By Chris Metcalf
GREIGSVILLE – After a fantastic fall football campaign, which ended up with a heartbreaking loss in the sectional finals, Eddie Orman Jr. and the York boys basketball team are excited for the opportunity to finish the job.
The veteran head coach, who has produced 240 coaching victories and two Section V championships, nearly captured a third crown last March but fell 62-59 to a tough Pembroke team in the ‘C2’ finals finishing their season 20-2.
Orman enters his 18th season and this year’s team is as good as any team he has coached, so the expectations will be sky-high.
While the graduation loss of Maddox Timothy will certainly hurt, York will have four seniors who will lead the way, including Jake Pangrazio, Tyler Brady, Connor Rodwell and Joe Bauer.
All four return with tons of varsity experience.
Pangrazio, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who handles the ball very well for a big man, averaged a team-best 16.6 points a game last year to go along with 8.9 rebounds. He also sees the floor very well and doesn’t mind making the extra pass as he averaged nearly three assists per game.
Last year Pangrazio, who is heading to St. John Fisher next fall to play hoops, was named to the Section V Class C2 All-Tournament Team and also earned LCAA All-Star honors.
Tyler Brady, a six-foot guard/forward, is also a versatile player for the Golden Knights averaging 9.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Brady brings some physicality to the floor and doesn’t mind mixing it up underneath on the boards. Brady is a two-time Section V Class C2 All-Star selection who was also named to the LCAA All-Star squad a year ago.
Brady and Bauer are both physical players which will help the Golden Knights during the season as they take on a tough schedule.
Bauer, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 11.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists last season earning LCAA D-III All-Star accolades.
The smoothest player of the bunch very well could be the 6-foot-2 Rodwell, who is excellent in transition averaging nearly eight points and six boards a game last year earning LCAA D-III honors. Rodwell also defends very well.
Two other top returners include a pair of sophomores in Parker Bonafede and Ryan Brady.
Bonafede, a 6-foot-1 guard, averaged four points and four boards last year while the six-foot Ryan Brady, Tyler’s younger brother, averaged three points and four rebounds a game and will play both guard and forward as he also likes mixing it up in the post.
Top newcomers to keep an eye on include senior Joe Munoz (6-2, For) and juniors Liam Ezard (5-9, G) and Adam Szcech (5-6, G).
Orman describes Munoz as “a big, athletic, energy player.”
Orman and the Knights have been a basketball juggernaut since he’s taken over earning two Section V titles (2012, 2022) and making it to the finals seven different times.
York opens their season Nov. 30 at Way-Co.
They will then take on NYS champion Avoca/Prattsburgh Dec. 2 at the Wayland-Cohocton Hall of Fame Classic Dec. 2.
York defeated A/P 77-69 to open up last year’s schedule in the same game.
“We had a really productive off-season and many of our guys played a ton of basketball both on the AAU circuit and with our team,” coach Orman said. “We’re really focusing on taking the season one day at a time. The winter season is a marathon, not a sprint and we have aspirations of playing our best late in the season. We will be a well-rounded and tight-knit group, with the goal of playing our collective best each night and always focusing on finding a better version of ourselves.”
Orman also didn’t schedule any cupcakes this season.
York is playing in LCAA D-II this year and will face a tough Avon team and Le Roy team, twice this year instead of once.
“We packed in a killer schedule, with defending state champ Avoca in our second game, and Class C state champ Randolph coming to York in mid-January,” coach Orman said. “In addition, we will be traveling to Bishop Kearney to take on the Kings on their home court (Dec. 8) and we will be playing defending sectional champs Lyons at York and traveling to Hornell to play one of our only two regular-season losses last year. In addition, we requested and were granted the opportunity to move up to the LCAA Division 2 with the gauntlet of Avon, LeRoy, Geneseo and Warsaw. We are going to challenge ourselves at every turn. One way or another we will be battle-tested when we get to sectionals.”
Doug McFarland Photography
