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Sports

Syosset High School Boys Basketball Preview

Braves look for fresh start with new stars.

Head Coach: Bobby Kopp (6th season)

Last Season: 14 – 3, AA-III Conference champions; lost to Hempstead in playoffs.

Key Returnees: Henry Klosowski, Jacob Luft, Jake Fried, Chris Park, Mike Friedman.

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Key Newcomers: Jake Lane, David Hammer, Nate Margolin, Jake Canner.

Key Losses: Matt Quinn, Spencer Hazan.

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Outlook: Losing talent is never easy, but that's the challenge of high school athletics. Quinn and Hazan were both all-county guards, but no opponents will spot the Braves any points because those two aren't suiting up as they've graduated. Sympathy isn't something Syosset will get, nor is it something they want. 

For coach Kopp, it's all about the system.

"When your program is good and you stick with the same system, you just put the pieces in," Kopp said at an intramural scrimmage last week. "If you pick the right players, the program continues to do well."

One thing that will be difficult to replicate, at least early in the season, is the leadership that the departing seniors provided.

"You try to teach the same things you've been teaching and hopefully the new players will step in and fill the roles that they need to," Kopp said. 

That competition will be tougher due to a conference move this year. After winning Conference AA-III last season, the Braves will now compete in Conference AA-I.

According to Kopp, Uniondale, Hempstead, and Farmingdale are the three best teams in the conference. These are teams that the Braves haven't played in the regular season in recent years. That alone will be a big adjustment.

"We try to explain that they're playing bigger athletes, not necessarily that much better, but just bigger," said Kopp of how he sizes up the move. "We have to compensate and play a little bit differently."

The prevailing story line to the beginning of the 2010-2011 seasons is that life moves on. The Braves know that what happened last year is history. The challenge now becomes trying to duplicate that success with new talent and unfamiliar competition.

The team opens up the scrimmage season on November 27 against Calhoun. The regular season begins on December 3 at 6:15 p.m. against Long Beach at Syosset High School in a non-league matchup.

Big Games to Watch

Friday 12/17/2010 - Uniondale @ Syosset, 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday 1/4/2011 - Syosset @ Hempstead, 6:15 p.m.

Tuesday 1/18/2011 - Farmingdale @ Syosset, 6:15 p.m.

Thursday 1/6/2011 - Oceanside @ Syosset, 6:15 p.m.

Friday 2/11/2011 - Massapequa @ Syosset, 6:15 p.m.

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