Going into the Christmas break, Northampton head boys’ basketball coach Matt Scholl had a good feeling about his team.

The Konkrete Kids were 5-2 and were back in action against Pocono Mountain East Dec. 28 and Northwestern Dec. 30, both of which were wins lifting the Kids to 7-2.

“Going into Christmas, we were healthy, and the team was progressing at all levels,” said Scholl.

“We do believe that we are at our best when we have multiple players scoring 10 to 12 points instead of just one or two players scoring 20 or more points.

“The defense has been good, but we can be better.”

Senior Brody Groff has been the Kids’ leading scorer averaging 15.3 points per game, and fellow senior J.J. Kolumber has been scoring 11.8 per contest. 2

Sophomore Noah Walakovits had added 6.6 points, and senior Tristan Pinnock has chipped in with 6.5. Kolumber has 3.5 assists per game, and Walakovits has 3.5 rebounds.

Scholl likes the balance among his scorers.

“Brody Groff has been put most consistent offensive players, but we have had numerous players score double-digits at times,” added Scholl. “Tristan Pinnock has been our defensive leader so far. He is physical and has embraced our defensive philosophy.

“J.J. Kolumber, Shakim Dunbar, and Noah Walakovits have all had big games or us offensively as well. Brady Simock and Trent Moyer are both playing as undersized fives (centers), but they are both doing a tremendous job.”

Despite their early success, Scholl isn’t looking too far ahead.

“We are 5-2 (before Christmas), but we have a lot of room to improve,” he stressed. “We only have about two-thirds of the playbook installed as we traditionally like to add new plays as we get deeper into the season. Defensively, we can also improve by getting a little more physical.”

Scholl also realizes not to take any game lightly. The Kids are in the same East Penn Conference (EPC) Skyline division with Allentown Central Catholic, Emmaus, Nazareth, Parkland, and Whitehall.

“Our league, especially our division, is tough,” he noted. “Last year, we went 2-8 in our division and sneaked into districts. Right now, we are 1-2 in our division.

“The division games will be the determinant of whether we qualify for leagues and/or districts.”