This season, juniors Noah Walakovits and Brady Simock were the lone returnees to the Northampton boys’ basketball team with significant varsity experience. If the Konkrete Kids were to succeed this season, the remaining players would need to take the next step.

Junior Leo Regec and sophomore Ethan Raphun certainly took the lead.

The duo has played significant roles in the Kids’ run to East Penn Conference title, their first league crown since the old Lehigh Valley League in 1973, when they upset top-seeded Pocono Mountain West, 55-54, in overtime last week.

Head coach Matt Scholl certainly has appreciated their development.

“I think that their growth has been a huge part of the team’s growth,” stated Scholl. “We only have six players in our current rotation, so we count on them to play significant minutes. Noah Walakovits and Brady Simock were the only two players who played any significant varsity minutes last year, and we knew it would take the rest of the time to settle in. Varsity basketball is so much more physical than JV.

“Leo is a great shooter, but he has also developed one of the best floaters in the league, and he has improved on the defensive end significantly. Ethan Raphun operates as a primarily ball handler. Last year, we had a senior, JJ Kolumber, who we counted on to get us into our sets. Ethan has tremendous feel for the game, but getting a team into a set and being able to handle the pressure while doing so is difficult to do. JJ was great at it and continues to demonstrate that at Northampton Community College.”

Regec, who has averaged 7.3 points per game and was named the EPC tournament MVP, has relished his role as well as the team’s status all season.

“As a team going into the season, we don’t have much experience since only two varsity players have returned this year, Simock and Walakovits, but as a team we knew our potential going into the year. There were a lot of ups downs in the season including that losing streak, but the players and coaches all talked it out because we aren’t happy with these results.

“We ended the regular season with a couple wins in a row giving us great momentum for the EPC playoffs. Beating Central and Liberty gave us great momentum. We loved the underdog role because we had nothing to lose going into every game. Although we won the championship, and I got the MVP trophy. I wasn’t focused on the MVP. I felt there wasn’t one player on our team that didn’t deserve that MVP trophy.

“Everyone on our team has a specific role and we all executed our way to a championship, but it does feel great to make history for the town of Northampton.”

Raphun, who has averaged 6.5 points, also has seen a tighter team bond.

“I know that both myself and the team have grown exponentially since our first game against Easton,” Raphun said. “We take practice extremely seriously and we’re always challenging each other to be the best versions of ourselves. We’ve been playing our best basketball throughout the latter end of the season and it’s awesome to see our hard work come to fruition on the court. It all kind of ties in to a saying I really appreciate which is that you cannot be great without the greatness of others.

“It’s a blessing to be able to play with such great teammates and friends, along with coaches and amazing fans.”