Panthers look to make deep run

The Johnston boys basketball team had a solid campaign last season, finishing at 10-8 and making the Division III playoffs.

Expectations are even greater this time around, as the Panthers bring back nine seniors and a batch of talented underclassmen to lead the way.

“We have an experienced team with nine seniors coming back, so we have high expectations and hope to be one of the top teams in Division III,” said coach Ed Bedrosian, who is taking over for Dan Mazzulla who is on medical leave for the season. “We also have junior Thomas Zednik who will be a big part of our team, Hunter Remington who’s a sophomore, we’ll mix in freshman Derek Salvatore off the bench.”

Although the Panthers have a new coach, there will be little unfamiliarity as Bedrosian had been the program’s JV coach for the previous three seasons.

Between his experience with the senior group, as well as the team’s chemistry and depth, Bedrosian believes that the transition will be smooth.

“We’re going to miss Danny on the sideline for sure, but I think that the transition will be OK, especially since I have been coaching these kids for awhile now so it’s not like bringing in a brand new coach. (Danny and I) were always on the same page, I’m not going to change too much,” said Bedrosian. “They’re an unselfish group too, and we will be able to play 10, 11 kids each game, we are deep.”

Along with quality experience and depth, Bedrosian is excited to see the team’s potential on offense and to shore up its defense and play on the boards.

“The emphasis will be on defense and rebounding, which are things that we didn’t do very well last year. We want to turn up the defense, rebound the ball, and the good thing about our team is that we have about eight or nine kids that can shoot the three and we have some kids that can go inside. We are very versatile on offense,” said Bedrosian.

The Panthers have had their sights set on this season since this large senior core were freshman, and they are prepared to make one last run at a title before the Johnston program goes back to rebuilding mode.

“This is our shot. After this year we will be back to rebuilding. We have some underclassmen to build around, but this is our shot this year. We played teams like Mt. Hope and Toll Gate in the summer league which are two of the better teams in Division III and we held our own. This is our shot to make some noise in Division III and to maybe make the open tournament,” said Bedrosian. “They want to make the open tournament which is tough since you almost always have to win 14, 15 games, but I told them, ‘it will be on you guys once you’re out there.’ They’re excited and have been working very hard. This is the year we’ve been waiting for.”

The Johnston roster includes: Cam Iasimone, Jay Canton, Justin Powell, Jayden Osborne, Thomas Columbo, Joe Patterson, Anthony Tavares, Anthony Angelone, Cam Sonner, Tom Zednik, Justin Salvatore, Hunter Remington and Derek Salvatore.