MAHOPAC, N.Y. — For most Section 1 varsity sports programs, the key to future development is now — the offseason.
Several years ago, Mahopac's boys basketball coach Matt Calabro and former coach and local hoops guru Tom McMahon kicked around the notion of Mahopac hosting a summer hoops league. They brought their idea to fruition this summer, playing host to as many as 13 like-minded Section 1 programs sharing the same goal: offseason development.
“Summer league has been great, we’ve got a lot of good feedback,” Calabro said, noting the brevity of the season with the additional offseason commitments for student-athletes. “It’s just the month of July, with 13 teams, followed by playoffs (July 29–31) and we’re done. It’s something Tom McMahon and I spoke about doing years ago due to our location and having the two gyms (at the high school), and I’m happy we got it going.”
It’s virtually assured to take off in the future should Mahopac take the lead, given the desire for competitive development in one of the most marketable sports in the nation. Much like the Lakeland Summer Soccer League, Mahopac is hoping to pioneer an offseason campaign. Lakeland’s soccer league is now in its 18th season, and Mahopac is hoping for a similar outcome on the basketball court.
“Summer league has been going great for our team, a lot of guys have been improving their game and working on things for the upcoming season,” Mahopac senior Matt Reilly said. “I think it’s great that a lot of local teams are competing against each other looking to get better for the upcoming season.”
After a mediocre 2025 campaign and subsequent first-round playoff exit on the Section 1 boys hoops circuit, Mahopac (8–13 last winter) is looking at the 2025 summer league as an opportunity to refine, rebuild and reshape for the forthcoming 2026 season.
With the vast majority of the team returning this coming winter, the grind is real for the Wolf Pac. Reilly, a 6-foot-4 point forward, was asked to do more than expected during his All-League junior season, and he’s more than willing to accept a similar role as the team’s most seasoned senior. But help, which was clearly needed last season, is on the way, according to Reilly.
“As for the ball handler, a lot of guys have been stepping up like Justin Beberman, who has been doing a great job in the summer league,” Reilly said. “He has been getting us in the right spots and has really improved on being a point guard, and guys like Ethan Dedvukaj and Ryan LaRue are stepping up and learning how to run the offense and are doing a really good job.”
The Wolf Pac is beyond the point of using youth as an excuse, with veterans like senior wing Drew Lichtenberger, versatile junior swingman Sal Garufi, junior guard Ryan LaRue, senior guard RJ Grabeklis, junior forward Ethan Dedvukaj, senior guard Mozel Holmes, senior center Dylan Bello, junior guard Nick Lucia, plus key junior guard Justin Beberman all providing options.
“I really like our depth this season,” the coach said.
Calabro knows the deficiencies his Wolf Pac unit dealt with last season. Reilly was forced to work twice as hard as any forward in Section 1, playing a dual swingman role, which was taxing to say the least. It’s an issue the Wolf Pac coaches and players know they need to deal with.
“We have been working a ton,” Calabro said. “Our coaching staff has been in the gym with the kids three days a week all spring and summer. Guys are putting the time in to improve.”
Improvement is one thing; pure development is another. Mahopac’s guard play will need to advance in a hurry if the Wolf Pac is going to contend in a competitive but wide-open Class AA field, which features returning champion Tappan Zee.
“We have some guards who are talented, where I think we will have options throughout the game and season when looking at guards to initiate the offense,” Calabro said. “Class AA is going to be fun. We will see how it shakes out, but there are definitely six or seven teams that could win it.”
Reilly, who is one of several hoopers also playing football this fall, likes what he sees in the early stages.
“As a team we feel like this is a special group,” he said. “Our coaching staff has been doing a phenomenal job this summer at our workouts and always being available to keep getting us better every day. If we keep working hard and getting better during the summer, we can be one of the teams competing for that gold ball.”
It would be the first in Mahopac history should the Wolf Pac do so.
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