Brentwood boys return bevy of experience

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, December 8, 2017 | 11:00 PM

It's Year 2 of the Dan Thayer coaching tenure in the Brentwood boys basketball program.

His first year was a true learning experience, as Thayer learned about his players' abilities, while the players grasped a new coaching style.

“We have had a good preseason to this point,” Thayer said. “Since it is the second year for a lot of these players in this system, we have been able to make a lot of progress. Unlike last season, we came into the season with a pretty good idea of how to execute the base defense and offense. This has allowed us to quickly improve elements of both, and we have been able to add on extra things that we weren't able to do last year.

“We have been trying to improve the team's speed of play, and the effectiveness in which we execute in all phases of the game. We were a very slow team last season, and that put a huge strain on our defense. We will be looking to create some offense from our defense, and we hope to be much more efficient on offense.”

There were no seniors on last year's squad. The Spartans finished 4-16 overall.

Seven seniors return this season, consisting of two guard/forwards, DeAngelo Brisco and Michael Trent; two forwards, Tanner Wells and Steph Mavroides; and three guards, Sullivan Conway, Evan Vickless and Justin Moon.

They are joined by senior guard Austin Veatch. Guard Jared Thomas and forward Drew Wilson are the only juniors on the team.

Four sophomores are back — guards C.J. Ziegler and Zach Romano, guard/forward Jayneil Latham and forward Ian Thomas. New additions to the program include sophomores Eddie Gomez (G/F), Shane Lesko (G), A.J. McPherson (G) and John Milcic (F).

Chase Rosing is a leading freshman backcourt prospect.

“We return just about everyone from last year's team,” Thayer said. “The returning starters are all back. We have also made some key additions to the roster. We will have some different starting combinations this season as we search our roster for the best combinations.”

Thayer mixed and matched his lineups throughout the 2016-17 season.

The Spartans employed an all-junior starting lineup late in the year of Brisco, Wells, Conway, Trent and Mavroides. Top reserves included Vickless, Latham, Ziegler and Romano.

“We suddenly have a deep team,” Thayer said. “We feel we can play 11 or 12 in a game. It will be difficult to play that many each game, but we plan to play at least 10 guys early in the season. Because of this depth, we can really compete each and every day at practice, which should greatly help this team improve.”

Brisco was a second-team all-section selection last year.

“I think we've improved from last year. We play a lot faster,” Brisco said. “Everyone is more comfortable (this year), and I'm able to help the younger players with everything.”

Brentwood is a member of Section 2-3A again in 2017-18.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic won last year's section title with a 10-0 record, followed by Seton LaSalle (7-3), Avonworth (6-4), Carlynton (5-5), Brentwood (2-8) and Freedom (0-10).

CWNC captured the WPIAL Class 3A title, defeating Lincoln Park, 56-51, in the championship game at Petersen Events Center. The Trojans advanced to the PIAA semifinals, and ended up with a 24-6 record.

Seton LaSalle, which had only one senior on its 2016-17 team roster, was a WPIAL and PIAA playoff qualifier a year ago.

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Brentwood