Last year’s 2015-2016 town basketball season was intense. There was Devon Pence’s heroic effort to lead his team, Sinatro Agency, to win the championship. There was a surprise Degras Team, not really led by a superstar, but with an all-around solid foundation. At the bottom of the standings, Valvoline lost a superstar for the season, and felt the effects of this loss with an 0-11 season. It is expected that next year’s 2016-2017 season might be even more intense with many teams having the talent to compete for a championship.

One of those teams is JT Ghamo. Looking to put a mediocre 5-7 season behind them, Ghamo is led by the superstar play of Connor Blodgett. Last year, according to the West Hartford Rec Basketball Twitter, Blodgett was a member of the All Rec second team, meaning he was one of last year’s top ten players. Connor will be in the MVP conversation for a majority of the season. A big four of Blodgett, Michael Cicarello, Nathan Graber-Lipperman, and Thomas Zinzarella, as well as stellar shooting from Chris Monnes will lead Ghamo this season.  Zinzarella believes that team Ghamo will succeed next year because “the big four have been working hard over the offseason.”

The real question is can this hard work translate into playoff success? Blodgett believes that the key to elevating Ghamo  from a playoff team to a contender is drafting a big man. With all the talent Ghamo has, they lack in the size department and need a big man that can snatch rebounds.

On the opposite side of the spectrum lies West Hartford Rotary. Led by explosive guard Dylan Landau, and the big man Patrick O’ Keefe, Rotary is looking to improve last year’s record of 3-8. Despite all of the talent, Rotary just can’t win games. Oftentimes their opponents seem to have better team chemistry. Rotary holds the second pick in this year’s draft, and who they might take is quite a mystery. However like Ghamo, in order for Rotary to improve, they are going to need to draft a player who can have a significant impact. This player doesn’t necessarily need to be a big man, he just needs to be talented.