YORKTOWN, N.Y.—Mark Pavella enters his seventh year as head coach at Yorktown after making it to the sectional semifinals at the Westchester County Center in White Plains for the second straight season.
There, as the No. 1 seed and entering the game as the No. 10 ranked Class AA team in the state, the Huskers fell to No. 4 Suffern 51-46 in the Class AA bracket, to finish 20-3 overall in a season that also saw the Huskers win the League 2E title with an 8-0 league record.
“Making it to the County Center the past two seasons has only helped our guys understand the commitment and sacrifice that is needed as a team,” Pavella said. “It was a great accomplishment and we know that we will need to put in a lot of work to get back there, but we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Yorktown’s top returnees are senior captains, 6-foot-3 guard Kaden Gonzalez, who was All-Section a year ago, and 6-6 forward/center Ryan Duffy.
“They both are seniors, who have gained valuable experience over the past few seasons,” Pavella said of his captains. “They both understand what it takes to get the job done.”
Seniors, 6-3 guard Sander Stone, 6-5 forward/center Aidan Flynn, 6-4 guard David Marasevic, 6-foot guard Ty Travis, 6-2 forward Brian Hansen, and 6-2 guard Phil Harbolic are the Huskers other returning players.
“We expect our returning players to lead by example and be competitive in practice,” Pavella said.
Juniors, 6-6 forward Franklin Ringel, 6-1 guard Colin Worden, 6-1 guard Jimmy Goff, 6-2 forward Sean Davis, 6-3 forward Gabe Scavello, and 5-4 guard Ethan Bantug are the Huskers’ top newcomers.
Yorktown will open the season at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9 against visiting Brewster.
“We expect our players to compete each day and come to practice with a good attitude,” Pavella said. “One of our short term goals is to be competitive in our league, and give ourselves a chance at a league title come February.”
Lakeland
After seven years as an assistant coach for Lakeland’s girls squad, Shawn Sullivan takes over the Hornets’ boys squad as its head coach.
He replaces Steve Fallo, who coached the team for nine years.
Seniors, 6-3 forward Oban Rader, 5-9 point guard Anthony Attanasio, 5-10 guard Ovi Rodriguez, and 6-3 forwards, Aaryn Sandu and Nick Ferrante, are Lakeland’s top returnees.
“We will need them to lead us in every way, scoring, rebounding, assists and get the younger guys acclimated to playing varsity,” said Sullivan, who also coached the Walter Panas boys squad for 14 seasons, including 2014, when it won the Section 1 Class A title.
Lakeland’s top newcomers are 6-foot senior guard Sergio Hormazabal, juniors, 6-foot guard CC Savastano, 6-foot guard Anthony D’Errico, 5-10 guard Joe LaPuerta, 6-2 forward Luke Lulanaj, and 6-3 forward Aadi Sandu, and 6-foot sophomore guards, Anthony Ray and Mike Lucia.
“We are going to need these guys to step up and play an integral role in all aspects of the game,” Sullivan said of his top newcomers.
Lakeland, which finished last season 10-12 and lost as the No. 14 seed at No. 3 Hastings 56-53 in the opening round of the Section 1 Class A Tournament, opens this season at home against the Barack Obama School for Social Justice, which is located in Yonkers, at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6.
“We graduated 97 percent of the offense,” Sullivan said. “Everyone has a new role, so we are a work in progress. Their energy and love of basketball is second to none. I can't wait to see what type of team we can become. We plan to be playing our best basketball in February/March.”
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