Around the Del-Val

Family ties. The Chester boys' team this season is rich with siblings of past program standouts.

Sophomore Rondae Jefferson, whose older brother is Temple sophomore guard Rahlir Jefferson, could be Chester's best overall player.

Guard Maurice Nelson, younger brother of NBA guard Jameer Nelson, is set for his senior season.

Kareem and Darius Robinson, whose brother Nasir (second on Chester's all-time scoring list) starts at the University of Pittsburgh, appear poised to take on bigger roles.

The Clippers also welcome senior Lamont Church, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Malvern Prep.

Chester appears to be Penn Wood's most dangerous opponent in the Del-Val League.

Last season, the Clippers were 16-11 overall, but sported an 8-2 mark in the Del-Val and played their way into the Class AAAA state tournament as District 1's eighth seed.

There, they lost in the first round to La Salle, but Chester is one of the most successful area teams over the last three decades, claiming six state titles, its most recent in 2008.

Searching for a "W." The Chichester girls will attempt to do something they couldn't do all last season: win. The Eagles were 0-16 overall last season, and 0-6 in the five-team Del-Val League under coach Michael Carrafa.

Chichester lost by an average of 21 points. The closest the Eagles came to a win was in the season finale, when they fell to Interboro by three points.

Chichester has trouble getting girls to come out for the team, and Carrafa said that is a big obstacle for his program.

"What we've run into here for years, the past couple years, is numbers," he said. "Getting kids interested in playing, that's been a problem."

Danielle Preziuso, the Eagles' point guard and a four-year player, is one of two seniors on this year's team and a player Carrafa looks to for leadership.

Leader of the Knights. The Academy Park boys look to build on their almost .500 mark from last season (10-11 overall, 4-5 league) behind senior shooting guard Jordan Tucker. Tucker, who is 6-1, has started the last two seasons for the Knights and will take on much of the scoring burden.

Coach Paul Wharton thinks Tucker will garner a lot of attention defensively, and the coach said he will have to work out schemes to get Tucker the ball. Mostly, though, it's Tucker's experience that will be most valuable.

Said Wharton: "There's no question [Tucker] is our captain. He's our leader."

   - Evan Burgos