While I always enjoy an extended vacation and quality time at home with my family during the holidays, I was excited to get back into the local high school basketball scene this past week and to talk with some of the local players, coaches and media members about the first few weeks of the hoops season.<\/p>\n
There are several interesting storylines developing in the District XI region.\u00a0 Here are three of note:<\/p>\n
1)\u00a0Salisbury is good\u2014AGAIN<\/strong>\u2026 They\u2019re coming off a huge win over previously undefeated Bangor (a 4A school) and have a few other 4A-level teams on its non-conference schedule over the next few weeks.\u00a0 Despite not getting much hype, the Falcons look like they will \u201csurprise\u201d people again in February, when they most likely will play deep in the league and district playoff rounds.<\/p>\n 2) \u2026and so are a number of other Colonial League teams.<\/strong> Also, don\u2019t count out the teams that got a late start due to their school\u2019s football team playing late into the fall.\u00a0 Saucon Valley, Notre Dame and Catasauqua all posted wins over quality opponents last weekend, and all three teams have climbed back above .500 in league play.<\/p>\n Once more, there\u2019s some interesting head-to-head battles over the next few weeks, which include (but are not limited to):<\/p>\n Jan. 13<\/span> Jan. 15<\/span> (and again on Jan. 25) Jan. 22<\/span> Jan. 25<\/span> Jan. 26<\/span> Jan. 28<\/span>
\nI honestly don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a more underrated head basketball coach than Jason Weaver\u2026and a more underrated program than his Salisbury basketball team.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been touting Weaver and his programs for years on both the TV edition of \u201cSportsTalk\u201d and on this blog.\u00a0 Every season he has a winning team\u2014and most years he loses most (all?) of his entire core of players to graduation, only to come back the following year and find success.\u00a0 And not only do his teams rebuild during the offseason and have good years\u2014but they always play well out of the game\u2014something truly extraordinary when you\u2019re bringing in nearly a whole new set of starters most seasons.<\/p>\n
\nSalisbury does not own a monopoly on quality basketball play in the Colonial League this winter.\u00a0 Bangor and Southern Lehigh have just one league loss\u2014both losing its first Colonial game of the year last week (both losses to Salisbury).\u00a0 Both teams are well-balanced and led by incredibly knowledgeable head coaches, and both the Slaters and the Spartans had battle-tested contests one year ago, which will help them come crunch time(s) this winter.<\/p>\n
\nSouthern Lehigh at Bangor
\nCatty at Saucon Valley
\nNorthwestern at Notre Dame-GP<\/p>\n
\nSaucon Valley at Notre Dame-GP<\/p>\n
\nSaucon Valley at Bangor (on RCN-TV)
\nSouthern Lehigh at Catty<\/p>\n
\nSalisbury at Notre Dame-GP<\/p>\n
\nSaucon Valley at Salisbury<\/p>\n
\nCatty at Notre Dame
\nSouthern Lehigh at Saucon Valley<\/p>\n