Blue Devils’ furious pace is hellacious

The one returning starter is 5-foot-10 dynamo C.J. Garner, a first-team All-Gazette guard who averaged over 21 points per game to lead Springbrook to a 21-4 record. However, he could be limited in the beginning stages of the season, having only begun practice this past Monday after having his tonsils removed.

‘‘I’m not sure how much he’ll play, honestly,” said head coach Tom Crowell. ‘‘Obviously C.J.’s a big part of what we’re going to do this year, but we’re going to play similar to how we did last year. We like to run, cause turnovers, and fast break with the kind of athletes we have here. We’ve done fairly well in our scrimmages, but you never know until you start playing the games.”

Crowell is excited about his new core, and hopes they can help the Blue Devils go even further than a year ago, when they fell in the 4A North Region semifinals to eventual state champion Sherwood.

They are fairly small, but have two athletic big men in 6-5 Jamaal Olasewere and 6-4 Ebou Touray. Replacing their point guard from a year ago, Othello Banaci, will be two quick guards, Mounda Williams and Chris Carter. Carter will often switch over to the off-guard when Garner leaves the game, while Williams’ younger brother Jeremy should be the team’s best threat from the perimeter.

Springbrook is a relatively young team, with only four seniors as opposed to 11 juniors. But they should once again be one of the teams to beat in 4A.

‘‘If we play the good defense like we did last year,” said Crowell, ‘‘we’ll be all right.”

Location: Silver Spring

Nickname: Blue Devils

Head coach: Tom Crowell, 3rd year (37-10), 21st year overall

State classification: 4A

Last year’s record: 19-4

Last regional title: 2004 (14th)

Last state title: 1988 (2nd)

Players to watch: G C.J. Garner, G Chris Carter, C Jamaal Olasewere