MoCo 4A West Boys Basketball Preview
The Northwest team is loaded with talent and possesses the ability to go a long way.
Photo by: Suwan Ohrt / GamedayMD.com
The Richard Montgomery Rockets have Regional Championship capability this year.
Photo by: Etienne Forbes / GamedayMD.com
The key is that Northwest will have to learn to play together as a team in order to take advantage of their talent.
Photo by: Suwan Ohrt / GamedayMD.com
Written by: Marc Bastow
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD - The talent in the 4A West division is outstanding, but what sets teams apart in this division is leadership and experience. In particular, Richard Montgomery and Walt Whitman have both characteristics to spare.
Both teams feature senior dominated squads with dominant inside-outside talent. Wootton and Northwest have the talent, but must prove an ability to win a close game, which comes down to the leadership issue.
Churchill and Walter Johnson look to find ways to replace departed seniors, while Damon Pigrom, who enjoyed great success at Blake, looks to replicate his formula of full-court defensive madness at B-CC.
B-CC Barons
Coach: Damon Pigrom (1st year)
Last Year: 16-7 (8-1)
Churchill Bulldogs
Coach: Matt Miller (2nd year)
Last Year: 14-10, 4A Regional Quarterfinals
Returning Players: Jake Eskin, Will Lewis, Jordan Bass
All-Met Candidate: Jake Eskin
Outlook: The loss to graduation of Chase Hicks (Williams College) and Elijah Gore (Seminole State Junior College) and eight other seniors leaves the Bulldogs and coach Matt Miller with a fairly young, inexperienced lineup. Eskin is a transfer from Northwest, and along with Bass and Lewis, will form the core of the team providing leadership and experience. This is a young team that will need to learn on the fly in a tough division.
Coaches Quotable: "We are going to have to go through some growing pains this season but I'm optimistic about this group in the short term and more so over the long term,"
Northwest Jaguars
Coach: Jesse Irvin (2nd year)
Last Year: 10-15 (4th in the division)
Returning Players: Andrew Duruji, Destin Davis, Pat Rencher, Willy Lee, Yohannes Ghenbot, Detrick Hoes
All-Met Candidates: Willy Lee
Outlook: As always seems to be the case with Northwest, the team is loaded with talent and possesses the ability to go a long way. Lee is the catalyst, and Davis is in his second year as the starting point guard, so the Jaguars have a solid foundation.
The addition of 6"4" forward Eny Ndubuka can only help, and with the 6"7" Duruji in the lineup at the same time, the Jaguars will not lack for height and rebounding. The key is that Northwest will have to learn to play together as a team in order to take advantage of their talent. If they do, look out.
Coaches Quotable: "If we play hard as a team and all buy into the system we will definitely be a team to watch."
Richard Montgomery Rockets
Coach: Scott Spear (8th year)
Last Year: 15-9 (regional 4th seed)
Returning Players: Nick Brown, TJ Fitzgerald, Dominique Hansberry, Shawn Stephens, Jonathan Mensa, Ryan Liu
All-Met Candidates: Nick Brown, Shawn Stephens
Outlook: The Rockets can be scary-good this season. They are deep, experienced and talented, led by the inside-outside tandem of Stephens and Brown. Brown is a magician with the ball and Stephens can be a dominant force when his game is on.
Hansberry is lightning quick, and the rest of the squad does whatever is necessary to win games, particularly on the defensive end. The Rockets have Regional Championship capability.
Coaches Quotable: "We hope to challenge for a division and region title this year. To do this we need to finish games-play smarter and tougher."
Walter Johnson Wildcats
Coach: Bill Morris (15th season)
Last Year: 13-11
Returning Players: Bert Yaffee, Halid Hamadi, Harrison Gilbert
All-Met Candidate: Bert Yaffee
Outlook: Yaffee is a junior guard, while Hamadi and Gilbert are sophomores; that will tell you what you need to know: the Wildcats are very young, having lost nine seniors from last year's team. Coach Morris will need to bring the team together early to try and get some confidence-building wins in before the start of division play in December.
Coaches Quotable: "We are starting all over after losing nine seniors. I expect us to struggle early and maybe come together and be cohesive later in the season."
Walt Whitman Vikings
Coach: Chris Lund
Returning Players: Demitrius Cook, Ervin Cook, Charlie Waugh, Sam Walsh, Russ Koenh, Eddie Wytkind
All-Met Candidates: Demetrius Cook, Charlie Waugh
Outlook: This is a senior dominated team with depth, experience, and a burning desire to continue the success enjoyed by the Whitman program over the last three years (State Championship in 2006). Demetrius Cook runs the point with style and grace, and inside forces Waugh and Walsh are fierce rebounders and inside scoring threats.
Wytkind is the type of player every coach wants on his team: a hustling, team-oriented scrapper. With the football season now over, Michael Flack joins what is already a talented, poised team. The Vikings are a legitimate Regional Championship contender.
Wootton Patriots
Coach: Chris Bohlen (4th year)
Last Year: 8-15
Returning Players: Jack Weiss, Freddie Vance, Casey Welty, James Wallerstedt, Connor Tendall
All-Met Candidate: Jack Weiss
Outlook: Wootton is a very versatile team, with any number of players who can play all over the court. Coming off an outstanding showing in the summer leagues, the Patriots look to improve from last season in a big way. The Patriots can shoot the ball with anybody, with Weiss and Wallerstedt both deadeyes from distance.
Vance was injured for much of the summer season, and his health is critical to long-term (read: playoff) success. Defensive intensity and an ability to finish games may tell the tale for the Patriots, as they lost a slew of games last season in the waning minutes.
Coaches Quotable: "I am excited about this group. We have great team chemistry, and that's what makes us good. We're versatile, and (guys) can play interchangeable roles."
