Stop No. 3 on high school boys basketball preseason tour: Visiting with one of the area's most veteran coaches

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

I had to wait until Stroudsburg boys basketball coach Shawn Thornton got out of his honors English class the other day before I could talk to him.

It's always worth the wait to talk to Thornton because few coaches in the area are more passionate about their school, their league and their sport than Thornton, who has been in charge of the Mountaineers for a long time and has seen it all, good and bad.

Stroudsburg plays its home games in one of the finest and most spacious gyms in the area. They hope to be playing in some big playoff games as well as hosting them this season.

STROUDSBURG

Coach: Shawn Thornton (22nd season, 295-240)

Last year: 14-13, 8-4 MVC (second)

Postseason: Lost to Pleasant Valley in MVC semifinals. Beat Whitehall and Pocono Mountain West in District 11 4A tournament before losing to Freedom in semis and Liberty in the consolation game.

Scrimmages: 9 a.m., Nov. 30 vs. Whitehall; 6 p.m., Dec. 4 at Hazleton.

Opener: Dec. 10 at Emmaus.

Key date: Dec. 21 at Parkland.

Players to watch:Sr. G Jacob Battle (at left); Jr. C Danny Cuevas; Jr. G Edwin Lopez; Sr. G Chris Bermudez.

Key losses: Cliff Bragg, Skyler Brandt, David Clowney,

What's to like:Battle, who figures to be one of the league's and area's top players. Thornton likes his team's depth and speed and says he has lots on interchangeable parts. He also believes that the kids are a little more together at the start of the season than they've been and are more on the same page at this early juncture.

What's to worry about: The Mounties lack height after Cuevas and some undersized guys will have to play inside. Thornton hopes those players will be quick and tough enough to compensate.

Quotable: "I'm very excited about this year and think from top to bottom this is one of the most talented teams I've had in several years," Thornton said. "Their styles mesh well. Sometimes we've had guys try to play some ways they weren't perfectly comfortable with. But this team can get really comfortable with a  certain style that they're comfortable with. The league is going to be better than it's been. It's going to be more competitive from top to bottom than it's been and that's a good thing because next year it's going to get much tougher and we're all going to have to step up our game to compete."

Four months from now: Thornton will be gearing up for the graduation of his two children, twins Brittany and Brian, who are Stroudsburg seniors.