WOODBURY – Just like any aspect of building a program, finding replacements is a very crucial part to a program’s success. With seniors out and freshmen in you need to develop players to have success.

On the boys team in the absence of recently graduated players Lincoln Nichols, Matt Shupenis, and Thomas Lengyel, Nonnewaug will need to find new players to develop into stars. Shupenis was a All-BL 1st teamer and Nichols was a All-BL 2nd teamer, so those are some pretty big shoes to fill. Underclassmen and juniors from last year are in the race to fill those spots, but some freshmen could prove themselves this year. They have the young talent of sophomores Michael Platt, Shay Laudati, and Aiden Lessard, who were all on varsity their freshman season. Three current freshmen trying out for the team this year are Billy Lionhood, Austin Dietrich, and Noah Elsmore. These three were extremely successful to their middle school teams success last season where they won two tournaments for their school; they would be tremendous additions to Nonnewaug basketball.

On the girls team they lost five seniors this offseason, but the team does have some young talent already on their team. A majority of the team were freshmen last year and have time to play still. Gemma Hedrei, Mary Grace Cavanaugh, Taylor Timko, Chloe Whipple, Rosemary Makarewicz, Eliza Butkus, Bryce Gilbert, and Jazlyn DelPrincipe were all freshmen last year. With these players the team doesn’t have to worry about replacements for a while and can easily develop freshmen as they come in. In this

episode of Chiefs Basketball Scoop, we’ll find out how this year’s team shapes up in comparison to previous seasons.