The first few weeks of the Pennsylvania basketball season is usually madness. Because football season hasn’t quite wrapped up yet, there are several schools that will have to delay the start of their season or wait for players to get into shape to get started.
But ready or not, the tip-off tournaments start this weekend. There are plenty of talented players from around the state who will be looking to help their schools reach the PIAA playoffs. Here’s a look at a few to keep an eye on.
All players are listed by alphabetical order by their last name.
Bennett, a 6-foot-7 guard/forward, was chosen as third team all-state in Class 5A last season. The West Liberty recruits needs 18 more points to hit 1,000 for his career. Bennnett averaged 20.0 points per game for DuBois and showed off some range by making 72 3-pointers.
Feamster, a 6-4 guard, has been a consistent performer throughout his high school career. Feamster averaged 17 points per game last season.
The Friends Central guard scored 15.4 points per game as a sophomore and 12.2 per game as a freshman.
Hiller, a 6-7 forward, made the USA men’s U16 national team that won a gold medal at the FIBA U16 Men’s America Cup in Juarez, Mexico. He averaged 13 points and 2.0 rebounds per game with Team USA.
Coatesville reached the PIAA quarterfinals last season before falling to eventual state runner-up Roman Catholic.
Jenkins, a 6-10 center, will look to cause chaos for the Vikings this season. Jenkins has drawn interest from Penn State, Pitt and West Virginia, among other schools.
Kopetchny, a 6-2 guard, led the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 in scoring by contributing 21 points per game. Kopetchny helped the Warriors win their first division title since 1971.
Wyoming Area counted on Kopetchny last season after graduated its top two scorers from the previous year.
Morton-Rivera, 6-3 shooting guard, committed to Temple in the offseason. He helped Father Judge win the Philadelphia Catholic League for the first time since 1998.
He averaged 17.7 points per game and shot 40 percent from the 3-point line.
Gray, a 6-6 forward, suffered a knee injury in the second game of the year last season for Imhotep and missed the rest of the senior. The Panthers won the PIAA District 12 6A title last season.
Newson transferred in to play for the Saints from the Academy of the New Church. Newson helped ANC win the Friends Schools League championship last year.
Newson, a 6-5 guard, has offers from Penn State, Arizona State and Virginia Tech, among others.
Neumann-Goretti won the program’s 10th PIAA championship last season by knocking off Hershey, 85-71, in the 5A title game.
Jackson, a 6-7 forward, is the son of Marc Jackson, who had a seven-year NBA career with the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets and the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.
Sammy has committed to play at VCU.
Lincoln Park senior Josh Pratt, seen here playing for Aliquippa in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals last season, will be eligible for the postseason after earning a waiver following his transfer. / Josh Rizzo
Pratt, a Columbia commit, will be back with the Leopards following a dominant two-year stretch with Aliquippa. Pratt led the Quips to a PIAA and WPIAL championship as a sophomore.
Last season, Pratt averaged 22 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and helped Aliquippa get back to the WPIAL championship game and the PIAA semifinals. The Quips lost to South Allegheny in both of those contests.
Stohon, a junior forward, was a big part of the Rangers putting together a historic season last years. Forest Hills advanced to the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals for the first time before being turned away by powerhouse Aliquippa.
Stohon, who has already topped 1,000 points for his career, averaged 21.7 points, 7.4 points, 3.7 assits and 2.0 steals per game.
The Towson commit average 22 points, three rebounds and three assists per game last season.
Sajid helped the Colonials finish as the District 1 Class 6A runners-up last season.
Thompson helped the Ramblers win District 10 and advance to the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals last season. Thompson averaged 14 points, 4.3 assists and 3.7 blocks per game.
–Josh Rizzo |rizzo42789@gmail.com| @J_oshrizzo