The holidays are approaching and the start of the basketball season is near.

Veteran Marian head coach John Patton might be asking Santa for more wins this year.

Entering his 12th season at the helm, the Colts have some ground to pick up with a handful of players departed via graduation.

But when the winter winds and snows start pelting away, you can be assured that Marian is going to make a run in the Schuylkill League Division III title chase.

Patton isn’t overlooking a trio of solid teams, either. He quickly points to Nativity, the smallest school enrollment wise.

”Don’t forget they won the league (championship) coming out of the division, and they’re going to be very good again,” he said.

And they won the PIAA Class A state championship last March.

Patton then points to chief rival Mahanoy Area; a youthful team a season ago, now is maturing rapidly.

He has concerns when he looks over at Shenandoah Valley, a squad that has every single starter returning from 2020-2021 season.

Patton is still trying to map out a plan of attack, but when the season really heats up, you can be assured that Marian will make a run at the three aforementioned squads.

Patton isn’t being cute when he says the squad doesn’t have one player returning who has averaged double digits. But he does return a horse in the middle in senior Brandon Lonergan.

To be sure, Lonergan is a “player” at 6-4; he can muscle anyone off the glass, and he is smooth off the dribble, as well. And it helps that he was the club’s top rebounder last winter.

But Marian will be a totally different team in several aspects. Patton was never averse to letting his teams run the floor, and these kids can gallop if they get out in the open court.

With a solid guard in built-up 6-3 senior Logan Fritz, fellow guard 6-1 junior Frank Valente, newly transferred forward jumping jack 6-4 Jose Espaillat Turbi and newcomer sophomore 6-1 Julius Currie, there is a horde of speed and runners in this group.

Patton smiles with a huge grin, though leery about giving away trade secrets, he’s pumped for the season to start. Currie is raw and untested, Patton says, but the surroundings will allow him to get his feet wet.

While Currie is called a good shooter, Espaillat Turbi could inject some offense inside and outside. Fritz missed a bunch of games last winter when he was trying to mend and pick up the pieces with injuries.

Other than that, Marian should be able to dig into the depth department. Try on two juniors in Joey Walko (6-0) and Jake Bobish (5-11). Then Patton can draw from the well with a pair of sophomores. Rodino brothers James and Jesse are both 6-3. Not bad size coming off the bench, either.

Marian needs to replace a bushel full of seasoned players. Gone are Dante Agosti, Dwain Concepcion, John Malarkey and Mark Cerullo. That foursome were point-producers.

“It’s a lot to replace from last year,” Patton inferred.

Agosti was a four-year starter, too. Concepcion, who like this year’s transfer Espaillat Turbi, both from Hazleton, missed the postseason tournament due to a newly implemented rule by the PIAA.

“I think we will be more versatile this year,” Patton continued. “We have a lot more flexibility in how we played. It’s a decent size lineup… we won’t have a starter under 6-1.

“Logan has really grown; part of his injury issues last season was due to the growth spurt… we will see a lot more from him this year.”

But the excitement in Patton’s tone comes from the interchangeable ways this team can potentially produce. He points to the fact that all of his players are ball handlers; they’re able to slide in and outside. There will be less mismatches, due to that length, too.

“They’ve all bought in to the fact that we have a lot of moving pieces,” is the way Patton is seeing his latest edition.