Boys Basketball update

Hype? Check. Expectations? Check. Living up to all of the preseason ink used on them so far? Emphatic check.

Yup, every local sports schlub with a keyboard was expecting big things from the Bears this year before the first game even tipped off (including your friendly neighborhood blogger). That kind of hype can be a tough thing to live up to, especially when you are talking about 17-18 year old kids. I mean, look at the Dallas Cowboys. Nearly everyone picked them to win the Super Bowl and they're not even in the playoffs. (Sorry, couldn't get through an entry without one last jab at Dallas.) But these Bears are playing like they were supposed to, and, maybe even a little better.

Right now, they are 7-0 overall and 5-0 in league play. They are 3-0 against Section One, with quality wins over J.P. McCaskey, Penn Manor and Warwick. Local hoops followers will be hard-pressed to tell you the last time a Section Two team started 3-0 against Section One. It's pretty much unchartered waters.

E-town has had two real scares so far this year. Against Penn Manor back on Dec. 11, the Bears staged a furious fourth quarter rally on the road to force overtime and eventually beat the Comets. And on Dec. 23, E-town narrowly escaped Section Two foe Conestoga Valley by a point. But what shows you something is that they won both of those games. They aren't going to play their absolute best every single game (that's nearly impossible), but they've proven that even when they aren't at their best, they're still good enough to win a ton of games.

Here is how E-town's scoring production has gone so far this year. As you'll see, they're a balanced group that can hurt you in a variety of ways.

Points per game:
Quinn Cozzens – 13.4.
Kyle McNeil – 12.7
Chad Styer – 10.5 (missed the team's first game with an injury)
Jeremi Jones – 10.4.
Andrew Placeres – 8.5.
Brad Garber – 6.5
Jordan Hoover – 4.5

Those are the Bears' regular players, and each of them can score double digits on any given night. Cozzens is E-town's best all around player and their leader, he's scored in double digits in every game and is everywhere on the court. McNeil has been E-town's inside presence. Before the season, people thought the Bears lacked inside skills, but McNeil and Garber have rejected that thought with good play.

Styer missed some time in the preseason with a knee injury, but is as good of a shooter as you'll see on the team when he is on, and he is slowly getting back into form. Jones is the team's sixth man, but would be a starter just about everywhere else. He is probably the best sixth man in the league and is a very athletic player. Hoover is a tough player with a nice stroke from the outside. The Bears can always rely on him to bring intensity.

Placeres pulls it all together. E-town's quick southpaw point guard runs the offense beautifully, threading passes to open teammates with regularity. The Bears like to roll, and Placeres always has his foot on the gas. He also brings a good outside shot and the ability to drive to the basket. He also has an uncanny ability to get rebounds for a player of his size.

From a purely objective standpoint, I can tell you one thing – this team is fun to watch. They run up and down, play good defense and pass the ball very, very well. Keep your calendars circled for Tuesday, Jan. 13. That's when E-town will host Hempfield in a matchup of the two teams considered to be the L-L League's best. It will be a dandy.