Finley Boys’ Basketball-7
Stays Competitive
A cast of talented players helped the J. Taylor Finley Middle School seventh grade boys’ basketball team enjoy a very competitive season.
Captained by Freddie Amato, Danny Danzinger and Jon Koumas, the 18 player team finished 5-5 under head coach Rick Agnello.
Amato excelled at point guard and was Finley’s leading scorer. “Freddie is an all-around player with a great outside shot,” Agnello said. “He’s an excellent ball handler.”
Danziger also shined at point guard, displaying outstanding floor leadership and fine play. “He made smart decisions with the ball,” Agnello said. “He’s a very good all-around player.”
Agnello called Koumas a “blue collar player,” in reference to the forward’s rugged style. “He worked hard every play,” the coach said. “He’s focused and determined and dependable and excelled at defense and rebounding.”
Jaylen Bush sparkled as a dominating post defender, shot blocker and rebounder. “He’s an outstanding athlete,” Agnello said.
Jack Monahan, Ethan Mulroy and Bobby Kasprzak all showed an ability to put the ball through the hoop. Agnello cited Lex Colato, Matt Girimonti, Ryan Knowles and Cole Pillion as Finley’s most improved players.
Devin Harris, Darrius Harris, Sam Kimmelman, Nicholas Mattio, Michael Reed, Julien Rentsch, Patrick Sclafani and Nathan Soric also contributed to the team’s success and gave the Falcons roster depth that few teams could match.
“Our team was made up of many talented guards, but we lacked height and struggled with rebounding,” Agnello said. “They were a great group. They worked hard every day and showed great improvement. Whenever we played a team twice we had much more success the second time around. For example, we lost to West Hollow by 22 the first game of the season. However, we came within three points at the end of the season. This improvement throughout the year was not evidenced by our record, but certainly evidenced by our play.”