There is a lot of promise surrounding the Beaver Area High School boys varsity basketball team for the 2024-25 season. They are already off to a hot 5-0 start with wins coming over Grove City, Franklin, Blackhawk, Rochester, and Shenango.
The promise and early success surrounding the program this season didn’t come without putting in the work. Since May, Head Coach Jason Bumblis has held open gyms and practice three times per week leading up to the beginning of the season. Strength training was also held three times per week by strength coach Curt Lanctot.
The Bobcat starting lineup so far has consisted of 6 foot senior guard Brady Mayo, 6 foot 1 inch senior guard Nick Krzeczowski, 6 foot 2 inch junior guard Junior Marino, 6 foot 7 inch sophomore forward Logan Weiland, and 6 foot 4 inch junior forward Micah Pupi.
Though there have been some key injuries on the team, 6 foot 2 inch sophomore forward Cole Becker who was likely to be a key player on the team this season is out for the foreseeable future with a foot injury. Also, 6 foot 2 inch junior forward Sincere Sly is also out long term from an injury he suffered during football season.
So far, the Bobcats have kept a short rotation mainly consisting of six players. The main player coming off the bench has been 5 foot 6 inch sophmore guard Jake Peluso. The rotation likely would’ve been larger without the injuries to Becker and Sly.
Mayo has led the team in scoring so far this season averaging 23.8 points per game. Mayo even put up a 41 point performance against Shenango December 10.
Krzeczowski leads the team in rebounds per game averaging 6.4.
With no real time table as of right now for the return of Becker and Sly, the Bobcats could use more players to step up to build depth. 6 foot 1 inch junior forward Alex Korcinsky, 5 foot 8 inch senior guard Elias Kazas, and 5 foot 11 inch sophomore guard Will Haller have seen limited minutes so far this season. But due to the injuries, these three players could see extended minutes off the bench which will be key to the team’s success.
There also is a lot of potential college-level talent on the team this year, but two players stand out the most in that area. Though he has already signed to play football at Bucknell, Mayo received plenty of basketball interest. Schools like Navy, IUP, Cal U, Ohio Dominican, and Gannon all inquired.
During the last three off seasons, Mayo played AAU basketball for PK Flash, a prominent AAU program that plays on the Hoop Group Showcase League Circuit (HGSL). The HGSL holds tournaments all over the North-East region and teams from all over the country compete.
Another player in this category is Weiland. The sophomore also competed on the HGSL circuit, playing for another prominent AAU program, Caveman. While competing in these tournaments full of players with division-one offers, Weiland was listed as one of nine standouts in the class 2027 at the Hoop Group Atlantic City Jamfest in July by Elite High School Scouting.
Head Coach Bumblis is very happy with how the team looks so far.
“Overall I could not be happier with the direction of the team right now. The team has worked really hard to build a culture of hard work and teamwork. The results so far have been good and we can’t wait to see how the rest of the season unfolds.”