{"id":79038,"date":"2016-12-06T21:09:23","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T21:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=79038"},"modified":"2023-02-16T14:17:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T14:17:24","slug":"sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"The SportsTalk Shop:  HS Basketball Preview 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qu9dpj3t84w\" width=\"425\" height=\"350\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>With all of the Lehigh Valley teams now out of the running for a PIAA state football title, it\u2019s now time to fully devote our attention to the rapidly approaching high school basketball season.<\/p>\n<p>We are extremely fortunate to have some incredibly insightful people giving their opinions on the 2016-17 scholastic season.\u00a0 In addition to local media members (Morning Call\u2019s Keith Groller, RCN Sports Director Gary Laubach, RCN announcers Tom Stoudt and Dennis Laub, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lvbasketballrankings.com\/\">LehighValleyBasketballRankings.com<\/a>\u2019s Toomey Anderson), we have three distinguished head basketball coaches giving their takes on five important questions for the upcoming season.\u00a0 We won\u2019t reveal the names of the head coaches to avoid any \u201cbulletin board\u201d material, but, just like in fall with our football poll, we are blessed to have some long-tenured and well-established basketball names with us this year!<\/p>\n<p>So\u2026let\u2019s get started with each of our pollsters giving their opinions on:<\/p>\n<p>1)\u00a0<strong>3 KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS WINTER<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Toomey Anderson<\/em>: We all know about the top players in the district.\u00a0 Here are some others to expect good seasons from:<br \/>\nLehigh Valley &#8211;\u00a0 Jay Vaughan (ACC).\u00a0 Charles Hudson (Whitehall),\u00a0 Arnell Lewis (Easton);\u00a0 Colonial League-\u00a0 Dylan Benton (Bangor), Jack Reichenbach (Salisbury), Isaiah Graves (Catty);\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMountain teams\u201d- Jalen Vaughns (PM West), Shon Wilson (Stroudsburg), Darin Bellinger (ES North)<\/p>\n<p><em>Keith Groller<\/em>: \u00a0Talek Williams, Sam Iorio, David Kachelries<br \/>\n<em>Dennis Laub<\/em>: \u00a0Talek Williams, Sam Iorio, Dave Kachelries\u2026although I personally like Logan McGinley from Whitehall<br \/>\n<em>Tom Stoudt<\/em>: Talek Williams, David Kachelries, Tyrese Martin<br \/>\n<em>Mystery Coach 1<\/em>:\u00a0 Talek Williams and Tyrese Martin both of Allen; Sam Iorio of Parkland and the Kachelries twins of Emmaus. I know that is 5, but they are all special players.<br \/>\n<em>Mystery Coach 2<\/em>:\u00a0 Tyrese Martin (Allen); Isaiah Wiggins ((PM West); Mickey Esquilin (Whitehall)<br \/>\n<em>Mystery Coach 3<\/em>:\u00a0 Talek Williams (Allen), Sam Iorio (Parkland), Lance Singh (Poc. Mt. West)<\/p>\n<p><strong>2) \u201cCAN\u2019T MISS\u201d GAME OF THE YEAR<\/strong><br \/>\nTA: Salisbury vs. Bangor (Colonial) &amp; Parkland vs. Allen (EPC)<br \/>\nKG: Parkland at Allen, Feb. 6<br \/>\nDL:\u00a0 Allen vs. Pocono Mountain West (at least 150 points scored\u2026if not 180)<br \/>\nTS:\u00a0 Parkland vs. Allen (Oh, wait, they don\u2019t play each other), Parkland vs. PMW (Oh, they don\u2019t play each other, either), Parkland vs Allen on 2\/6\/16<br \/>\nMC 1:\u00a0 Bangor vs. any of the EPC teams they play. A good way to see how Bangor, the biggest school in the Colonial League, \u201changs\u201d with the big boys of the EPC. Also, Pocono Mt. West vs. Allen should be a heck of a game.<br \/>\nMC 2: Allen vs PM West; Bangor vs Easton<br \/>\nMC 3: Pocono Mt. West vs. Whitehall<\/p>\n<p><strong>3) \u201cNEWCOMER\u201d THIS SEASON<\/strong><br \/>\nTA: Mohammed Dunbaya (Easton). New to Easton last year but didn\u2019t play much\u2014he will be a force defensively this year.<br \/>\nKG: Chico Whyte, Dieruff<br \/>\nDL:\u00a0 Aidan Ellwood returning to Northampton, where he\u2019ll thrive again.<br \/>\nTS:\u00a0 Zach Sabol, 6\u20197 Sophomore at Emmaus<br \/>\nMC 1:\u00a0 Aiden Elwood and his return to Northampton. Also, the big kid Sabol from Emmaus.<br \/>\nMC 3:\u00a0 Justin Paz (Bethlehem Catholic)<\/p>\n<p><strong>4) \u201cTEAMS TO BEAT\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nTA: Bangor &amp; Parkland<br \/>\nKG: Allen and Bangor<br \/>\nDL:\u00a0 Allen &amp; Pocono Mountain West<br \/>\nTS:\u00a0 Allen &amp; Pocono Mountain West<br \/>\nMC 1: Allen in the EPC-South, Bangor in the Colonial League and Pocono Mt. West (in the EPC-North). They all have a lot of talent.<br \/>\nMC 2:\u00a0 Allen; PM West<br \/>\nMC 3: Allen and Liberty<\/p>\n<p><strong>5) \u201cSLEEPER TEAM\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>\u00a0T<\/strong>A: Bethlehem Catholic<br \/>\nKG: Bethlehem Catholic in the EPC; Southern Lehigh in the Colonial<br \/>\nDL:\u00a0 Emmaus (they have a huge advantage in their home gym)<br \/>\nTS:\u00a0 Bethlehem Catholic<br \/>\nMC 1: Whitehall. They finished 2<sup>nd<\/sup> in the Stellar and Sportsfest tournaments and won the Allentown Summer League. Also, watch out for Northampton with the return of Ellwood from CCHS.<br \/>\nMC 3:\u00a0 Parkland &#8211; people think they are down but they still have one of the best players in the league. I never thought I would say that Parkland is a sleeper, but this year they just might be<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t forget to catch RCN\u2019s first broadcast high school basketball game this Tuesday, December 12, with Gary Laubach and Tom Stoudt and be sure to check out our winter sports schedule <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rcn.com\/atvn\/16-17-hs-basketball\/\">here <\/a>on the RCN-TV website for all the top games!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With all of the Lehigh Valley teams now out of the running for a PIAA state football title, it\u2019s now time to fully devote our attention to the rapidly approaching high school basketball season. We are extremely fortunate to have some incredibly insightful people giving their opinions on the 2016-17 scholastic season.\u00a0 In addition to&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The SportsTalk Shop: HS Basketball Preview 2016 - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The SportsTalk Shop: HS Basketball Preview 2016 - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With all of the Lehigh Valley teams now out of the running for a PIAA state football title, it\u2019s now time to fully devote our attention to the rapidly approaching high school basketball season. We are extremely fortunate to have some incredibly insightful people giving their opinions on the 2016-17 scholastic season.\u00a0 In addition to...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-06T21:09:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-16T14:17:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Michael\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\"},\"headline\":\"The SportsTalk Shop: HS Basketball Preview 2016\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-06T21:09:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-16T14:17:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":692,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Featured\",\"Sports\",\"The SportsTalk Shop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\\\/\",\"name\":\"The SportsTalk Shop: HS Basketball Preview 2016 - ATVN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-06T21:09:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-16T14:17:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATVN\",\"description\":\"Local Programming &amp; Astound Digital Cable, Internet &amp; Phone Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\",\"name\":\"Chris Michael\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"url\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Chris Michael\"},\"description\":\"Chris handles play-by-play for RCN sports events, including baseball, football &amp; basketball games and produces\\\/hosts the station\u2019s 60-minute live call-in show. Among Chris\u2019s other responsibilities include reporting on local news &amp; sports stories, conducting \u201cTake 5\u201d interviews with community and political leaders, producing commercials, voiceovers and promos; and generating blog entries and videos on the internet. Click here to listen to the weekly Sports Talk podcast.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/author\\\/rcntvchris\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The SportsTalk Shop: HS Basketball Preview 2016 - ATVN","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The SportsTalk Shop: HS Basketball Preview 2016 - ATVN","og_description":"With all of the Lehigh Valley teams now out of the running for a PIAA state football title, it\u2019s now time to fully devote our attention to the rapidly approaching high school basketball season. We are extremely fortunate to have some incredibly insightful people giving their opinions on the 2016-17 scholastic season.\u00a0 In addition to...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/","og_site_name":"ATVN","article_published_time":"2016-12-06T21:09:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-16T14:17:24+00:00","author":"Chris Michael","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Michael","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Michael","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a"},"headline":"The SportsTalk Shop: HS Basketball Preview 2016","datePublished":"2016-12-06T21:09:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-16T14:17:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/"},"wordCount":692,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Featured","Sports","The SportsTalk Shop"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/","name":"The SportsTalk Shop: HS Basketball Preview 2016 - ATVN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-12-06T21:09:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-16T14:17:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-hs-basketball-preview-2016\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/","name":"ATVN","description":"Local Programming &amp; Astound Digital Cable, Internet &amp; Phone Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a","name":"Chris Michael","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","url":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","contentUrl":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","caption":"Chris Michael"},"description":"Chris handles play-by-play for RCN sports events, including baseball, football &amp; basketball games and produces\/hosts the station\u2019s 60-minute live call-in show. Among Chris\u2019s other responsibilities include reporting on local news &amp; sports stories, conducting \u201cTake 5\u201d interviews with community and political leaders, producing commercials, voiceovers and promos; and generating blog entries and videos on the internet. Click here to listen to the weekly Sports Talk podcast.","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/author\/rcntvchris\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79038"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79039,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79038\/revisions\/79039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}