City of Basketball Love

By Miles West (@hooplove215)
—

(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2023-24 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

~~~

Coming off of an impressive 24-win season, including five postseason victories, CB East aspires to take it a step further following a first round exit to Archbishop Wood during last year’s PIAA 6A tournament. 

Head coach Erik Henrysen enters his 14th season leading a team that he feels can win games however they need to get the job done. Despite graduating two players who Henrysen described as “the backbone” of his program in guard Joey Girodano and forward Kyle Berndt, Henrysen thinks that this iteration of his team can duplicate that success in a different way.

“We have guys trying to step into those leadership positions now,” Henrysen said. “We’re not going to replace them because we don’t have like for like, but we’ll try to fine tune with a group that does some things a little bit differently.”

CB East’s notables are spearheaded by senior guard Jake Cummiskey, who picked up a first-team all league nod last year to complement his reputation for postseason heroics. Cummiskey is joined by fellow senior guards and longtime teammates, Tyler Dandrea (an all-league honorable mention last year) and Justin DiRoberto. 

Their backcourts’ effectiveness comes from interchangeability and chemistry. The ball-handling trio of Cummiskey, Dandrea, and DiRoberto have been on the same team since middle school; their understanding of each other’s games is an edge that most teams cannot recreate. 

This year, they bring a versatile frontcourt who blends impressive skill with the ability to bang down low with anybody. Blending their well-established guards with a new-look frontcourt gives East an edge that they feel can propel them over the top come the postseason.

Miles Demby, who looks forward to his first full season with the squad, will be manning the center spot. The integration of the 6-foot-7 transfer from New-Hope Solebury — who sat out last year’s postseason due to PIAA transfer rules — plus the expanded role of 6-6 junior Caleb Lyzinski could be vital in turning around last season’s shortcomings. The two of them mean that 6-3 Dhruv Mukund, who saw time at the ‘5’ last year, can slot into the small forward role. 

“I think we can get really after it on the glass, I think we can find some touches on the post, which isn’t traditionally what we’ve done in the past, " Henrysen said. “I think we’re going to really utilize those guys, our length, our ability to really bang down low.” 

Miles Demby (above) and Caleb Lyzinski give the Patriots a powerful frontcourt in the Suburban One League. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“I think it’s going to be great, rebounding-wise,” Demby said. “Caleb getting older, me getting older and all of us putting in the work in the gym so I feel like the rebounding this year will be elite for us,” he added. “It’s probably going to take over some of our games on the offensive side and the defensive side as well.”

Nolan Bemb and Bryce Lolas add senior firepower off the bench. Bemb is a 6-3, athletic guard who is currently fielding a litany of Power-5 offers for baseball. While he has only played JV hoops up to this point, they expect him to play an important role this year. Lolas adds pivotal shooting depth to a roster who has real potential to catch fire from outside in a few games.

Regardless of who’s on the floor, Henrysen and his staff have fostered a palpable culture within the East program. From the top down, you can see what this team is all about; they keep their heads down and let their play do the talking. 

Central Bucks East boys basketball showed its stuff in a physical matchup on a late September morning at West Chester University. Their style of play was clear from the outset; the type of basketball that would make Gregg Poppovich proud, extra passes galore. 

“They step on the court and their expectations are high, we think we can play with anybody,” Henrysen said. “Our guys are confident that they can play with anybody, and beat anybody; and they play with a certain level of moxie and that’s when we’re at our best.”

During this preseason outing against Abington Friends, the opposition made the game chippy. Lots of loose balls, hard fouls, and extracurricular conversations; CB East’s size proved talismanic in slowing the game down. Demby and Lyzinski led the way on the boards, both capable of cleaning the glass on either end. Their active screening on and off the ball allowed the Patriots’ offense to control the pace of the game in the second half.

“The ball screen is something I feel our team hasn’t done a lot in the past, so I’m constantly calling for Caleb or Miles to set a screen,” Cummiskey said. “They’re really good at establishing a position and rolling off it, it’s getting us those easy baskets we need.” 

Last year, CB East won the Suburban One Centennial Conference with a 14-2 record, making it to the SOL championship game before losing to eventual District 1 6A champions Plymouth Whitemarsh. The Patriots made it to the district quarterfinals, then won their two playback games to earn them a matchup with Miami (Fl.) commit Jalil Bethea and Archbishop Wood. 

With so much back in the tank, Henrysen and his group have their eyes on getting deeper into the postseason, bringing home a trophy or two. 

“Our goal would be to get to the same point that we got last year, and take it one further,” Henrysen said. “You never want to be complacent with what you did, you always want to shoot for improvements. We made it to the first round of states last year, and if you set a goal that was less than that you’d be short-changing our program.”