Coach: Panthers Hit Hard by Graduation

It hasn't been easy, but Pikesville basketball coach Anthony Dorsey has finally come to terms with the frustrating realization that he no longer has dynamic scorer Devohn Gilmore to rely on.

Gilmore, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard who now attends Mount St. Mary's College, finished the 2009-10 season with a team-high 25.9 points per game, leading the Panthers to a 20-4 record and a berth in the Class 1A North final. No other player on Pikesville even managed to average double-digit points.

But now Dorsey will be saddled with the task of replacing Gilmore this season and finding a new go-to scorer among a cast of young, relatively unproven players.

Pikesville hosts Christo Rey Jesuit for a scrimmage Nov. 27, before tipping off its regular season Dec. 7 at home against Park School of Baltimore.

Along with Gilmore, Pikesville replaces it top 10 scorers from last season and 95-percent of last year's scoring.

"We're going to be a young team," said Dorsey, who is entering his second season as the Panthers head coach. "This team is probably going to be a little more challenging as opposed to last year when we he had size, speed and a deep bench. We're going to need to find where we're going to get points from."

But Dorsey, however, is optimistic the young team will come together.

Forward Ethan Thompson and guard Jared Kurlander, both seniors, will be relied on to pick up some of the scoring slack while Dorsey will also be relying on contributions from 6-foot-4-inch senior center Clayton Sparrow, as well as sophomore guards Robert Monfred and Jamelle Christian, a transfer from Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.

"Last year, we knew where we were going to get points from," Dorsey said. "We put the ball in Devohn's hands and he just made it happen. But this year, our scoring is going to have to be a little more balanced. I'm going to have to depend on four or five guys to put up close to double figures rather than one guy putting up Devohn-like numbers."

Thompson is also eager to see how the team gels early in the year, especially with so many new pieces.

"Most of the team doesn't really have experience playing together," Thompson said. "We're going to have to figure out eachother's strong-suits and how to complement each other the right way. I think we could still be a good team, but [we're in the process of finding out] who's going to be our main scorer and how we're going to get most of our points."

But while Kurlander also envisions some possible early struggles, he remains optimistic about the season, especially once the Panthers' young talent starts to gel.

"We have a lot of young, raw talent," Kurlander said. "And once that talent starts to develop, we're going to be pretty good I think. As we start to build chemistry and learn how to play together, we're going to be all right and have a good year."

Dorsey will also be putting a large emphasis on defense and rebounding, hoping to offset any potential difficulties on the offensive end.

"We're going to be relying on our defense to slow teams down and keep us in the game until crunch time," Dorsey said.

But even while having to replace such a significant part of last year's team and working with such a young core, Dorsey isn't tempering his expectations, he's still envisioning a winning season for the Panthers.

Pikesville has recorded three straight winning seasons since going 11-12 in 2006.

"I'm expecting us to do well," Dorsey said. "We're going to take our bumps and bruises, but we've already set a team goal of trying to win at least 14 or 15 of our 22 games."

Following is the Pikesville Boys Varsity Basketball schedule for 2010-11:

• 11:15 a.m. Nov. 27, vs. Christo Rey Jesuit (scrimmage), at Pikesville High School.
• 6:15 p.m. Dec. 1, vs. Chopticon (scrimmage), at Pikesville.
• 7 p.m. Dec. 7, vs. Park School of Baltimore, at Pikesville.
• 6:30 p.m. Dec. 15, vs. Western STES, at Pikesville.
• 7 p.m. Dec. 17, vs. Owings Mills, at Owings Mills High School.
• 4:15 p.m. Dec. 20, vs. McDonough School, at McDonough School.
• 6:30 p.m. Dec. 22, vs. Loch Raven High School, at Loch Raven.
• 6:30 p.m. Jan. 5, vs. Eastern Tech High School, at Pikesville
• 7 p.m. Jan. 7, vs. Carver A&T, at Pikesville
• 5:15 p.m. Jan. 10, vs. Towson High School, at Pikesville
• 6:30 p.m. Jan. 12, vs. Overlea, at Pikesville
• 7 p.m. Jan. 14, vs. Randallstown High School, at Randallstown
• 6:30 p.m. Jan. 19, vs. Loch Raven, at Pikesville
• 7 p.m. Jan. 21, vs. New Town High School, at New Town.
• 5:45 p.m. Jan. 24, vs. Franklin High School, at Pikesville
• 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26, vs. Owings Mills High School, at Pikesville
• 5:15 p.m. Jan. 31, vs. Catonsville High School, at Pikesville
• 6:30 p.m. Feb. 2, vs. Sparrows Point, at Pikesville
• 7 p.m. Feb 4, vs. Western STES, at Western STES
• 6:30 p.m. Feb. 9, vs. Chesapeake High School (Baltimore), at Chesapeake High School
• 7 p.m. Feb. 11, vs. Dundalk High School, at Dundalk
• 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16 vs. Lansdowne High School, at Lansdowne