“Roberts Rankings”-Boys Basketball

Here are my preseason rankings for the Berks County Boys Basketball Conference.  Remember that no matter where your favorite team is ranked, the sun will come out tomorrow!  A lot can change between now and the end of March.

Will it be a two-horse race between Reading and Berks Catholic?  The Red Knights and Saints captured District 3 gold in their respective classifications last season.  They combined for 49 victories and have a lot of talent returning.  Rider commit Ruben Rodriguez is nine points shy of 1,300 for his career.  He’ll be joined in Reading’s backcourt by sharpshooter Myles Grey who hit 57 triples a season ago.  Aris Rodriguez could be poised for a breakout year at the “Castle on the Hill.”  The Red Knights have won a state record 2,214 games.  Speaking of winning, Snip Esterly enters his 34th season as a head coach with 769 all-time victories.  He’s (227-79) over the past eleven years at Berks Catholic.  The Saints return a trio of guards in JayJay Jordan (15.6 ppg.), Ryan Koch (14 ppg.), and Jack Miller (7 ppg.).  Josh McKoy and his younger brother, Kingston, transferred to Berks Catholic from Antietam which gives Esterly a deeper rotation.  Reading and B.C. both have solid role players in Amier Burdine and Jaxon Geddio.

Wilson, Muhlenberg, and Exeter should be evenly matched.  The Muhls are up in Division 1 this year, while Exeter and Berks Catholic dropped down to Division 2.  The Bulldogs suffered five losses by four points or less.  They have a much more experienced squad in 2022-23 led by All-State football player Cam Jones.  Cleveland Harding and Ofure Odiale return to the starting lineup in West Lawn.  Aidan Melograna provides perimeter shooting and Madyx Gruber will be one of the top sophomores in the county.  All-State selection Colin Payne is at Alvernia and Joey Schlaffer will be enrolling early at Penn State for football.  They contributed 29 points a night for Exeter last season.  The good news in Reiffton is that Anthony Caccese is back in the middle.  The 6’6, 280-pound OT/DT is headed to the University of Delaware.  Caccese chipped in with 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game as the Eagles reached the state playoffs for the first time since 1999.  Muhlenberg will miss Edwin Suarez in the paint.  He averaged 19 points and 15 boards.  The Muhls will continue to bring an intensity to the floor that Matt Flowers has instilled in the program.  Flowers was voted the Berks County Coach of the Year after his first season in Laureldale.

Brian Wrobel takes over in Shillington for the late Kyle Conrad.  The Mustangs will certainly be motivated to play hard for their former coach.  Conrad was beloved in the Gov. Mifflin community and beyond.  The McNeil twins, Gerrell and Delsin, return to the Mustangs’ backcourt.  They combined to average about 22 points last season.  All-County pick Jake Karnish (17 ppg.) helped Fleetwood earn its first division title since 1979.  He’s joined once again by juniors Aiden Soumas and Nate Herb.  Division 3 should be a tight race between the Tigers, Schuylkill Valley, Wyomissing, and Hamburg.  The Spartans will once again have to overcome an extended football campaign.  The Hawks have a new head coach in Kevin McFarland.  The Panthers feature one of the top guards in the division in Mark Rajnath.  Oley Valley looked good this summer in the West Reading League.  The Lynx will need to replace Danny Turchi’s 18 ppg.  Jaden Kelly, Chase Rubendall, Keith Neal, and David Turchi give Oley Valley an experienced corps.  Hector Tiburcio finished his outstanding career at Antietam with 1,426 points.  He was a two-time All-State player in Class 2A.  The Mounts won 20 games a season ago.  They’ll have three new starters this year.

Best of luck to all of the student-athletes and their coaches in 2022-23.  Let the games begin!

“The Great 8”

1.Reading  (26-4)

2.Berks Catholic  (23-5)

3.Wilson  (15-11)

4.Muhlenberg  (18-7)

5.Exeter  (13-15)

6.Gov. Mifflin  (11-11)

7.Fleetwood  (16-8)

8.Oley Valley  (13-10)