Warriors to lean on big man for hardcourt success
6-foot-8 Janowski returns for New Egypt
BY MIKE WHITE Staff Writer
Despite losing three players to graduation, New Egypt High School boys basketball coach Jay Corby is extremely optimistic as the 2007-08 campaign rapidly approaches.

The Warriors, who finished with a disappointing 10-15 overall mark last year, open their season on the road Dec. 14 against an always-tough Florence High School squad.

Corby is hoping to repeat last year's results in the season opener. New Egypt scored one of its best victories over Florence in 2006 with a frugal 32-28 triumph.

"No question that was one of the highlights of the season," Corby said. "Winning that game to start the year was a momentum builder. However, we struggled to play up to our potential the rest of the way."

Corby isn't all that concerned about losing starters Josh Howard, Steve Panasuk and Ricky Mackesy. In fact, Corby feels this year's team has tremendous possibilities. Although he has just a couple of seniors, many of his underclassmen saw minutes at the varsity level last year.

"We're young, but we do have experience," Corby said. "I think that if we play like a team, we have the potential to give a lot of teams problems. We need to play with intensity for a full 32 minutes. At times last season, we weren't getting that. Our guys are a year older, and they know what is expected."

Leading the way for the Warriors is 6- foot-8 junior center Kevin Janowski, who averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per contest last season. With two years of varsity play under his belt, Corby feels this is the season Janowski will establish himself as one of the top players in the Burlington County Athletic Conference.

"He has put in a lot of time on improving his game," Corby said. "He's been playing AAU and has attended a few camps. You can definitely see the difference in his maturity level. He has matured both physically and he has a great understanding of the game and of what we need to do to be successful."

Dylan Rowley and Danny Leutwyler bring senior poise to the club. Both players will see extended minutes, Corby said.

Junior Davion Clanton is injured but is scheduled to return to the lineup in January. Clanton, who most likely would have been the starting lead guard, broke his hand and is sidelined until after the holidays. Getting him back will provide a spark to the offense.

"He had a great summer for us," Corby said. "He has been playing really well. He is explosive and can go to the hole. In addition, he does a good job of getting the ball in the hands of our post players. We're looking to get him back ASAP."

Junior Ronnie Tortoriello will be called on to handle a majority of the ball-handling duties. Tortoriello was promoted to the varsity for the final six games of the season last year and made an immediate impact, Corby said.

"He's a streaky shooter who can also handle the ball," Corby said. "He provides us with a guy who can drain it from the perimeter. We need to be versatile this season. We don't want teams focusing on just one guy."

Juniors Dakota Havens and Cody Shields will see plenty of action as well. Havens, who averaged five points and five rebounds per game, was the team's top defender last year, while Shields is a 6-foot- 1 shooting guard.

Six-foot-8 freshman Desmond Howard should provide the Warriors with rebounding and another presence inside.

"He is going to be a very good player," Corby said. "He's young and still has some growing as a player to do. There are plenty of things he is going to have to work on. We're looking forward to having him in the program."

Other players include Mike Fassl, Langston Lacroix, Rocco Natalicchio and Allen Berg.

"We're anxious to get the season under way," Corby said. "We're looking to be competitive in our conference and hopefully a trip to the state tournament."