Rosters are always changing. From season to season, the turnover of players in high school sports makes it hard to decipher the success a team will achieve in their season. For the Scotch Plains-Fanwood boys basketball team, they lost a total of eight players to graduation but do not plan on taking any time to “rebuild”.
“Our upcoming goals for this season are to get better every day,” head coach Steven Siracusa told The Fanscotian. “If we can focus on working as hard as we can and play together as one, every time we step out on the court, then it should lead to many accomplishments along the way.”
Although the Raiders lost various key players, most notably Jaden Carpien, Sam Sponheimer and Anderson Pollack, they will be expecting increased roles from many returning and new players. A successful 2023-2024 season, SPF went 15-12, and were crowned champions of the Union Country Conference – Mountain Division. All six seniors on the team will be placed into a larger leadership role, along with making their presence known on the court as well.
“Last year’s seniors did an amazing job at keeping the chemistry of the team together through the ups and downs,” Siracusa said. “We hope this year’s seniors can use the lessons learned from last year to further keep the team together throughout the season.”
Junior forward Caleb McDowell has high expectations for this upcoming season, and is excited to don the Raider uniform once again.
“We want to win to be conference champions again,” McDowell said. “We want to do better in the state tournament, get past the first round and go deep into the counties.”
Seniors Jacob Handy, Cooper Tamase and Jack Sponheimer, will be the core of the backcourt for the Raiders. With a plethora of strong, quick guards, the Raiders will be a threat defensively while also being able to play on the fast break and catch opponents off guard. Consistently a very strong defensive program, the Raiders like to use a press to contain the opposing team right from the jump.
These senior guards will be joined by many first-time varsity players, juniors and sophomores alike, who will all look to make their mark on this Raider team.
This deep backcourt will be paired with an even stronger group of bigs who will look to dominate in the paint. Junior Caleb McDowell was able to rack up rebounds with ease his sophomore season, and along with senior Beckham Quinn, will impose misery on all who challenge them. Senior Brayden Gal will also have a major impact on the court, and use his dual threat ability to throw off opponents.
“We are looking forward to Jack Sponheimer, Jacob Handy, Brayden Gal, Beckham Quinn and Caleb McDowell to step up into larger roles this season,” Siracusa said. “They each played meaningful minutes on the varsity team last year but we are excited to see them elevate their game and our team’s performance to the next level.”
With a high scoring game of 12 points, Gal’s three point ability mixed with his strength and ability to drive to the basket allows for him to be a reliable scoring option for the Raiders. Additionally, senior Josh Matty and a surplus of other big men add to this strong frontcourt, and will be able to provide extra support by the basket.
“We always stress the importance of defense, hard work and team play,” Siracusa said. “We must commit to playing great team defense on a daily basis with the talented players and teams we face.”
Unusual when compared to prior seasons, this SPF boys basketball team is made up of a majority of juniors, and has a sense of youthfulness that can be used as a power or a poison. Despite being somewhat inexperienced, as the season progresses SPF’s ability to close out games and play in tough conditions will only rise.
“We’re a really young team this year, and we were a really old team last year,” McDowell said. “I along with all the other people that were here last year are starting to take up more of a leadership role with the team. We’re all stepping into new roles.”
The Raiders tip off their season on Thursday Dec. 19 at home, where they face the Summit Hilltoppers.
“We need to play together as a team, give our best effort daily, and sacrifice individual goals for team goals,” Siracusa said.
