BERNE — Four years ago, when Andy Wright took over the basketball program at Berne-Knox-Westerlo, he knew it would take some time before the Bulldogs would be successful again.

Now, the time might be here.

The Bulldogs return several talented players and will have more move up from the junior varsity as they head into the season opener the day after Thanksgiving.
"Hopefully, this season will show the fruits of Coach [Brian] McCoy’s and my labor. I knew it would take three to four years to develop and this is the fourth year. This is the first group that I started working with when they were little. I think the Bulldogs’ bite might be back."

The Bulldogs also have one transfer student that will help them and maybe another one if everything works out.

Returning for BKW will be senior Rich Geist and juniors Josh Skinner and Matt Lounsbury. All three were starters last year for Wright.
"We have three starters back and all five starters from the j.v. have come up," Wright said. "They had 13 wins and were very competitive.
"Two of our returning starters are juniors," Wright added. "Rich Geist played point guard last year and this year he’ll move to the three [forward]. He was injured the last two springs and didn’t play AAU basketball, but the rest played in AAU."

Most of the kids play in an Athletic Amateur Union team during the spring and go to camps and a team camp during the summer.
"These kids play year-round," Wright said. "We went to a team camp and competed. We were a small school playing up."

Getting the call-up from the junior varsity are juniors Ben Burton, Joey Conklin, Jeremy Springer, Keith Cunningham, and Greg Mulson. Sophomore Dave Sikule is also moving up.
"David Sikule will be our point guard," Wright said. "We have an intelligent group of kids. I love the kids I have. Most of them have a 90 or higher average in school. They have been playing together for a long time."

The Bulldogs added size this season in the form of transfer student Lenny Coons. Coons joins the BKW team after moving to the Hilltowns from Middleburgh. Coons is six feet, four inches tall and weighs about 260 pounds, Wright said.

The Bulldogs also might get more size if transfer student Mike Hopper is eligible to play. Hopper played at Voorheesville last year and is enrolled at BKW this year.

Tough schedule

The Bulldogs opened the season on Wednesday in the Rensselaer Tournament. They will play Hoosick Falls in the first game.
"Hopefully, we’ll be ready for the first game of the tournament," Wright said. "We haven’t won any more than eight games the last two years. I’m hoping for 12 or better. That’s a realistic expectation. We don’t play a watered-down schedule. We lost to Hoosick Falls by a considerable margin in sectionals last year. We play Watervliet in the Tamarac Tournament. And we play Herkimer, which was ranked number-one in the state last year."

The Bulldogs will also have a tough stretch around Christmas time.
"We’ll play four games in seven days during Christmas break," Wright said. "We’ll have to be in excellent condition."

BKW will play two games in the Tamarac Tournament and then two more in the St. Johnsville Tournament.

Wright said his team looked alright in its first competition of the year.
"We shook off the rust," Wright said. "We looked good in our first scrimmage. We’ve just got to keep getting better. We have to execute our plays and our sets. In terms of talent and ability, we’ll be good. But what exceeds that is a team that plays together. I never coached a team that can play as deep. I can play everybody on my roster and not give up anything."

The Bulldogs open the Western Athletic Conference season on Dec. 8 at Canajoharie.
"They have been champions three out of the last four years," Wright said.

Buzz

Wright has seen good progress in the BKW basketball program and is pleased to see where it’s at right now.

Len Cianfrocco takes over the freshmen team this year and Cliff and Dennis Barber continue to work with the seventh- and eighth-grade teams.

The solid coaching has helped give Wright a depth of talent.
"We’re in a nice situation with our depth," Wright said. "All the kids can play. I’ll have more problems dividing up the playing time. But it’s not a bad problem to have."

The talent has also led to excitement that Wright has seen throughout the Hilltowns.
"People are excited about BKW basketball," the coach said. "There is a buzz in the community. When I go to the post office or the library or the transfer station, everybody is interested in what’s happening with the team. The kids have got a high level of talent."