Bonackers must rebuild

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The Bonackers have been a force on the basketball court in recent years. The boys made the Class A championship for the past four seasons and advanced to the states the past two. But East Hampton’s biggest guns have graduated, leaving the current team with little in-game experience and big shoes to fill.

The senior-dominated team lost All-Long Island players and three-year starters Jerome Russell and Hayden Ward, as well as starters Jarred Bowe and Sam Hyman, to graduation last spring. “That was the nucleus for two consecutive years,” head coach Ed Petrie said, noting that the only remaining starter from last year is 6 foot 2 inch tall senior guard Tyler Brenneman—who averaged three points per game.

In addition to Brenneman, Petrie said he has four other seniors who gained some experience last year. Senior Alex Toussaint came off the bench frequently in the early part of the season, he noted, and he’s the only one with “game-is-on-the-line kind of experience.”

A new addition to the Bonackers, senior Arron Hilman played on the junior varsity squad in ninth grade, but moved away with his family for the next two years. While Hilman hasn’t played in two years, Petrie said, “He’s going to help us some.” He also noted that seniors Eric Frazier, Bill Collins and Fred Stephens, who didn’t play last year, should help the team as well.

Though most of his current players didn’t get much, if any, time off the bench last year, Petrie said the guys regularly scrimmaged against his powerful senior players and they should be pretty skilled come game time. “They scrimmaged with them every day,” he said.

Petrie acknowledged that it’s going to be tough to live up to the team’s success over the past two years. East Hampton made it to the New York State Class A semifinal last winter, losing, 55-48, to Peekskill. The team finished in first place with a 13-1 League VI record, 17-2 overall. “We’ve had an amazing run the past two years,” he said.

While he expects the best from his latest roster of players, Petrie noted that “they’re another team.”

It’s very unusual to have another full group of upperclassmen after graduating so many strong players, he said. “I don’t even remember a senior dominated team followed by another senior dominated team,” Petrie said. “It’s different.”

While this season could be called one of rebuilding, it’s hard to say so with a team of senior players, he explained, acknowledging that the team will have to be rebuilt once again after this year’s crop of seniors graduate.

The Bonackers worked mainly 
on conditioning and general fundamentals in their first week of practice, but they’re shifting the focus to game-play and strategy this week. “These kids are working hard,” Petrie said, noting that his guys are improving every day.

The team is hosting Hampton Bays for its first scrimmage on Thursday at 5 p.m., and Petrie said he’s looking forward to seeing them in action. Until then, he said “it’s going to be pretty hard to determine how we’re going to be.”

Petrie said he won’t be able to set a starting lineup until after he sees the Bonackers play. “We’re really kind of experimenting at this time because of the newness,” he said.

The coach brought five juniors and one sophomore up from junior 
varsity to round out the team, though it’s unlikely they’ll be among the starters. He called up juniors Robert Rivera, Carlos Serra, Rich Dalene, John Nolan and Brenden Manning and sophomore Pat McGuirk. The players represent the next generation of Bonackers.

East Hampton will host Pierson for a non-league game at its season 
opener on Tuesday, December 8, at 6:15 p.m.