City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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For the last few years, the Ches-Mont league has been run by Downingtown West and Coatesville, but the league’s power structure seems to be shifting, which should create for a wide-open season in 2016-17.

Although those two teams will undoubtedly be competitive in this year’s campaign, there are several new squads that are ready to take the next step and compete for the conference championship, including the likes of Downingtown East and Bishop Shanahan.

Here’s a look around what should be one of the more competitive and evenly-matched leagues in the area:

Ches-Mont American
Favorites
The American division, for the last two years, has been run by Octorara, but that should likely change as the Braves have now lost a key set of brothers: Christian Ray, a transfer to the Haverford School; and Jackson Ray, a graduate.

With the Braves’ decline, some new blood should be replacing them in the Ches-Mont final four come February. Bayard Rustin is definitely a favorite to take the division crown, behind a talented roster with two standout sophomores, 6-foot-4 wing Taj Asparagus and 6-foot-6 forward Jake Nelson. After going 10-12 last season with a 6-6 conference and falling short of the top two in the division, as well as the district playoffs, Rustin will be out for blood this season and should be a tough out not just for their American division foes, but also the rest of their schedule.

As for the Patriots, Great Valley returns multiple key pieces from its run to the final four last season, where it lost a heartbreaker in overtime to the eventual league champions, Coatesville. Sophomore guard Alex Capitano will be a critical piece for a Patriots team that went 14-7 overall and 9-3 in league and lost in the first round of districts against Conestoga.

Dark Horses
Following Rustin and Great Valley, the American division will be full of parity, but Octorara head coach Gene Lambert is one of the league’s best coaches and should find a way to get his Braves to at least contend within the league. Octorara lost key pieces, but still holds back-to-back final four appearances and a run to the 2016 District 1 class AAA semifinal in its recent history, as well as a 20-4 record (11-1 in conference) last season. Lambert’s team returns a second-team all-division selection from last year, senior guard Jamonti Mayo, one of just three non-seniors to make the first or second team along with Rustin’s sophomore duo.

Oxford, which finished second in the American two years ago and fell just short last season, has a potential chance to fight its way back into the final four behind the likes of point guard Brian Dorsey and forward Jake Giles. The Hornets went 8-4 in league play last season but just missed out on districts.

Players to Watch
Rustin’s sophomore duo of Asparagus and Nelson will certainly be worth watching, as the two already began turning heads in their freshman season. Each made second-team all-division last season, and are developing into a solid core that the Golden Knights will have around for a while. ...Capitano will be looked to for a lot of offensive production at Great Valley, and will be able to do so as a versatile player with a consistent shot. The sophomore can create for himself and his teammates.

Predicted Top 3
1. Bayard Rustin
2. Great Valley
3. Octorara

National Division
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In a division as wide open as the Ches-Mont National, it’s pretty difficult to pick favorites. For the last three years, the division was dominated by Coatesville and Downingtown West, but each has lost significant pieces, including two Whippets turned Ivy Leaguers, Ryan Betley (Penn) and Josh Warren (Cornell). Their counterparts, on the other hand, like Bishop Shanahan, Downingtown East and others have developed talented rosters to compete for the top spot.

That said, the Red Raiders have enough talent to compete for the league and division crowns – both of which they held in 2015-16 after going 20-1 overall and 11-1 in conference– led by senior point guard Kamau Brickus and 6-foot-6 junior Tyrel Bladen. Chuck Moore boasts another talented roster in his fourth year and will look to a few new faces like freshman point guard Jhamir Brickus to step up and fill a hole in the backcourt left by “Big Shot” Rome Boyer. Despite the new look, Moore believes this team may have more talented than his Ches-Mont champion team last year, but simply lacks the experience. However, until someone proves they can top Coatesville the way Downingtown West did two seasons back, it’s safe to say the Red Raiders are the favorites to win the National division, but those odds are much lower than they’ve been in years past.

If someone is in fact going to take down Coatesville, there’s a good chance they’ll come from the same school district as the last team to do so, which was the 2014-15 league champion Whippets. Downingtown East, which under John Goodman arguably has its best roster since becoming its own school in 2003, is led by a group of upperclassmen that includes the likes of 6-foot-8 senior forward Ryan Cahill and junior guard Malik Slay. The Cougars have never won a district game in their school’s 13-year existence, but certainly have a shot to change that and also compete for their league title after going 12-11 last year.

Dark Horses
Despite not only lost their core trio of seniors that led them to consecutive district playoff appearances, but also losing their head coach, Jason Ritter, the Downingtown West Whippets have a decent amount of optimism with Stuart Ross at the helm. Ross will enter 2016-17 looking to find the winning formula in an inexperienced, yet substantially talented roster. 6-foot-7 forward George Gordon, an Ursinus commit, will be the team’s only multi-year starter off of last year’s team that went 23-5 with an 11-1 conference mark, as they lost last year’s starting point guard, Pat Kennedy, to a season-ending ACL injury. 6-foot-5 guard Matt Carson, a key role-player off the bench last season, will be the offensive spark out of the backcourt as a senior.

Bishop Shanahan, which is situated less than five minutes from Downingtown West, brings in its best roster in recent memory and should also contend for the league title, if not a district playoff spot. The Eagles went 15-9 last year and will return a core of three seniors and three juniors from that team. Led by juniors David Angelo (5-9) and Kevin Dodds (6-6) and senior Danny Brown (6-3), who transferred from Delco Christian last offseason, Shanahan is poised to make head coach Ken Doyle’s eighth season be his best yet, and could definitely crack their way into the division’s top two for a spot in the Ches-Mont final four.

Players to Watch
Coatesville’s Brickus cousins will definitely be a couple of guards worth paying attention to this season; according to their head coach, each will see a solid amount of minutes at the point, with Kamau obviously being the main ball handler. His freshman cousin, Jhamir, has an impeccable ability to create on offense and is scrappy on the defensive end at just 6-feet tall. ...At Downingtown East, Malik Slay should also be one of the league’s best scorers after an outstanding offseason and will be a key piece for the Cougars. East freshman Andrew King, a 6-foot-6, big-bodied forward who can go to work in the low post on offense and be a key rim protector on the defensive end. ...At West, George Gordon should prove to be one of the league’s most talented big men, particularly on the offensive end with a versatile game around the rim. In a lanky 6-foot-7 frame, Gordon has the kind of range that will allow him to be a vital key to the Whippets’ scoring charge. ...Bishop Shanahan junior Kevin Dodds is a strong 6-6 power forward with a solid body and great ability to work on the pick-and-roll in dive or pop situations. Classmate David Angelo, a feisty 5-9 point guard, is the other half of that duo. ...Zae Murrey out of West Chester should also turn heads this season as a junior. His head coach, Chris Cowles, expects Murrey, an unselfish and versatile point guard, to lead the Vikings’ offensive charge for a team that could pull off some surprises.

Predicted Top 3
1. Coatesville
2. Downingtown East
3. Bishop Shanahan