Muccino counting heavily on guards Cernuto, Trout
Southmoreland’s boys basketball program will be counting on two veteran guards to lead a roster dominated by sophomores and freshmen this year.
Senior Zach Cernuto and junior Isaac Trout are two-year starters who will be the Scotties’ leaders after the loss if a number of talented graduates, including 1,000-point guard Riley Comforti and rebounder Brandon Peterson.
The Scotties were 11-12 last year, including a playoff loss to Beaver Falls.
Entering his 12th year as head coach, Frank Muccino has led the program to seven playoff appearances, and has handled the rebuilding process several times.
“Zach and Isaac are good defensive players who we will need to step up on the offensive end and provide scoring,” Muccino said.
“They do everything right and are great leaders by example. They know how to practice, how to act, and how to play.”
The only other senior is 6-1 Tyler Dunn, while Trout is the lone junior.
Sophomores include Calvin Lin (5-11), Nick Dzambo (6-2), Joey Steban (5-11), Caleb Tjacz (5-11), and 5-9 Ethan Burd (5-9).
There is talent in the freshman class that includes Ty Keffer (6-2), Ronnie Collins (5-10), Wyatt Richter (5-11), Kaden Keefer (6-1), Ty Camobell (5-9), Makai Trout (5-9), Aiden Corvin (6-1), and Cody Trout (5-9).
“The freshmen have a lot of promise, but they are freshmen and you don’t want to put too much pressure on them,” Muccino said.
He said there will be growing pains, especially playing the likes of Uniontown, Belle Vernon, South Park, Elizabeth Forward, Mount Pleasant, and Yough.
“We will have to live with our inexperience until we grow up a bit,” added Muccino.