Malvern boys basketball green, but Tucci likes potential

Entering his 33rd year of coaching boys basketball at Malvern – a tenure that has lasted for 770 games — it’s safe to assume Dennis Tucci has pretty much seen it all.

But this season, with the Hornets as green as their away jerseys, will be a new one for the veteran.

The Hornets, coming off a 20-5 season, are in uncharted territory entering the 2025-26 season.

“Obviously, with the loss of seven seniors, we will look a lot differently,” said Tucci. “In all of my years, I have never had a squad that was this inexperienced.” 

Among eight letter winners and seven seniors lost from a squad that over the past three seasons reached the district finals in 2023, the regional finals in 2024, and the district semis in 2025, are Rodney Smith, Drake Hutchison, Jared Witherow, and Eric Swain. Smith was last year’s Inter-Valley Conference North Player of the Year while the other players all received league honors.

That is not to say the Hornets don’t have any ability left in their cupboard.

“Even though we have limited varsity experience, we have some talented young kids that are ready to make their mark,” said Tucci. “We should be a quick and athletic bunch. We have some basketball junkies that simply love the game of basketball.”

Among those junkie is Malvern’s only returning letter winner, 6-foot-4-inch senior Tripp Tucci, who was the Hornets’ eighth man last season. Tucci will be joined by two fellow seniors, 5-11  Cameron Good and 6-1 Josh Untch.

The junior class includes Delonte Simmons, Grady Barkley, Luke Thomas and 6-3 Jaxon Jones, as well as sophomore Brennan Mitchell and freshman Wade Barkley. Malvern’s depth will also receive a boost from across the pond in the form of a Serbian exchange student, 6-2 Viden Arsic.

Time will be of the essence for the Hornets said Tucci, who carries a sterling 544-226 mark at Malvern.

“We will have to overcome our lack of varsity experience in a hurry because our schedule is really tough at the onset of the season,” he said. “The other IVC North teams will be waiting to get their revenge on the Hornets this year.”

The target on Malvern’s back is well deserved and a point of pride for the Hornets. After all, this is a program that’s been the class of the IVC North for six consecutive years, owning a 57-game division winning streak to show for it.

Tucci, who will coach his 1,000th high school game early this season, welcomes the challenge. After non-conference games against Newark Catholic, Dalton, and Garaway, the Hornets will visit Newcomerstown Dec. 9 to kick off their IVC North schedule. That will be the first of five consecutive division contests for Malvern.

“Every team has many returning starters, so they think this is the year that they can finally beat the Hornets,” said Tucci. “We know that we have a lot of work to do ahead of us, but I like this team, and I look forward to seeing how quickly we get up to speed at the varsity level.”