There’s a new culture surrounding the Allentown High School boys’ basketball team.
Walter Kelly is in his first season directing the Allentown boys’ basketball program.
Kelly is a former assistant coach for Trenton Central High School. He helped guide the Tornadoes to back-to-back state sectional championship games and win the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 title in 2018.
Expectations for Allentown coming into the season were high with a talented roster, led by last year’s leading scorer, RJ Weise, and star forward Tim Mastromarino.
So far, Allentown has been thriving under the leadership of Kelly, rolling out to a 4-2 start to the season and coming off an impressive 81-59 victory over last year’s Group 4 state finalist, Freehold Township High School, on Jan. 4 in Allentown.
“We can be great contenders in our conference and in the state playoffs this season,” Kelly said. “The players have bought into our system. Everyone in the Allentown community and in the school have bought into our team’s culture and have made it an easier situation for me to come into and coach the team. It’s awesome to see. The players have made me proud. We can go pretty far.”
Weise has been nothing but stellar to begin his senior campaign for the Redbirds.
The senior is averaging 18.5 points a game this season and continues to step up in big moments.
Weise scored a game-high 17 points to lead Allentown to a 60-59 victory over Notre Dame High School in the season opener on Dec. 20.
During the Neptune Holiday Jubilee, Weise delivered 15 points and recorded eight assists in the team’s 18-point victory over Columbia High School on Dec. 28. He scored 20 points while he handed out seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds to help Allentown gain a 66-61 victory over a Colonial Valley Conference foe, Ewing High School, on Dec. 30 in the consolation round.
Weise’s best game of the season so far was against Freehold Township, when he connected a season-high 27 points to lead Allentown to its fourth victory of the season. The senior was unstoppable from three-point range in the third quarter of the contest, when he produced four shots from behind the arch to spark Allentown to a 67-51 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“It’s been a great year so far,” Weise said. “Coach (Kelly) has done a great job coaching us. He’s brought in a new culture and new vibe to the team that has helped us get off to a fantastic start.”
Mastromarino has also been a solid contributor to begin the season. He produced 14 points to help Allentown top Freehold Township.
Junior Brandon Pfeifer has been another positive force to start the season for Allentown. He stands as the No 2 scorer for the Redbirds with an average of 17 points.
Pfeifer got the Redbirds off to a great start in the victory over Freehold Township, when he connected on 16 of his 19 points in the first half to help the Redbirds take a 45-34 lead into halftime.
The junior has scored in double in figures in each of Allentown’s first six games.
“We have really good team chemistry this year,” Pfeifer said. “We’re a whole new team this season. We’re moving the ball well and making open shots. Everything is going really well.”
Sophomore Dante Weise hit for 11 points to give the Redbirds four players in double figures during their triumph over Freehold Township. The 81 points scored was a season-high for Allentown and the most points the team has produced in a single game in the last nine years.
Juniors Neil DeFelice and Sean Foley have each contributed strongly to the team’s early season success, too.
A big foundation of the team this season will be its full-court press defense. Depending on its opponents ability to handle the ball, Kelly said Allentown will test teams with its full-court press.
Coming into the Freehold Township game off a tough 72-63 loss to Hamilton High School West on Jan. 3 in Hamilton, Walter preached to his team about the importance of bouncing back, even writing it out on the team’s bulletin board.
Stressing the team’s motto of “iron sharpens iron”, Walter saw his team push each other to bounce back from the loss and is happy to see his team continue to buy into that motto so that they can have a great season.
“We’re able to regroup and play well,” Walter said. “Everything we didn’t do properly against Hamilton West, we were able to execute well against Freehold Township. This was a huge win for us beating a team with an awesome coach.”
Follow Steven Bassin on Twitter @SBassin_Sports
