By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
Last February was not a good month for the Deptford High boys basketball team. The Spartans edged Penns Grove by three points to start the month, then skidded the rest of the season, losing 10 straight games and bowing out of the state tournament in the opening round after a blowout loss against Cherry Hill West.
A once promising 11-5 start turned into a miserable 11-15 finish. A streak like that can be demoralizing and wreck a program for years.
But the Spartans’ underclassmen took that experience and used it as fuel to come back bigger, stronger and better this winter.
The results have been eye-popping.
Deptford is 18-4 and has won 13 of its last 15 heading into Monday night’s home game against Highland Regional. The Spartans ripped off an 11-game winning streak to start 2026 and have become a team that has to be considered at least a threat to win a sectional championship, especially considering the makeup of the team.
The Spartans have all the elements needed for a state playoff run. They have a steady senior point guard in Brian Orio, and fellow senior guard Kenny Cockerill can do a little bit of everything. He and Orio have combined for 231 assists in 22 games, a per-game average of 10.5. Fellow seniors Jordan Williams and Luke Vilary have each made more than 30 threes and have combined for more than 800 points, and freshman Mike Yankowski is a 6-foot-5, 190-pound center who can defend the glass and get rebounds.
“The guys just having a year of experience under their belt, and playing together all offseason. A lot of them, last year was their first year of getting a lot of varsity minutes and this year, with all that experience — and they are all really good friends, they play together all the time and that creates such good chemistry,” said Mike Vilary, Luke’s father. “I think just being seniors — a lot of games this year have been relatively close, but they just keep battling and playing with confidence.
“The season seems to have shortened over the years but the number of games has stayed the same, so the challenge we face — like most teams — is keeping them focused,” coach Vilary said after a recent win over Triton. “We (recently) had three games in four nights. So, just trying to keep them focused every night so they aren’t just going through the motions. We have to share the ball and play together. When we do that, we’re pretty tough to beat.”
Williams said this group of seniors growing up together and facing adversity last year as juniors has been a key component to their focus and determination this season.
“We just bonded during the offseason. Coming into this season, we know how good of a team we were. We’ve been staying together and that’s why we’re having success right now,” he said. “I knew we had this in us all along. We had it last year, we just never really put it together. It’s good to seeing (the hard work) pay off now though.”
“We want to go to Rutgers,” added Cockerill. “The skill has always been there, we just put in the work and we’ve bonded.”
This team feeds off its point guard, Orio, who plays hard every night, takes care of the ball, makes smart decisions, and gets after it on defense. He has 58 rebounds and 27 steals, has scored more than 500 points as a four-year starter and has nearly 300 assists.
“Our point guard, Orio, has done an amazing job this year. He doesn’t get the accolades that some of the other guys do, or the recognition, but without him we’re not an 18-win team,” coach Vilary said. “He handles all the pressure and in every sense of the game he just does a great job for us. He’s a four-year starter.”
There will be plenty of pressure on the Spartans to produce in the state playoffs with a team that features four seniors in the starting lineup, but for right now this team is just enjoying how it’s playing and stacking up the wins.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” coach Vilary said. “Off the court, they are a great group of kids. It’s been an amazing season for us, and we hope to keep it going for as long as we can.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Deptford closes out its regular-season schedule by hosting Highland and Gloucester Catholic on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. Both games start at 5:30 p.m.
