Another Taste of State

Darryl Craft knew his McKinney North basketball team had a chance in 2006-07. At a playoff berth? Definitely. The district title? Probably. The state tournament? Surely not. But there the Bulldogs were, a mere two wins away from making a first-ever state tournament berth, only to be ousted by Spruce in what was one of District 9-4A's best performances of the young millennium. Can North return to its form of a year ago? Craft thinks the potential is there, but the likes of reigning co-champion The Colony, the loser of last season's first-place tie-breaker game, and the McKinney Lions, along with a slew of other talented teams returning an abundance of talent, will do their best to make sure the Bulldogs don't. The front-runner, according to a wide range of state-wide polls, and maybe even the outright district favorite is McKinney. Led by one of the nation's top recruits in G.J. Vilarino, who earlier this year committed to play at Kentucky, the Lions have the star power and scoring depth required of a team looking to make a deep playoff run. The Colony isn't led by one player, instead head coach Cleve Ryan relies on a deep corps of players, any one of which can pick up the Cougars on any given night. While these three are clear contenders to make back-to-back playoff appearances, Frisco should also have a say in the playoff race. Led by an all-purpose forward in Casey Chesier, the Raccoons will be legitimate title hopefuls if they can avoid the inconsistency bug that struck them so badly last season. The less-enchanting battle to stay out of the district basement is sure to be another intriguing race. McKinney Boyd had only one 9-4A victory a year ago and must hope that returning all of its players aside from center Jeff Fuller will be enough to win with. Right alongside the Broncos sits Lake Dallas and Little Elm. The Falcons return only three players from last year's .500 team and will look for contributions from a gaggle of varsity hopefuls as they play their first season with a true home advantage in their new gym. Cole Beasley is the undisputed leader of Jimmy Arendt's Lobos. While they can compete with any team on any given night, their ability to do it night and night out will come into question. One thing is for sure, though. Anything can happen and often does in 9-4A basketball. McKinney North Coach: Darryl Craft Players to Watch Nico Taylor, P, Sr. - One of the district's top rebounders, Taylor was the district's best role player who will need to emerge into an MVP candidate. David Douglas, F, Sr. - North's football quarterback won't play the same role on the hoops team, but the Bulldogs 2007 successes might just rely on his ability to consistently lead the team in scoring. With all-district seniors like post Nico Taylor and the very athletic David Douglas returning, North remains one of 9-4A's top dogs. Finding replacements for the likes of all-district forwards Eric Herbel, Blake Mooney and guard Kenny McGowen, however, will likely prove to be one of the hardest tasks Craft has had during his tenure as the program's lone head coach. Charlie Parker and Ted Britt also contributed heavily during North's regional semifinal run of a year ago, and both will have to embrace their newfound role as starters. The Bulldogs will surely have been tested by the time the district season starts in mid-December as they're headed for arguably the state's deepest non-district tournament in Waxahachie to open their campaign. A tough non-district schedule, which also includes tournaments in Wylie and Sherman, will be the proving ground for the six-to-eight players, including forward-post Chris Allen -- vying for district playing time. Regardless, North's top four can compete with any other team's, and the Bulldogs should find themselves battling for, at the least, a return trip to the postseason. McKinney Coach: Wes Watson Players to Watch G.J. Vilarino, G, Jr. - He ranks among the top guards in the nation on many scouting lists and will shoulder the majority of the scoring load night in, night out. McKinney reached the playoffs as 9-4A's third seed largely due to the one-two scoring punch of G.J. Vilarino and Bruce Sexton, the latter of which is now playing college ball. Still, Vilarino, who this spring committed to play collegiately for a powerhouse Kentucky program, is by far and away the district's most talented player. Scoring roughly 20 points per game, his defense left much to be desired a year ago, but he made improvements throughout the season. Still, his ability to get to the rack is what has scouts, and most significantly Billy Gillispie, raving about the junior. If the Lions are to live up to their top ranking - McKinney is ranked ninth in the annual Texas Associaiton of Basketball Coaches preseason magazine - someone other than Vilarino will have to step up. Candidates to do just that include fellow juniors Nico Mucci and Beau Smith and senior Joe Holley. That trio will be a mainstay in the starting lineup for Wes Watson, who will hope to see at least one of them rise to the occasion. If all three of them get going, however, there's no reason to think McKinney won't run away with the district title. Frisco Coach: Eric Greene Players to Watch Casey Chesier, F, Sr. - Chesier emerged as a leader and the most consistent scoring option for the Raccoons last year. Denzsell Brown, G-F, Sr. - Lightning speed and the ability to get to the rack should allow Brown to emerge as one of the district's best two-way player. Frisco basketball fans were excited about the 2007-08 season at the start of last year. What was an inexperienced group of Raccoons struggled out of the chute and lost nine of 10 games to start the season. Then something clicked and Frisco stormed out to a 5-1 start in district. It wouldn't last as Frisco saw its playoff hopes go down the tubes when it lost six of its final eight games and ended the 9-4A campaign at .500. A year older and wiser, head coach Eric Greene believes the experience of last year's up-and-down campaign, coupled with a tough non-district schedule this season, will have his team primed and ready to contend for a playoff spot. The district title isn't out of reach, either. There's no reason to think he's wrong, considering the Raccoons lost only two key contributors to graduation. Including the undisputed top-scoring threat in Casey Chesier, the Raccoons will boast six seniors. The ultra-athletic Denzsell Brown is a leading candidate to take on a larger offensive load as Greene, like McKinney's Wes Watson, searches for someone to take the scoring pressure of Chesier, who is sure to see a double team every time he touches the ball. Frisco Centennial Coach: Russell Miller Players to Watch Mfon Edohoukwa, P, - Few big men in 9-4A can crash the offensive boards like Edohoukwa. Chad Smith - A second-team all-district selection of a season ago, Smith will have to step up in all facets to make up for graduated talent. Russell Miller had such high hopes for his third season as the Titans' leader. While the playoffs were an outside possibility even late into the season, Centennial lost too many close games. Eight seniors from that team were lost to graduation, and they took with them roughly 50-percent of last year's scoring options. Their departure will pave the way for a group of largely unproven players to step up, at least Miller hopes they will. Seniors Ryan Beasley, Brett Horton and Justin Lee will need to step up their games or face the possibility of seeing minimal time as Miller is sure to give some of his up-and-coming talent a look. Still, mainstays such as big men Mfon Edohoukwa and Ryan Mossakowski will give the Titans a solid base in the paint. Rebounding shouldn't be a problem as that was one area the Titans were consistently successful with in 2006-07. Guard-forward Chad Smith is the other returning contributor, but he'll need to do more than merely contribute, something he seems poised to do. If everything goes the Titans' way this season, unlike last, they will look to be contending for a playoff deep in the season. But if they still can't find a way to win the close ones, another 6-8 finish seems very likely. McKinney Boyd Coach: Phillip Gallyon Players to Watch Luke Tarazewich, G, Sr. - Quick, tenacious guard who backs down to no one must hope his streaky shooting becomes more consistent this year. Darius Coleman, G, Jr. - Leads by example, and let's his long-range shooting do much of the talking for him. Jordan McKinney, F, Jr. - Jeff Fuller's departure will give this post the chance to emerge as Boyd's top scoring threat in the paint. There was one good thing about being a first-year program with no seniors for Boyd - everyone's back for this season. Well, not everyone. After orally committing to play football at Oklahoma, post Jeff Fuller will not be lining up with the basketball team this year and is opting to head for school a semester early. Still, Fuller didn't live up to expectations many had for him a season ago, and his departure paves the way for the likes of Jordan McKinney, who along with Darius Coleman represented the state of Texas during a USA Basketball regional tournament in the summer, to step up in the paint. McKinney, along with Coleman and guards Luke Tarazewich and Colton Fries were staples for the struggling Broncos a season ago. There is no doubt a year of maturity, both mentally and physically, will pay dividends from Boyd in 2007-08. Head coach Phillip Gallyon is in his second year ever as a head coach and wasn't able to get much out of his young, but talented team in his first year, in terms of wins at least. While 9-4A may be more open in terms of competing for playoff spots, there is no lack of talent, which could again pose a problem for the upstart program.