Perrin Mosca understands why some people have tagged his Lyndhurst boys basketball team as destined for a rebuilding season.
Yes, the Golden Bears have graduated the entire starting lineup and six of the top eight scorers from last season’s NJIC National Division title squad. And while truly replacing the likes of Anthony Pizzuti and Matt Slaby will likely prove impossible, what Lyndhurst does have is a hungry, talented group that is poised to turn some heads.
“If teams think we’re just rebuilding, we’re going to surprise some people,” said Mosca, who enters his third season as head coach. “This might be to our advantage.
“(This summer and preseason) is a lot different than the previous couple of years where I basically knew who my starters were going to be. So I told the guys, it’s open for everybody to get a chance to play. So the kids have been working hard and it’s great to see.”
While Lyndhurst did lose a lot of scoring and experience from last season’s 18-10 team, the Bears do return two established role players in that group in junior guard Johnny Chaname and senior forward Shawn Bellenger.
Chaname, an offensive sparkplug off the bench, will be counted upon to play a more prominent scoring role this season.
“It’s his time to shine,” Mosca said. “He’s basically the only guard coming back from last year’s team. So he has to handle the ball, he has to lead the team, but he’s also going to be asked to score a lot more this year.”
Joining Chaname (5.0 points, 2.5 assists per game last year) in the backcourt is Devin Mathis, a junior, up from JV, who has seized the opportunity and freshman Filoteo Mosca.
Perrin Mosca admitted there was some apprehension to how the adjustment would be for his oldest son, but Filoteo has quickly shown he’s ready to be a game-changing shooter in scrimmages.
“He’s been doing a great job in the preseason,” said Perrin Mosca, noting the four consecutive 3-pointers Filoteo made to start a recent scrimmage against University. “He’s been proving that he can hit shots.”
Another freshman guard poised to play a big role is Avery Cano, a dynamic athlete coming off of a big rookie season in football. Seniors Marco Bermudez and Matt Vargas bring added depth to the backcourt.
The 6-foot-3 Bellenger, a Rochester commit for football, is a versatile forward who averaged 4.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last season in limited minutes.
“He is such a great kid that he does whatever the team needs,” Mosca said. “He could have definitely played more if it weren’t for the seniors ahead of him.”
Expected to start next to him is promising 6-foot-5 junior Daniel Bojilov, who according to Mosca has the potential to “be a force down low,” after getting significantly stronger from last year. Junior forward Sam Ijeh is another 6-foot-5 forward with big potential, particularly as a shot blocker and rebounder. Junior Thomas Awida is also in the mix at forward as is sophomore Liony Lopez.
This young Lyndhurst team will immediately be challenged as it opens the season with games against arguably the top two teams in the NJIC with a road matchup at Paterson Charter on Tuesday, followed by Thursday’s home opener against St. Mary’s of Rutherford. Road games at Rutherford and Tenafly follow before the Bears play Clifton in the first round of the Paterson Charter Holiday Tournament.
Mosca isn’t too concerned about the potential for a rough start, believing it will prove beneficial down the road.
“You know what? It’s the beginning of the year, so let’s get these guys some experience against some good teams, let them know that they need to bring it every night,” said Mosca. “Hopefully, that experience early in the year is going to help us for league play.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)