Welcome to the 2013 Enoch Office/Varsity Sports Network preseason Top 20 boys’ basketball poll. VSN ranks the top teams in the Baltimore region which covers public and private schools in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Cecil County, Harford County and Howard County.
As we progress towards the regular season, we will countdown our 2013 Enoch Office/VSN Boys’ Basketball Preseason Rankings from No. 20 all the way to No. 1.
6. Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers
2012-13 record: 22-12 (Baltimore Catholic League finalists & MIAA A Conference semifinalists; No. 6 in final VSN Top 20)
Coach: Derrick Lewis (4th season)
Returning letter winners – 7
Returning starters – 4
Key returning players – Kai Dalce, 6-foot-3, senior, guard; John Gilililand, 6-0, senior, guard; Jourdan Grant, 6-2, senior, guard; Justin Kane, 6-3, sophomore, forward; Malik Harris, 6-4, senior, forward; Gary Jefferson, 6-4, sophomore, guard; Charles Meiklejohn, 6-5, junior, forward
Key newcomers – Nick Ashbeck, junior, guard; Niko King, 6-3, senior, forward; Matthew McGinty, junior, center; Carlos Scaggs, senior, guard
Outlook – The Cavaliers hope to build on last season’s return to relevance. The Severn school reached its first BCL Tournament finals since 2004 (lost to Mount St. Joseph).
Spalding returns an experienced nucleus in Dalce, Grant, Harris, Jefferson and Meiklejohn. Grant, a second-team all-BCL selection last season, will play for UMBC next year.
King, a transfer from North Carolina, will see considerable action. Lewis said depth is a concern after his first seven.
But with a host of returnees, Lewis, a former standout at the University of Maryland, believes anything less than a trip to the MIAA A and Baltimore Catholic League title games would be a disappointment.
“I like our chances with the guards we have,” said Lewis, whose team is 0-2 on the young season (lost to Riverdale Baptist and Mount St. Joseph). “We’re a year older and they know what’s expected.”
2013-14 schedule
Nov. 25 – lost to Riverdale Baptist, 53-50
Dec. 2 – lost to Mount St. Joseph, 75-53
Dec. 4 vs. Mount Carmel
Dec. 9 at Gilman School
Dec. 11 vs. St. Frances Academy
Dec. 13 vs. Benedictine College Prep (Va.) at Bullis School Holiday Classic
Dec. 14-15 Bullis School Holiday Classic
Dec. 18 vs. St. Maria Goretti
Dec. 20 at Glenelg
Dec. 22 at Calvert Hall College
Jan. 2 vs. East Anchorage (Alaska) at Doc Larson Roundball Classic in Wasilla, Alaska
Jan. 3 vs. Lathrop (Alaska) at Doc Larson Roundball Classic
Jan. 4 vs Wasilla (Alaska) at Doc Larson Roundball Classic
Jan. 7 vs. Loyola Blakefield
Jan. 8 at John Carroll School
Jan. 10 at McDonogh School
Jan. 20 at Mount Carmel
Jan. 22 at St. Frances Academy
Jan. 25 vs. Gilman School
Jan. 27 vs. Calvert Hall College
Jan. 29 at St. Maria Goretti
Feb. 2 vs. Mount St. Joseph
Feb. 3 at Loyola Blakefield
Feb. 5 vs. John Carroll School
Feb. 7 vs. McDonogh School
