http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/
FROM KEITH GROLLER
t has been more than a half-of-a-year now, but it's still a little strange to me to think of Southern Lehigh boys basketball without Bob Shaffer and Kurt Zellner being around.
To me, those guys were Southern Lehigh.
They brought a lot of class to that program and experienced a lot of success.
Well, one thing you can't say about Shaffer is that he left the cupboard bare. From what I saw in the summer and from what I'm hearing from new coach Ben Tannous, I believe the Spartans have talent. Like Casey Krause, seen at the left trying to drive to the basket against Central Catholic in the Stellar tournament.
Will it be enough talent to unseat Bangor as league champ or challenge even Notre Dame, Wilson and Salisbury in that very tough South Division? We'll see. At a minimum, expect Southern Lehigh to at least challenge for a Colonial League tournament spot and return to districts
Tannous (seen at right) whose family has been part of the basketball scene around here for a couple of decades, has a chance to hit the ground running with this program.
Here's a closer look:
SOUTHERN LEHIGH
Coach: Ben Tannous (first season).
Last year: 11-12, 8-8 CL.
Postseason: Lost to Lehighton 50-46 in the first round of the District 11 3A tournament.
Who's new: The whole catching staff, featuring Tannous, a former Bethlehem Catholic product who coached last year at Brandywine. His father, Dan, a former head coach at Dieruff, is an assistant. Kyle Reifinger, a former Catty player, is the JV coach and Eric Carl, a former Brandywine assistant has come with Tannous.
Scrimmages: Played Liberty and Hatboro on Saturday; Sat., Nov. 30 at 9 a.m. at Easton.
Openers: Friday, Dec. 6 vs. Upper Perk in Solehi Tip-Off tournament, will play either Quakertown in Harriton on Dec. 7.
Key date: The league opener Tuesday, Dec. 10 vs.Wilson
Players to watch: Soph C Jacob Cassel; Jr. F Mike Zabrecky; Sr. F Troy Reppert; Sr. G Casey Krause; Jr. G Noah Kandt; Jr. F Cody Heffelfinger; Fr. G Lucas Hudson; Jr. F Jason Renner; Soph. G Derek Barnes.
What's to like: Tannous has a deep, athletic team filled with coachable kids. There's decent size, too. Watch out for freshman Hudson, who is an emerging star.
What's to worry about: Tannous is a little concerned about how tough the Colonial League South will be. Because he's new to the league, Tannous doesn't know what to expect from the other coaches in the league and will have to rely on his players for certain things like Bangor's and Wilson's tendencies for example. And there's a new philosophy to adjust to, especially defensively. There has been some confusion.
Quotable: "The summer was good and the energy has carried into the fall," Tannous said. "I think the kids are excited. They're all working hard. It has been a short time period and it's difficult to put in everything we want to put in for the season. We're trying to pick out the most important stuff. They're picking up on the fact that we want to get out and run and play really tough man-to-man defense. It's good and bad. We have a deep team, but we're trying to figure out the right combinations. We'll get better with it as we go through the scrimmages and get into the season. I'm looking forward to the challenge of the season."
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