City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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Welcome to City of Basketball Love’s inaugural attempt at cobbling together preseason rankings for all four of Pennsylvania’s boys’ basketball classifications.

And while we’re starting today with Class A, Classes AA, AAA and AAAA will follow later this week — all just in time for Friday’s season-opening scraps.

(Other Previews: Class A | Class AA | Class AAA | Class AAAA)

Once the first full week of games is played, we’ll be back with weekly updates of our rankings, beginning on Dec. 14 and appearing on Mondays the rest of the way.

As for a quick glimpse at Class A, we’re anointing 2015 semifinalist Kennedy Catholic as our preseason No. 1 since Rick Mancino’s Golden Eagles return plenty from a 24-5 club, including 6-8 West Virginia signee Sagaba Konate.

Although reigning PIAA Class A champion Constitution watched its entire starting quintet depart — including all-state selections Ahmad Gilbert and Kimar Williams — expect Rob Moore’s Generals to make yet another postseason drive.

By the way, for those looking ahead, Constitution will make the cross-state trek on Jan. 22 to visit Kennedy Catholic. Plus, home-and-home encounters with backyard rival and No. 3 Farrell appear on Kennedy Catholic’s regular-season slate.

Brief glimpses of our preseason top 10 appear below, with PIAA district and last season’s final record displayed in parentheses. Only those schools competing for PIAA state championships are eligible for ranking purposes.

NR — not ranked; OW — others to watch.

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CITY OF BASKETBALL LOVE’S PRESEASON STATE-WIDE BOYS’ BASKETBALL RANKINGS — CLASS A

1. Kennedy Catholic (10, 24-5) — final 2015 ranking: 3

Notables: West Virginia recruit Sagaba Konate, the 6-8 power forward who was a second-team all-state selection as a junior (16.1 ppg), headlines nucleus also featuring juniors Mohamed Konate and Drew Magestro that reached state semis. Plus, high-scoring 6-3 combo guard Jason Austin popped over from Sharon.

Season-opening game: Dec. 9 at Mercer.

2. Monessen (7, 22-7) — final 2015 ranking: 6

Notables: Returnees Lavelle Rush, Jaden Altomore and Justice Rice fuel a high-octane Greyhounds attack full of pep. Rush last season landed second-team all-state recognition after averaging 18.1 ppg and leading Monessen to state quarters.

Season-opening game: Dec. 4 at Upper St. Clair.

3. Farrell (10, 24-5) — final 2015 ranking: 2

Notables: Skipper Roland Shannonhouse has available a veteran outfit fronted by all-state shooting guard Malik Miller (20.0 ppg) poised for yet another lengthy postseason run. Terrance Holloway, Leon Lewis and Marcus McCoy also started in last season’s state title game loss to Constitution.

Season-opening game: Dec. 8 at Wilmington.

4. Constitution (12, 24-8) — final 2015 ranking: 1

Notables: Rob Moore’s Generals hoisted a second consecutive state championship trophy — the first in Class AA and last season in Class A — but all-staters Ahmad Gilbert, Kimar Williams and Chad Andrews-Fulton have moved on. Guards Anthony Satchell and Nasir Randolph headline the returnees.

Season-opening game: Dec. 5 vs. Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy.

5. St. John Neumann (4, 27-2) — final 2015 ranking:

Notables: Despite losing all-state forward Nasza Short to graduation, Williamsport’s East End should be rocking again with guards Kevin Anderson, Otis Anderson and Ra-Quan Mars piloting an up-tempo attack. Kevin Anderson, like Short an all-state choice, averaged 19.1 ppg for state quarterfinalists.

Season-opening game: Dec. 5 vs. Wellsboro.

6. Delco Christian (1, 15-14) — final 2015 ranking: OW

Notables: Don Davis’ Knights return plenty from a club that last season captured a District 1-A championship and reached the second round of state play. Combo guard Wyatt Harkins (13.7 ppg) and swingman Devin Hill (13.8 ppg) will get plenty of looks at the offensive end of the floor.

Season-opening game: Dec. 9 vs. Christopher Dock.

7. Sewickley Academy (7, 22-2) — final 2015 ranking: NR

Notables: Junior guard Justin Pryor headlines an experienced side that returns four starters from a group that cruised to the WPIAL’s Section 1 crown with a perfect 12-0 mark. Win Palmer’s Panthers collared state gold in 2010.

Season-opening game: Dec. 4 vs. Hopewell at Avonworth Tip-Off.

8. Elk County Catholic (9, 26-3) — final 2015 ranking: 10

Notables: Nate DaCanal, Benji Hoffman and Kyle Huff will form a terrific nucleus for Aaron Straub’s Crusaders, who last season were bounced in the second round of states by eventual state runner-up Farrell. Straub, who has won 700-plus games, piloted ECC to 2006 Class A state title.

Season-opening game: Dec. 8 at Johnsonburg.

9. Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg (11, 22-3) — final 2015 ranking: 5

Notables: Spartans lost plenty from a talented club that lost in overtime in opening round of state tournament to Math, Civics & Sciences — including all-stater Tyerell Mann and Ramon Nedd — but return of 6-8 big man Sam Brown should help Bob Mullen’s club continue to pile up positive results.

Season-opening game: Dec. 4 vs. Pen Argyl at Moravian Academy Tip-Off.

10. Homer-Center (6, 20-3) — final 2015 ranking: NR

Notables: Bob Rado’s Wildcats, who last season were surprised in quarterfinals of District 6-A tournament will field veteran lineup headlined by 6-6 senior Ben Wolford. Other veterans available for veteran skipper Rado, in his 32nd season as a head coach, include Alex Arone, John Capitosti and John Ireland.

Season-opening game: Dec. 4 vs. TBA in opening round of Homer-Center Tip-Off.

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OTHERS TO WATCH: Clarion-Limestone (9) 25-4, Coudersport (9) 19-5, Eden Christian (7) 19-7, Erie First Christian (10) 16-7, Ferndale (6) 13-9, Halifax (3) 18-10, Jeannette (3) 16-9, Juniata Valley (6) 3-18, Lincoln Leadership (11) 15-8, Math, Civics & Sciences (12) 14-14, McConnellsburg (5) 18-8, Millersburg (3) 19-9, Ridgway (9) 21-4, Southern Fulton (5) 24-3, Vincentian (7) 17-10, West Shore Christian (3), 22-6.