By MIKE HUGHES
For The Times Leader
CONNORVILLE--Buckeye Local lost its leading scorer in Cameron Best and quite a bit of experience between Best, the Darrahs, Hunter (6-foot-6) and Luke (6-4), along with Ethan McHugh and Anthony Deitch off a team that finished 8-14.
But while the girls team is low on numbers and on height, the boys' program is not enduring such problems.
Head coach Chris Heaton's team is 21 players strong this season, enough for both a varsity and junior varsity roster.
And while the Darrah Brothers have graduated, he still boasts some size down in the paint to utilize.
"Our guards are all 6-foot plus and then you have (Isaac) Chandler at 6-3, (Gavyn) Romanyak is 6-5. We've got some size," Heaton said. "We need to use that to our advantage."
Two of those guards referenced figure to fill in the vacated scoring roll prominently in seniors Braydon Walker (6-2) and Ryan Dietch (6-1).
Heaton overall feels comfortable with a core group of seven guys he can take to battle, with another group behind needing seasoned a little more with floor experience before taking the varsity court.
"Braydon and Ryan, I'd look for those two to contribute a lot," Heaton said. "We also have Dayne Carter, Isaac Chandler, and then Gavyn and Ryder (Kingberg-Colabelli). Those will probably be our main seven right now but we have some guys on the borderline that need some game experience before we see what they can do at the varsity level."
Chandler is a 6-3 senior, while Kindberg-Colabelli is a 6-3 sophomore.
Walker, Dietch, and Romanyak all received consistent varsity minutes last season and should transition easily to increase roles. Carter, Chandler and Caiden McCutcheon played primarily junior varsity, but given its either their third or fourth year with the program, they will be ready for the challenge.
"It's not like throwing a freshman to the wolves," Heaton said. "They know what I'm about, what this program is about, and what we expect of them to maintain the standard."
Buckeye should be a solid shooting team, thought there is a potential for streakiness. Which is why Heaton knows they need to develop other avenues to put the ball in the basket.
"We have definitely got some guys who can shoot, and in talking to the staff, that's either going to make or break us," Heaton said. "We could have nights where we're hot out of the gates, or nights when our shots aren't falling so we have to find other ways to score the basketball and grow as players.
"We have more of a drive and kick mentality, which suits us a little better. Even Romanyak at 6-4 can step out and shoot."
Carter will likely draw the early nod at runing the offense, though it will likely be a shared responsibility between himself, Deitch and McCutcheon.
"We have a number of guys that can bring the ball up on the floor so it's not necessarily all on his shoulder," Heaton said. "If one guys is having trouble, there are others on the floor to help out. We may have a point by committee, but anyone of them can bring it up."
Heaton feels the key early will be to get some wins under the team's belt to help build that confidence.
He feels if they can do that, and build off early successes, the potential is there to have a solid season.
Others on both the varsity and junior varsity roster include: juniors Preston Lindsay, A.J. Devore, and Carson Basich; sophomores Mason Griffin, Haydn Boyce, John Bennington, Andrew Jones and James Hess; and freshmen Jay Snyder, Grant Dombroski, Kamdyn Kinyo, Matt Morris, Rylan Walker, and Haden Wilhelm.