Brownsville boys preview: Falcons have strong senior class, talented underclassmen
Rob Ramsey has an interesting recipe he has to stir together in his second year as coach of Brownsville鈥檚 boys basketball team.
The Falcons have a solid group of seniors he鈥檒l have to meld with several talented but inexperienced underclassmen.
鈥淭he leaders have been seniors Trent Wible, Jeremy Praster, Harlan Davis and Rylan Johnson,鈥� Ramsey said.
Davis is the top returning scorer but Wible showed he鈥檒l also be able to fill up the basket at times this season with a 29-point effort in Brownsville鈥檚 opening win over Beth-Center.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e good players who lead by example,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淭hey work hard, they鈥檙e always on time, they do all the right things. They鈥檙e great guys to have in the program.鈥�
Behind the senior foursome is one lone junior, Davan Wood.
鈥淥utside of the four seniors, our main guys are sophomores and freshmen with little experience,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淎nd that senior group is doing an excellent job of showing them how to work.鈥�
Ramsey sees plenty of potential in his younger players, such as sophomore Jaiden Praster who has stepped into a key role.
鈥淗e鈥檚 going to be a really good point guard in this program,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淗e has to work on his shot a little bit but he鈥檚 a very good ball handler. He makes the right pass. He has a great attitude. You tell him to do something and he does his best to do it. I look forward to having him for three years.
Ramsey is even more optimistic about Max Dieudonne, a six-foot, left-handed freshman guard.
鈥淚 think Max is going to be the next great player at Brownsville,鈥� Rasmey stated. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 going to be a 1,000-point scorer. He has a great work ethic. He showed up to every open gym, conditioning and workout. In my opinion he could be the best player to come through Brownsville since George Lemon.鈥�
Lemon led the Falcons to the WPIAL Class AAA championship in 2001.
鈥淢ax is a point guard, he can play the two, he can shoot,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淩ight now he鈥檚 just getting used to playing varsity basketball because he came from eighth-grade ball. I鈥檓 not trying to put pressure on him but I do think the world of him. Once he gets used to varsity basketball he鈥檒l be a great player in this program.鈥�
Exzavier Vargas is another underclassman with a great future, according to Ramsey.
鈥淓xzavier is about a 5-5, 5-6 sophomore guard who鈥檚 a great worker with a great attitude,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淚 love having him around. He鈥檚 very fast, he鈥檚 got great feet. I think he鈥檚 our best on-ball defender. We just have to get his offense ready for varsity basketball.
鈥淲e also have Kaden Wimmer, a sophomore who鈥檚 raw but has a ton of athletic ability. Kam Phillips the same thing, also a sophomore.鈥�
Ramsey feels some of the underclassmen are behind because of Brownsville鈥檚 lack of numbers at times last season.
鈥淲e had to cancel a lot of JV games, so it鈥檚 unfair,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淚鈥檓 asking guys to play varsity basketball after maybe seven or eight JV games.鈥�
The Falcons will again compete in Section 4-AAA, which also includes defending co-champions Yough and Washington along with McGuffey, Charleroi, Mount Pleasant and Waynesburg Central.
Brownsville was 12-9 overall last season and finished third behind the Prexies and Cougars with a 7-5 section record. The Falcons put up a gutsy battle in the playoffs, falling to Shady Side Academy, 43-35.
Ramsey is settling in as coach of the Falcons in his second year.
鈥淚 feel a lot more comfortable,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淚 love Brownsville. I鈥檓 happy to be here. I appreciate how Brownsville has embraced me. I鈥檓 not from Brownsville but it feels like home.
鈥淚 just want to continue to grow with this school, team and community. I hope I can give the community what they deserve, which is I want us to compete year-in and year-out for section titles and WPIAL titles. With the attitudes being so good, there鈥檚 a lot of really great kids, I believe we鈥檒l be able to get there.鈥�
Ramsey鈥檚 assistant coaches are again Ron Polito and Harlan Davis.
鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about the present,鈥� Ramsey said, 鈥渁nd the future.鈥�