Balance, Not Star Power, Key for Georgetown Prep Boys Basketball This Season

Unlike last year, the Georgetown Prep boys basketball team won't be looking for one player to single-handedly take over games - although Markel Starks proved to be more than capable of just that during his four years with the Little Hoyas.

Starks, a 2010 Rivals.com four-star point guard who has since moved on to Georgetown, averaged 25 points per game for the Little Hoyas last season, accounting for 40 percent of the team's offense. He averaged 18 points per game during his final three high school seasons.

But with Starks and fellow All-IAC guard Thurgood Wynn gone, first-year coach Herb Krusen will be looking for much more of a balanced attack this year.

Georgetown Prep finished 18-7 last season.

"Markel was a major scorer and Thurgood was a double-digit scorer too," Krusen said. "But we have a lot of guys that can score and our post game will be much stronger."

Forward Taylor Abt, 6-foot-8, who has committed to Holy Cross, and 6-foot-7, 285-pound center Mike Boland are the Little Hoyas' lone two returning starters. Both be expected to assume bigger roles after combining to average 15 points per game last year.

Abt recorded a season-high 17 points in a late-season win against Landon while Boland notched a season-high 18 in Georgetown Prep's loss to Episcopal in the second round of the IAC tournament.

"We'll definitely have more of an inside game this year," Abt said. "Between Boland and me, we have some of the best size in the conference. We also have some very good shooters, especially Denny McCarthy, which should help us out too."

Even in a limited role, McCarthy posted eight games with multiple 3-pointers last season. J.T Strickland, a pass-first point guard who saw significant time off the bench behind Starks last year, will return to run the point this season.

"I'm excited," Krusen said. "We've got some good leaders, some good size, a good point guard and some good shooters. And when you add all those things together, we have a chance to be a pretty competitive team."

Perhaps more significant than having to replace Starks and Wynn, Krusen will be slated with the task of replacing 11-year head coach Dwayne Bryant, who resigned in June to become the athletic director at Stone Ridge.

Krusen, however, doesn't foresee the coaching switch providing much of an obstacle to this year's team.

Krusen, a former two-time All-Met selection at Northwood in 1975 and 1976, has 26 years of coaching experience, including 17 as an assistant at the NCAA Division I men's level and nine as an AAU girls head coach.

"The positive with me being a new coach is that we also have a lot of new players," Krusen said. "We don't have anyone coming back that averaged 25 points per game. We have a lot of guys that are changing roles which will make it an easier adjustment than it would be with a team that had had a lot of success and had a lot of returning veterans. They've embraced me as a coach and have really been terrific."

Nonetheless, Abt believes the preseason process will be pivotal for the Little Hoyas as they look to adapt to their new roles and build chemistry heading into the regular season.

Georgetown Prep scrimmages Magruder today, Springbrook on Wednesday and Damascus on Saturday before tipping off its season on Dec. 1 at St. John's.

"Markel and Thurgood are obviously two big losses," Abt said. "But we still have talent at all positions. But the [preseason process] will be huge. We need that time to build our chemistry because without chemistry it's going to be hard for us to win. During the preseason, there might be some [growing pains], but I'm expecting us to gel and to win an IAC Championship."

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