Skyland Conference officials did Hunterdon County boys basketball fans a favor this winter.
They moved 2022-23 Mountain Division champion Delaware Valley into the Raritan Division, where it will compete against North Hunterdon and Voorhees in home-and-home series during the regular season.
Delaware Valley, led by 2023 Hunterdon County Democrat Player of the Year Frank Denvir, should be up to the challenge of playing larger schools.
South Hunterdon remains in the Mountain Division and will be led by a new coach. Hunterdon Central returns a huge cast of veterans and should see more divisional success after being moved from the Delaware to Raritan Division.
Delaware Valley
Delaware Valley possesses all the pieces, along with a newcomer, to win a fourth consecutive divisional title this winter in the Valley after claiming the Mountain Division crown with a 7-1 record in 2022-23.
Denvir averaged 20.7 points, which is eighth-best in the state among returning players. The 5-foot-10 senior guard also led Delaware Valley with 133 assists, 69 steals, 94 3-pointers and 128 made free throws. Denvir, who’s accumulated 825 career points, already has drawn offers from Division III programs.
Forwards Jack Reardon (9.1 rpg, 6.1 rpg), a 6-2 senior, and Eric Klemmer (9.4 ppg, team-high 7.4 rpg), a 6-4 junior, were All-Mountain Division second-team selections and return to the starting lineup.
Senior 6-8 center Haze Puttlitz is a Frenchtown resident who played his first three seasons across the river for the Solebury School located just outside of New Hope. He averaged 10.3 points and 7.4 rebounds as a junior. Eighth-year coach Mike DePaolo said the school is waiting on a decision as to whether Puttlitz will be eligible immediately or will have to sit out a designated period of time.
Other players with limited varsity experience include senior guards Danny Shapiro (49 steals, 39 assists) and Ifeanyi Ilonze and senior forward Pat O’Boyle. Junior forward Will Weckesser also is expected to see playing time.
“Our cohesiveness continues from last season’s success,” DePaolo said. “We need to continue to defend in the halfcourt with our size and length, rebound the basketball and limit teams to one shot and take care of the basketball to control the turnover battles.”
Hunterdon Central
There’s excitement at Hunterdon Central where the Red Devils graduated only two players off last year’s 11-15 squad that looks to drastically improve on a 1-7 mark in the Delaware Division thanks in part to their move to the Raritan Division.
Senior 6-3 guard Matt Schwartz was an All-County pick and second-team All-Delaware after topping Hunterdon Central with 15.8 points per game to go with 36 assists, 76 rebounds, 53 3-pointers and 31 steals. He enters the season with 575 career points. Junior 6-5 forward Weston Shirk was All-Delaware honorable mention. He was No. 1 in rebounding (5.2 rpg) and scored at an 8.7 ppg clip.
Guards Landyn Marsh (8 ppg, 30 3s) and Ethan Diogene (32 assists in 20 games) 6-2 forward Thomas Shreiber (4.1 ppg, 3 rpg), swingman Hayden Landi (50 points, 39 rebounds) are expected to boost their production in their senior seasons. Juniors who figure to be bigger contributors are guards Cameron Diogene (70 points, 18 assists), Tim D’Alessandro and Alec Grinbaum.
Seniors Carson Hilfiker, 6-4 Ethan Squire and Nicholas Verrelli appeared in a combined 14 games.
North Hunterdon
Senior guards James DelSantro, a three-year starter, and Michael Seifert will provide North Hunterdon with early stability as their teammates acclimate to playing more significant varsity minutes. The Lions went 11-15 overall, 3-7 in the Valley Division and upset top-seeded Phillipsburg in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament quarterfinals.
DelSantro, a first-team All-Valley Division and All-County choice, averaged a team-high 15 points along with pacing North Hunterdon with 35 steals and 50 3-pointers. Seifert contributed 5.7 ppg and 67 rebounds. Both players are looking to continue their careers at the Division III level.
“We have a group of players who are working hard and getting together through the leadership provided by our seniors,” said Kyle Rehrig, who’s entering his 14th season as North’s coach. “We have potential to have some depth.”
Senior guard Cole Hekler and senior forward Nate Reinagel both played in 25 games last season and combined for 90 points. Forward Andrew Alfano appeared in eight games and pulled down 13 rebounds in his freshman season.
Senior forward Liam McGreal, junior guards Bryce Readie and Mason DeChellis and freshman forward Bryce Higgins will look to lend depth as North seeks to replace the points that departed with the graduation of four of its top six scorers.
“We need to stay healthy and get guys to quickly adjust to playing at the varsity level,” Rehrig said. “We’re trying to get consistency on both ends of the floor.”
South Hunterdon
Dennis Jordan takes over the South Hunterdon program from Shayle Keating. Jordan has previously coached as a graduate assistant at Quinnipiac University and as the junior varsity coach at Delran High School in southern New Jersey. He inherits a program that posted a 12-13 record overall and reached the quarterfinals of the HWS Tournament and Central Group 1 sectional.
“We have a lot of talent but not a lot of experience,” Jordan said. “We lost eight players from last year and only return three players with any substantial varsity experience.”
Senior forward Aaron Zalescik, an All-Mountain Division first-teamer, led the Lions with 12.3 points a game. He was selected to the All-County squad. Senior swingman Elio Ambrosino scored 75 points in 19 games, and junior guard Aaron Parisi appeared in 10 games.
Three seniors are joining the program this winter. Forwards Jon Carlos DeJesus and Dillon Gallagher are new to high school basketball. Senior guard Alex Romano played as a freshman and returns after concentrating on soccer the past two years.
Junior forwards Dominik Zawadzki, Tyler Clark and Dominic Carlucci and sophomore guards Connor Keys, Dayton Ratkowski and Landon Katz all played on the junior varsity last season and will vie for minutes.
“We will need to jell as a team since we have several guys who haven’t played in a while along with a number of guys who will be getting their first taste of varsity experience,” Jordan said. “I am hoping the team is able to hit its stride by midseason and make a good run toward the middle part of the season.”
Voorhees
Connor Duggan (19.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Aidan Pierro (12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg) were Voorhees’ leading scorers and rebounders from last season’s 9-15 team, so coach Kevin Schafer has some work to do to replace 32 points and nearly 16 rebounds a game. Moreover, the Vikings’ lone starting underclassman opted not to play this winter.
“Patience and a strong work ethic will be our focus points moving forward this season,” Schafer said. “Defense will be a vital aspect of our success. The question will be how quickly we can jell and compete consistently while we overcome adversity.”
Senior forward Dom Desire (13 games, 19 rebounds), senior guard Alex Kinsky, junior guard Jake Vernieri (18 games, 29 rebounds, 28 assists, 15 steals) and promising sophomore swingman Jackson Trego (8 games) have the most experience. Junior guard Jackson Trevaskiss (7 games), junior forward Robby Cassavell and sophomore guards Kyle Beers, Logan Direny and Zeke Hanley have the opportunity to earn significant varsity minutes.
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