Last season, Whitehall’s boys’ basketball team enjoyed a magical ride that ended in a 76-70, double-overtime loss to Abington Heights in a PIAA Class 5A second-round playoff game.

Luke Keppel, a 1,000-point-plus scorer, set the pace for the Zephyrs, and he formed an effective outside-inside scoring punch with 6-7 center A.J. Hines. Ethan Ringenberger, Sebastian Orechena, and Gavin Roberts proved to be perfect role players for their dynamic duo.

Keppel averaged 15.2 points per game last season, and had a team-high 47 three-pointers.

Well, Hines is the lone returnee for the Zephyrs’ this season off their 17-10 campaign last year, and the senior- who averaged 11.9 points per game last season - will be the center of attention.

“A.J. has been great so far and needs to be a huge presence,” said veteran head coach Jeff Jones, who begins his 18th year at the helm. “He’s got the potential to be one of the best players in the league. He had some really good games at the end of last season against Phoenixville and Abington Heights. A.J. has worked hard in the offseason, and we’re excited about what he’s going to do in his senior season.”

Jones will look to returnees junior guards Mason Roberts, Talon Dogmanits, Seth Hoderewski, Joey Groller and forward Cole Richards; senior guard Dominic Gonzalez; and sophomore guard Tanner Dogmanits to help round out the Zephyrs rotation.

Jones is confident the core can make the necessary adjustments.

“Hoderewski and Roberts are the biggest perimeter threats,” stressed Jones. “The Dogmanits boys will mostly be handling the ball. Gonzalez, Richards, and Groller will need to fill important roles off the bench.”

Last year, the Zephyrs shot 54.9 from the field and 48.4 from the three-point line, the latter the third-best in the league.

Whitehall will look to keep those numbers intact and increase them this season. They opened the season with a loss against Conestoga (57-49) and a win over host Holy Ghost (61-52) in their tournament.

Jones will look to develop his rotation throughout the season.

“We’re hoping as the season goes on, we can trust more guys off the bench to give guys breaks,” noted Jones. “We had a very short preseason with two weeks that makes the veteran guys that much more important early on.

“Last year, we won a lot of games because we had great kids and great parents. If we could mimic that success this season, the wins will happen.”