The recently completed summer basketball tournaments and festivals may be considered a dress rehearsal for the upcoming winter season, and the Zephyr boys solid performance indicated a promising campaign when the curtain rises later this year.

The Zephs finished 7-4 at the Stellar "Catch a Rising Star" Basketball Showcase, and also won their pool in the SporstFest A-Town Throwdown before being eliminated by Central Catholic High School in the round of 16.

Head coach Jeff Jones said they defeated Lehighton, Manheim Township and Marple Newtown High Schools to emerge from their pool at SportsFest unscathed, but fell to the Vikings 47-40 in the opening round of the Boys Varsity Championships.

"It was good to win our pool and make it to Sunday," said Jones. "We were pretty pleased with the way things went."

Out of that strong showing emerged a number of players who got opportunities given the nature of summer when other activities and vacations tug at everyone's availability to play basketball, said Jones. He said it's rare to play with a set group, which makes for a constant "mixing and matching."

One player who got an opportunity this summer was Nick Hassler. Jones said that Hassler is a new addition to the team, a former Whitehall coach's son who made an immediate impact.

"He did a nice job for us this summer," said Jones. "We're hoping for good things from him."

While Brett Radocha isn't a new face, he shares the same pedigree as Hassler, as his father Jerry Radocha formerly coached Whitehall.

The senior finished the summer as one of the area's most productive players. He finished among the top 20 scorers at Stellar, averaging 14.5 ppg over four games. He also was named to the Stellar All-Tournament second team, varsity division. Additionally, Jones said that Radocha was their leading rebounder in the summer.

"Both of those kids are coaches sons and they know how to play the game," said Jones.

Radocha will join point guard Chad Rex as varsity members with two years starting experience. They'll form a good foundation, along with vets Jacob Meyers, Gianni Sinatore and Jake Buskirk to give the Zephs a good nucleus.

Jones said that the summer also saw the emergence of Saquon Barkley as someone who can play a vital role in the team's success this season. Jones said it took him a little while to figure things out, but his athleticism and strength on the boards will be a valuable componentin the newly-formed Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

"He can do the kinds of things that can really be an asset," said Jones.

With the summer now completed, Jones will focus on the upcoming winter season and the challenges that will unfold with the new realignment in the EPC.

Whitehall will be in a division along with ACC, Emmaus, Nazareth, Northampton and Parkland.

They will play each team in their division twice (10 games), and three crossover games against the other two divisions.

The other division features former MVC teams, while Liberty, Freedom, Easton, Bethlehem Catholic, Dieruff and Allen round out the final division.

"There are no easy games," said Jones.