2022-2023 Streetsboro boys basketball preview

Here's a look at the 2022-2023 Streetsboro boys basketball team (with all quotes from head coach Nick Marcini):

Head Coach: Nick Marcini (12th season)

Assistant Coaches: Phil Starks, Bruce Thomas, Rocky Orr

2021-2022 Record: 17-7 (13-1 Metro Athletic Conference)

Returning Letterwinners (4): Brevyn Nobles, Bryan Nobles, Colby Benjamin, Micah Schuster

Letterwinners Lost (5): Devin Reese, Bryce Vecchio, Sam Abbuhl, Gabe Gill, Airyman Singh

Overall: The 2021-2022 Metro Athletic Conference champion Rockets graduated a lot, including MAC Player of the Year Devin Reese (19.1 points per game, 6.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.2 steals) and fellow first team all-conference standout Bryce Vecchio (15.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg). Streetsboro returns plenty of athleticism, including a long and speedy backcourt headlined by seniors Colby Benjamin, Brevyn Nobles and Micah Schuster. The key will be finding players to take on the scoring load.

Backcourt: The Rockets return a pair of strong senior starters in Colby Benjamin and Brevyn Nobles. Nobles (6.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.0 spg), a second team all-conference standout last season, is "at his best getting downhill and being a playmaker" and is an "extremely long and capable defender." Benjamin (1.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.2 spg) started most of last season and "takes pride in guarding the opposing team's best player." Both defensive stalwarts will be asked to score more in 2022-2023. Micah Schuster, a 6-2 senior who averaged 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds and earned honorable mention all-MAC last season, is "still coming back" from an injury after he "came on very strong at the end of last year." A "long and athletic defender," and a track star, Schuster "can knock down outside shots on offense." Also expect senior Joey Hoffman, junior Michael Berry and sophomores Jack Batten, Charles Ivory and Trevor Murray to factor into the backcourt.

Frontcourt: Returning letterwinner Bryan Nobles, a 6-2 senior who averaged 1.5 points and 2.4 rebounds last season, is a "very good defender that is capable of guarding one to five." Like so many of his teammates up top, Nobles will be asked to score more this season. 6-4 senior forward Dakari Reese and 6-0 sophomore forward Jackson Gula "will be welcome additions."

The Road Ahead: The fun starts right with the opening act for the Rockets. Streetsboro begins with a short trip down State Route 43 for an intriguing Nov. 29 battle against a Roosevelt team that also features a lot of new faces, followed by a Dec. 2 trip to Norton, which it has jousted with for the past couple of MAC championships. That will be immediately followed by a Lake Rockwell rivalry game against Ravenna (Dec. 6). Per usual, the Rockets put together a challenging non-conference schedule, including Copley (Dec. 21), Gilmour Academy (Jan. 24), Aurora (Jan. 31) and Chagrin Falls (Feb. 14).

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: 2022-2023 Streetsboro boys basketball preview