Yes, it’s the middle of July, four weeks before the start of fall sports practice for high school teams.
And we’re gonna talk a little hoops. That’s because, here in Lebanon County, we do hoops pretty well, and likely will again next winter. And the teams that do best in winter are often the teams that work hardest in summer.
Cedar Crest just wrapped up a terrific summer program by finishing second in the massive Stellar Tournament in Allentown. During the weekend, the Falcons won five games before falling to Parkland, the nominal host team, in the championship game Sunday night. Cedar Crest defeated, in order, Bethlehem Liberty, Northampton, Exeter, Wilson and Emmaus.
(Two other local teams competed in the double-elimination event. Palmyra fell to Allentown Allen and Reading, while Hershey defeated Wayne Hills of Wayne, N.J., and Saucon Valley and lost to Glen Mills and Allentown Dieruff).
While the Falcons graduated center Andrew Eudy (who will play at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia next season), starting guard Seth Daubert, and several reserves, most notably sharp-shooter Zach Gristick, Crest has a wealth of experienced players returning because coach Tom Smith played 10 to 12 players every game. And, the Falcons had a terrific JV team.
Crest won’t have a cakewalk in Section One of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Lancaster returns almost everyone and the other teams all have some quality players coming back. The biggest threat though, both figuratively and literally, will be defending Section Three champ Manheim Central, which started all underclassmen and knocked off Lancaster in the league playoffs before being upset by Lebanon in the semifinals.
A big reason why Cedar Crest has never been a hoops power, until the past couple seasons, is that in most years, the Falcons’ best players considered basketball a secondary sport to football or soccer or baseball. That’s no longer the case, and even those who play other sports (and there are many of them) devote significant time to improving their basketball skills in the off-season.
All that commitment paid off with section and league championships last season and then a district runner-up finish and a win in the state tournament. The Falcons want to build on last season’s successes and they are well on their way to doing so.
High school basketball season begins Dec. 5.
And yes, football starts Aug. 29, because we have an early Labor Day this year.
Follow along on Twitter @sesnyderleb.