By MARK DIERKES

Times Leader Sports Writer

Veteran River High head coach Mark Romick likes what he has returning to the floor for his 2022-23 Pilots, but there’s one excuseable drawback as the Hannibal-based crew prep for Tuesday’s season opener at Buckeye Local unless pushed back due to football.

“We’ve lacked the practice time to get in (basketball) shape and become a cohesive unit,” noted Romick as the successful Pilots football team enjoyed an extended run in the D7 playoffs. “We’ll have to rely on our experience early in the season until we get our legs under us.”

“We have a lot of court leadership back from last year’s 21-3 squad, which was Mid-Ohio Valley League champions and OVAC Class 3-A runnerup,” said Romick, as RHS’ only losses were to D2 Akron Hoban, Linsly in the 3-A title game, and a stunning 31-29 home loss to Shadyside in the D4 Sectional final.

Six lettermen are back on the R.L. Potts Gym court, including 6-2 senior Ty Long (11 ppg), a second-team District 12 honoree and one to watch this season with his all-around game.

A pair of first-team District 12 standouts are 5-11 senior Brody Lollathin (12 ppg), who was special mention all-Ohio, and 5-10 junior Kabel Isaly (11 ppg), who was honorable mention all-Ohio. Lollathin and Isaly can score from any angle and figure to draw a lot of attention once they round into basketball condition.

Another starter back is 6-4 senior River Thompson (6 ppg), who should be a factor off the glass at both ends with his wingspan. Rounding out the senior list is 5-10 Wyatt Harlan.

“We put a lot of time in during the off-season on shooting,” mentioned Romick, whose enjoyed great success at the River helm with multiple trips to Districts and Regionals. “It’ll take a little time to regain that muscle memory, but we’re excited to see the dividends from that work.”

Joining Isaly on the 11th grade list is 6-1 Finn Bowers, 5-11 Kaden Johnson, 6-1 Wyatt Joos, six-foot Carson Makris, and 5-10 Reed Willis.

“We have the opportunity to have a lot of depth this year,” said Romick. “Bowers and (Peyton) Blue saw varsity minutes last season.” Blue, a three-sport standout, is a 6-1 sophomore.

Johnson, a transfer from Magnolia who made a big impact on the gridiron, has varsity experience while Joos, Makris, Willis and Harlan hope to work their way into the rotation.

Look for the Pilots to “play a more uptempo pace this year and feature man defense,” added Romick, who likes the scoring strength he sees in his backcourt. “We’ll be strong at the guard spots with much more depth.”

River again has a challenging schedule with the usual strong MOVL (Shenandoah, Frontier, Monroe Central, Magnolia, Bridgeport, Buckeye Local, Barnesville, Shadyside) teams, but also perennial power Malvern, D-II foes Steubenville and Dover. The Pilots will meet D-II Canfield in the Toronto Holiday event.

Romick’s coaching assistants include Brandon Grimes, Kris Pfalzgraf, Dan Lollathin and Eric Dierkes.