. It’s always tough replacing a first team all-star like Heath Stewart but we return several key players as well as having Seth Drummond return from injury.”
OSWAYO VALLEY
Coach: Clark Cummings (117-136)
League: North Tier League
2015-16: 16-7
Postseason: Cameron County (L, 49-48, D-9 Class A first round)
Roster: Garrett Babcock (6-1, sr. G/F), Brett McMichael (6-0, sr., F), Hunter Lee (5-11, sr., F), Theo Henry (5-11, jr., G, 8.2 ppg, 4 rpg), Jacob Karr (5-11, jr., G), Garren Black (5-11, jr., F), Nathan Proutty (6-1, jr., C), Ryan Graves (5-8, jr., G), Taige Bryant (5-10, jr., F), Gage Babcock (5-10, jr., G), Gavin Babcock (5-10, so., G)
From the coach: “We lost eight seniors from last year’s team, including four starters. (We) we have four new players who were not in the program last year. “(We’ll) rely heavily on Theo Henry (the only returning starter/letterwinner) and Garrett Babcock.”
PORT ALLEGANY
Coach: Jeff Stuckey (first year)
League: North Tier League
2015-16: 9-13
Postseason: none
Roster: Brandon McCaslin (5-10, sr., G, 10 ppg, 5 rpg), McKenzie Elliott (5-10, sr., G, 2 ppg, 2 rpg), Tyler Lashway (5-6, jr., G, 2 ppg, 2 rpg), Jordan Bell (5-11, sr., F), Anton Freyer (6-6, sr., F), David Talkington (6-0, jr., G), Jared Mahon (5-10, so., F), Howard Stuckey (5-8, fr.), Jordan Card (5-5, fr.)
From the coach: “The Gators are coming back from a pretty good season last year. We have three returning lettermen, seniors Brandon McCaslin, McKenzie Elliott and junior Tyler Lashway. With good senior senior leadership this young Gator squad will be a spoiler to many teams this year. I expect our fans to enjoy some good Gator basketball this year.”
SMETHPORT
Coach: Jay Acker (6th year, 72-48)
League: North Tier League
2015-16: 4-18
Postseason: none
Roster: Bobby Pearson (sr.), Tony Prentiss (sr.), Justin Tanner (sr.), Austin Wilber (sr.), Cameron O’Neal (jr.), Brayden Southard (jr.), Jordan VanGorder (jr.), Noah Costa (so.), Caleb Lutz (so.), Tyler Newman (so.), Brandon Peterson (so.), Eric Szarowicz (so.), Ian Woodruff (so.)
From the coach: “This year’s team looks to improve on last year’s record. Our core group of sophomores will lead the team along with our upperclassmen. Our strengths include a good inside presence and good team chemistry.”
