Since I began covering the Whitehall basketball team in 2008, they have made the district finals twice during that span, and this is a look back at both teams, with an eye on who might win if those two teams played one another.

The first of those squads to reach the district finals was the 2009-10 team. They entered the tourney as the sixth seed and met Emmaus in the opening round. After defeating the Hornets 54-43, the Zephyrs’ next opponent was Pocono Mountain West. They weathered early foul trouble to advance with a 51-39 win over the Panthers.

The set up a semifinal date with Pocono Mountain East, emerging with a 51-47 victory to propel them into the district championship game against Liberty.

Heading into that game, head coach Jeff Jones knew they would have to try to neutralize Liberty’s advantage inside. They had a frontcourt of Darrun Hilliard and Anthony Gonzalez, two Division I athletes, the former a star basketball player at Villanova, the latter as a linebacker at Pitt. While the Zephyrs did a good job inside, they were torched by the three-point shooting of Brandon Holland who netted seven treys to help lift the ‘Canes to 55-37 victory.

That 2009-10 team featured Javier Rivera, Travis Cheeks, Matt Greene, Christopher Astacio, Bobby Beldo, Pat Bet, Nate Keglovits, Cory Cesar, Jake Fazio and Chris Polony.

It was Jones’s third year as the head coach, and he said that they had been building toward that run. They were coming off a 14-10 season, one in which they made it to the district quarterfinals, losing in double overtime to top-seeded Stroudsburg.

That team was also senior-laden, with eight of their players marking the 2009-10 campaign as their last. Jones said that senior group had gained a lot of experience, playing a lot of minutes as underclassmen during some lean years when they managed just single-digit victories.

“They continued to progress a lot over that time, with those guys getting minutes,” said Jones. “They kept getting better.”

In Greene they had a lethal outside shooter. The guard finished his career with 967 points, and went on to have an outstanding college career at Misericordia University, finishing with 1,078 points.

Rivera was a good complement in the backcourt, a slasher who would attack the basket and push the ball at every chance.

Cheeks was another guard who could fill in, and he was prominent in the win against the Cardinals in the D-11 semifinal game.

In Beldo and Astacio, the Zephyrs had two strong interior players with plenty of hops. Jones said that the tandem played above the rim, and that helped them negate some of the size advantage they faced inside.

Rounding out that five was Bet, an all-around athlete who wasn’t afraid of the big moment.

Jones said that on a team that featured plenty of scoring options, with players who had the ability to create their own shots, Bet was one of the players who would often have the ball in his hands at crunchtime. On one of those occasions, Jones said that he designed an out-of-bounds play specifically for Bet who hit the buzzer beater for the win. He was a player who he trusted.

Perhaps that team’s biggest asset was their athleticism. With Beldo, Astacio and Rivera, they were comfortable running and attacking the basket, but could also slow it down and hit from the perimeter where Greene and Bet would set up shop.

That team finished the season 18-10, losing in the state tourney to Frankford High School to end their season.

In some respects, the 2014-15 team may be considered a polar opposite. While both teams were experienced, with the 20014-15 squad featuring six seniors, the 2014-15 team was more aligned with the half-court offense often associated with Whitehall basketball.

“The 2010 team was more capable of running more than the 2015 team was,” said Jones.

Jones said it was a team structured to set up their offense, run time off the clock, and get off good shots. They weren’t going to runs teams out of the gym, but they were able to maximize what they had, earning a trip to the league and district playoffs.

That group featured Brett Radocha, Chad Rex, Nick Hassler, Saquon Barkley, Jake Meyers, Jake Buskirk, Gianni Sinatore, Logan McGinley, Mikey Esquilin, Andre Diokmedian and Jarrod Miller.

Their road to the district championship began against Northampton, a team that head beaten them twice that year. They won a low-scoring affair, defeating the Kids, 29-21.

That win pitted them against Bangor in the quarterfinals. They defeated the Slaters, 50-41, setting up a semifinal match against Nazareth. They downed the Blue Eagles, 55-50, earning a spot in the D-11 championships against Parkland.

This time they faced a Division I basketball prospect in Sam Iorio, and multisport star Devante Cross who now plays football at Virginia. While the 2010 team got sideswiped from an unexpected source, both Iorio and Cross scored 11 points to help the Trojans prevail 46-38.

Their success that season was driven by their defense. Jones said that while both teams played the match, the 2015 team was particularly adept at shutting down opponents. Jones said that Hassler was integral at the No. 1 spot of the zone, and on the back end, Barkley’s athleticism and strength was a strong deterrent against players getting inside.

Jones said that Hassler played his position really well, and that set the tone.

They also had Radocha who had grown up around the program and was familiar with their concepts from a young age. He was a skilled offensive player, a first-team EPC selection, and was the anchor of their zone in the middle.

They also had Rex inside, a player who could also play along the perimeter, using his quickness to neutralize opponents.

The starting five was rounded out by Meyers who was their best perimeter shooter. He was, like many of his teammates, a multisport athlete, and was simply unflappable, according to Jones. He just kept everything on an even keel.

That team also made the state tourney, losing to Methacton in the opening round. They finished the year 16-12.

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So what would happen when the more explosive offensive 2010 team meets the defensive-minded 2015 team? Who would win?

Now, this exercise is void of any stats that’s often associated with scenarios like this, stats like who had the best fourth quarter production among this group, or who was the best free-throw shooter who might ice the game at the line. It’s just trying to construct an outcome based on observations covering both squads.

After the first quarter, the 2015 team leads 14-11. The matchup zone is causing the 2010 team some trouble, but it’s Radocha’s work inside that’s led to the three-point lead.

However, the 2010 team makes a run in the second quarter as Rivera pushes the ball at every opportunity, with Beldo and Astacio contributing with some put backs on the offensive glass. They lead 26-24 at the break.

In the third quarter, Greene begins to hit from the perimeter, but Meyers also gets hot from beyond the arc, and the two teams trade buckets, with the score now 37-35 in favor of the 2010 team.

The 2015 now clamps down defensively, with Hassler causing a couple of turnovers, with Barkley and Rex converting fast break points to take a two-point lead.

With the 2010 team needing a spark, Bet gives his squad the lead after sinking consecutive jumpers from the elbow. They lead 46-43 with 2:00 on the clock.

The 2015 team gets the ball inside to Radocha who hits the bucket and is fouled. He makes the three-point play to tie the score with a little over a minute left.

Greene launches a shot from the top of the key, hitting the front of the rim, where it’s a mad fight for the board among Barkley, Astacio, Beldo and Radocha. It squirts free to Rivera who puts up a scoop shot that finds the net.

With under minute to play, the 2015 is playing for the last shot. They want to work it inside to Radocha, but Beldo and Astacio are overplaying the passing lanes, making it difficult to get a clean entry pass.

Hassler swings it to Meyers who’s standing beyond the arc, but he passes it to Rex who has cut into the lane, putting up a soft jumper that falls through to tie the game.

With just a few seconds remaining, Bet catches the ball at the foul line and goes up for the shot. His shot is blocked by Barkley who recovers and tosses an outlet pass to Meyers who is a step ahead of the defense, running down the court. But Astacio closes, getting a piece of the shot just as he releases it. Radocha is able to get his hand on the ball, tipping it into the basket just as the buzzer sounds. 2015 wins 50-48.