By Tom Jordan
Expectations are high, D'Angelo said. And not just from within, but from the rest of the county. It should be a challenging year because I think six of the top ten teams in Nassau are in our conference.
Still, D'Angelo is optimistic the playoffs are in the Cyclones' future. All Nassau teams play under the same playoff system, and D'Angelo thinks a more difficult regular season will better prepare his team for the post-season.
Last year's squad was voted the top team in A-II, but struggled at times and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
South Side returns a lot of experience, which should help when times get difficult.
We have ten seniors who have played some basketball at South Side, either on the varsity or on the junior varsity, D'Angelo said. We also return good size. We're not huge, but we're big enough.
Among the returning seniors are John Henkel, Michael Bauduin, Brian Wolchuk and James Hurt. Henkel is a big 6-5 center/forward of whom D'Angelo expects big things. Hurt, a point guard, was an All-County selection last season and was chosen a pre-season All-American.
Matt Nolan, a standout in both track and soccer, is the team's fastest player, D'Angelo said.
The starting lineup is not set in stone, D'Angelo said, but Steven Simoneschi and Jonathan Heller are two other players expected to contribute a great deal to the Cyclones' success. Chris Rooney brings defense and intensity to the mix and Patrick Freehan could help with ten to twelve rebounds a game.
Richard Lombardo, another senior, has a role a lot of players covet
