MAKING A JUMP: Princeton Day School boys’ basketball star Chase Lewis puts up a jumper in the state Prep B title game last season. PDS topped Morristown-Beard in the championship contest to earn its first state title since winning the Prep A crown in 1999. Senior guard Lewis and the Panthers will begin their quest for another title campaign when they open their 2016-17 season by playing at the Solebury School (Pa.) tournament on December 2-3. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Winning a state Prep B title last winter has the Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team hungry for more as it heads into the 2016-17 campaign.

“The guys are really excited, they have been working hard for a while; we just started formal practice a little while ago but a lot of them have been doing things on their own since back in October,” said PDS head coach Tim Williams, who guided the Panthers to a 16-8 record as they earned the program’s first state title winning the Prep A crown in 1999. “It has been really nice seeing guys get together on their own, showing a lot of interest.”

Williams senses a new level of confidence around his players on the wake of their championship campaign.

“I think we have a totally different vibe going this year,” said Williams, whose team opens the 2016-17 season by playing at the Solebury School (Pa.)
tournament on December 2-3.

“Last year we had a bunch of new guys coming on board and our returning guys hadn’t experienced a lot of success. Now they all played with each other all last season and in the summer so they are pretty familiar with each other.”

After coming on board last year as a transfer and providing inside punch, senior forward John McArthur is determined to be an all around threat this winter.

“John is looking great; he has really improved his game,” said Williams. “He has worked very, very hard in the offseason. He worked on his ball handling and his jump shot. He has really expanded his game quite a bit.”

PDS is looking for Nick Darenkov to provide some good work in the paint this winter.

“Nick Darenkov is a junior now, he has gotten a lot stronger, he has really improved his post game,” said Williams.

“He is one of probably two guys on our team that are true back-to-the-basket type post players. Everyone else can dive into the post and do things but Nick is a real post up, make a move type of a guy.”

The teams’s strong backcourt tandem of senior Chase Lewis and sophomore David Coit gets the PDS offense moving.

“Those two guys are really impactful together, they work really well together,” said Williams, noting that another key guard, sophomore Craig Wrenn, is currently sidelined by injury and should be back in January.

“I think Chase is all in as much as he can be. He is one of those  indispensable guys, we have to have him out there. He has got a lot more support this year so we will be able to rest him more and that will make him even more effective. David is a spark plug, he is Mr. Personality, Mr. Excitement. We are a better team whenever he is on the floor. He is always trying to make things happen; he works well with Chase and all of our returning guys.”

Senior guard/forward Paul Franzoni has emerged as a major spark plug for the Panthers.

“Paul is an incredible leader,” asserted Williams. “He is a glue guy. If we need him to play outside, he will play outside. If we need him to play inside, he will do that. He is a guy who craves to do the dirty work, which is great. He can shoot and he has improved his outside shot quite a bit.”

Having worked hard to get better, senior Hassan Ladiwala figures to give the squad some good minutes in a reserve role.

“Hassan has really improved his game, he has matured as a senior,” said Williams.

“The pace of the game is his pace now. He has done a lot of good things, he is a kid who is giving us some nice support off the bench.”

The Panthers boast a nice addition in talented freshman Jaylin Champion. “Jaylin has come out of our middle school program and will step in and definitely get some quality minutes,” said Williams.

“He is very athletic and skilled, he is a wing. He was a bigger kid on our middle school team and played a lot inside. He has really improved his perimeter skills quite a bit.”

In Williams’s view, PDS needs to show quality at both ends of the court to translate its excitement into another championship run.

“They have a lot of high goals, we have discussed what we want to do and they have set their sights really high,” said Williams.

“I think in order for us to do that, we have to improve our defense and rebounding, that is going to be key for us. We did a pretty good job last year, not quite as good as I wanted. We are coming back together as a team and the quicker we can jell defensively, the better we will be. I don’t think offense is going to be our issue; it is defense and rebounding where we need to shore up things.”