GLENS FALLS, N.Y. — Boys basketball beat writer Zach Braziller breaks down the New York State Federation Class A semifinals this weekend at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Bedford Academy Panthers
Head coach: Robert Phelps
Record: 24-5
Player to watch: F Anthony Mason Jr.
Jamesville-DeWitt Red Rams
Head coach: Bob McKenney
Record: 24-0
Player to watch: F Dajuan Coleman
Long Island Lutheran Crusaders
Head coach: John Buck
Record: 20-7
Player to watch: G Achraf Yacoubou
Nichols Vikings
Head coach: Greg Plumb
Record: 19-7
Player to watch: F Will Regan
Outlook: There is no shortage of talent in this tournament. Virginia (Will Regan of Nichols) and Villanova (Achraf Yacoubou of Long Island Lutheran) are represented. Jamesville-DeWitt has 6-foot-9 man child Dajuan Coleman to lead in the paint.
Bedford Academy, the lone city team of the four, doesn’t have any such superstars. The Panthers, though, have two Division I caliber talents in point guard Brent Jones and Anthony Mason Jr. Bedford, too, prides itself in its pressure defense. The Brooklyn school will obviously be the underdog against Jamesville-DeWitt, the 2008 Federation champs, which features the inside-out attack of Coleman and Lamar Kearse. But seeded fourth in the PSAL Class A playoffs, the Panthers weren’t the favorite then, either.
Additionally, Bedford faced ‘AA’ squads Robeson, Lincoln and Xaverian during the regular season.
“It’s another challenge,” coach Robert Phelps said. “A lot of people didn’t think we would get here. I don’t mind being the underdog. That’s why I put together the schedule we had.”
The other semifinals could come down to a duel of high-major Division I talents. Yacoubou led LuHi to the Federation ‘A’ crown last year, knocking off Jamesville-DeWitt in the final. But the Crusaders may not have an answer for the 6-foot-8 Regan in the post.