BELCHERTOWN — After spending the last several years as head coach of the Hopkins Academy boys basketball team, Jim Hart is now in charge of a different Hampshire County program just up the road. Hart accepted the Belchertown job in the offseason, and after speaking with some of the parents of his new players, he realized he fell into the perfect situation.

Throughout the summer and fall, members of the Orioles team spent most of their time training individually and playing together in organized leagues or setting up pickup games. They played in a summer league at the South End Community Center in Springfield, and spent time playing games at The Court in Enfield, Conn. as well.

Belchertown also played in the Grumoli Classic right before Thanksgiving, competing against local teams like Greenfield and Longmeadow. Ever since the end of last season, the Orioles have been in the gym.

Hart couldn’t be happier about it.

“These kids are in tremendous condition, which is unusual for high school kids the first week of practice,” he said. “That’s one of the things that was good for me [when I got the job]. On top of all the leagues they were in during the offseason, every Tuesday and Thursday in the fall they had open gyms. And they were getting 14 or 15 guys in there at night. They’ve been active, and they’re ready to play.”

Hart claimed that this year’s Belchertown team is one of the most athletic he’s seen around the area since he’s been involved with Hampshire County high school hoops. The Orioles’ athleticism doesn’t just equate to kids that are in shape, either. Belchertown has three players who are 6-foot-6 or taller, and several others that have long arms and lots of potential to disrupt opposing offenses.

One of the first aspects Hart immediately noticed was the opportunity it has to be a top defensive team in the area. The intangibles are there with the size, strength and quickness, but now they have to learn the fundamentals – being in the correct spots at the correct time.

“We want to limit teams to 50 points or less every game,” Hart said. “If they can buy into things defensively, you know, playing hard, putting pressure on the ball, getting rid of bad habits like ball watching... we’re going to be really tough to score on. We have some talent on offense, so I think we’re going to be pretty good if we can focus on what we want to do defensively.”

Junior Shea MacLean is one of the trio of tall forwards that Belchertown has, and he led the roster in scoring a year ago as a sophomore. Now a year older, wiser and stronger, MacLean is primed for a massive season as he takes the leap up as one of the team’s leaders. Alongside MacLean in the frontcourt is Gabe Ibekilo, who is 6-foot-8, according to Hart, and Brian Burns. Between the three of them, the Orioles’ interior defense is expected to be as solid as any across western Mass.

Sophomore Brice Letendre is a smooth lefty on the wing capable of scoring some points, and guards Jacob Picunas (junior) and Kyle Dunigan (senior) will be the catalysts bringing the ball up for Belchertown’s offense. Dunigan and senior Ian McDonald are two guys who can shoot at a high clip from beyond the 3-point line, adding another element to the Orioles’ offense aside from the paint presence of their forwards.

Hart has a deep team with plenty of players who can help out on any given night, a true luxury to have as a head coach. The best part? Nobody cares who scores the points. They just want to win games.

“A lot of them don’t really care about their role,” Hart said. “They just want to help the team, no matter what it is I ask them to do. This is a weird group, in a good way, because you want to get them fired up, but they fire themselves up. I got some good kids, and they’re buying in.”

The motto for this year’s team is “fresh wind, fresh fire,” and Hart had the slogan put on shirts for the Orioles to wear throughout the season. After going 8-12 and missing out on the state tournament, Belchertown is fired up to get into the MIAA Division 3 dance this time around – and the Os are planning to use their conditioning to do so.

“Fresh wind is all about being in shape and being in good condition, and fresh fire is them understanding that you need to have fire and need to have power to win and succeed,” Hart said. “That’s what we break the huddle with every day. Fresh wind, fresh fire.”

Belchertown opens up with several difficult games to start its campaign, and Hart wouldn’t want it any other way. The Orioles opened with South Hadley last Thursday (a 59-52 loss), and host Monument Mountain – one of the top teams in Division 4 fresh off a 22-2 season – on Monday. They then welcome Hoosac Valley, the Division 5 runner-up, on Thursday before a pair of games the following week against Baystate Academy and Granby – two very respectable opponents.

The Orioles are going to get tested right away, but if they can withstand the first few punches and learn how to battle through adversity with one another early on in the year, that’s only going to benefit them. Plus, Hart said this is the most tight-knit group he’s ever coached.

“We start off the season with six home games in a row, so if we can get teams now and get a little flow, then we start picking up some momentum as we get into our season,” Hart said. “We’re going to have our hands full, but I think we have some weapons and have players where we can play different styles of basketball. We can play small or big we have to… They’re competitive and they want to win. They’re hungry.”

Blue Devils, Tigers led by POTY candidates

Two of Hampshire County’s most prolific scorers are back as seniors this winter, with Northampton’s Naihmond Peters-Wolfe and South Hadley’s Jack Loughrey leading the charge for their respective teams following dominant junior years.

Northampton finished last season an even 11-11 and fell in the Division 2 Round of 32. The Blue Devils lost a group of impact seniors headlined by Silas Coles and JJ Moore, two of the team’s leading scorers from a year ago. But with Peters-Wolfe, Luke McGrath, Jayden Rivera and Jackson Oravec returning as seniors including impact sophomore Eli Reid primed to take a bigger role, the Blue Devils should once again compete in the competitive Valley League under head coach Rey Harp.

South Hadley only had two seniors depart from the 2023-24 season, and its three leading scorers are all back to make some noise in Division 4. Loughrey averaged 20.5 points per game last year and has a good shot at reaching 1,000 points, and he’s joined by sharp-shooting junior Isiah James, sophomore guard Noah Hambley and sophomore forward Tim Loughrey. Head coach Chris Gerber sees the four of them all averaging double figures for the Tigers.

Senior-heavy Amherst, Granby ready to compete

The Hurricanes have a whopping nine seniors this season out of the 14 players on their team. They graduated seven from last year, including leading scorer Marcielo Aquino – who was tabbed as the Gazette’s Player of the Year. Amherst lost in the Division 2 prelims, and head coach Jamahl Jackson hopes his team gets back into the tournament this winter. Juniors Samuel Woodruff and Mitchell Carey as well as freshman Xavier McCall are impact players for the ‘Canes.

Granby is coming off a successful 16-7 season where it won the Bi-County League West title and fell in the Western Mass. Class C title game to Mahar. The Rams made it to the Division 5 Round of 16 before falling to Hopedale. In the 2024-25 season, Granby will be led by a group of nine seniors as well, and NeNe Fernandez is one of them – coming off a 17 points-per- game season. The dozen players on Granby’s team are all either seniors or juniors. Head coach Dylan Dubuc is hoping for another season similar to the last, and the Rams opened with a win over Renaissance on Thursday.

Trio of teams looking for bounce back years

Hopkins, Easthampton and Gateway all finished with below average records a season ago, and each team is hoping to right the ship this time around. Under new head coach Lee Mollison, Hopkins has three seniors and four juniors. After losing their two leading scorers to graduation, the Golden Hawks turn to junior Chace Earle and senior Logan Bye to carry the load.

The Eagles finished last year 3-17, but they return much of their production and only lost two seniors. Head coach Nick Whitney told the Gazette that Easthampton would be without its best player, Trevor Canon-Smith, this season due to a torn ACL – which he suffered during the football season. Jasper Alvarez, Logan Boyle and Brayden English will help fill Canon-Smith’s void, and the team got off to a stellar start with a decisive 96-40 win over Baystate Academy on Thursday night.

Gateway finished 1-16, and hopes a fresh year translates to a fresh start. Jacob Maynard, Zachary Hess and Jesse Balboni all showed impressive flashes and return this season to help the Gators compete in the Tri-County South.

Elsewhere in Hampshire County

Smith Academy, under head coach Matt Zerneri in his 17th season, has six seniors. Four of them are captains: Cam Graves, Ryan McCoy, Garrett Willard and Jake Wilcox. Smith Academy is expected to battle with Athol for the Hampshire League North title, and compete in the Western Mass. Class D tournament come February.

Smith Vocational has leading scorer Dom Sanchez back as well as seniors Jack Riley and Justin Porter, who were strong contributors last season. Hampshire lost six seniors off its 10-11 team that made the state tournament and will look to new faces to get the Raiders back there, while Holyoke – which was probably the area’s best team last winter – looks to do the same. The Purple Knights lost seven seniors, but guards Davian Diaz and Aden Cabrera are ready to run the show with a bigger workload on their plates.