Despite a change of coaches a couple of weeks before the start of practice, new head coach Chris Boyce is confident that the switch of head coaches will not deter the Queen of Peace’s boys basketball team from having a big season.

Before the abrupt firing of Bill Schoener at Queen of Peace, the Golden Griffins were considered one of the better teams in Bergen County and the state.

Boyce, who was an assistant under Schoener, is very confident that the team will reach everything that was expected of the Golden Griffins this season.

As of last week, Queen of Peace had played three scrimmages. "At first it was a little rough, but I think after a while they now like the style of play," said Boyce.

The 19-9 team that came in third in the BCSL American in the 2006-07 season only lost one starter, Corey Kearny, from that team. While Kearny was the team’s leading scorer, the team had a balanced scoring attack and Boyce is expecting more from the other starters like senior Bilal Dixon (6-foot-9-inches), junior guard Javae Gilchrist (6-1), senior point guard Al'Don Muhammad (6-3), junior forward Dwayne Moffatt (6-3) and senior guard Zaire Harris (5-11).

Boyce said that they go nine deep in his rotation with the likes of senior forward Brendan Sim (6-3), forward Daniel Phillips (6-5), junior guard Mike DeBartolo and junior guard John Paul Rivera (6-feet).

With the 2007-08 edition of the Golden Griffins, Boyce said the team is going to have a much different look with a half-court offense and a man-to-man defense. "We are going to utilize Dixon as much as possible," said Boyce. "We expect the other teams will collapse on Bilal and expect that the other players will get the chance to score. Defensively, we‘re strictly man-to-man, high-intensity defense."

Before the start of the season, Dixon decided to attend Boston College next season. "I thin it is great for him to decide on the college because it takes away the extra pressure and he can just relax and play basketball," said Boyce.

In his first season after transferring from St. Anthony’s in Jersey City, Dixon averaged 13 points and 14 rebounds in his first varsity season.

"The best quality of his play is that of his energy and of his physical ability," said Boyce of the 230-pound center.

While Dixon will get his points outside, the new Queen of Peace head coach sees several contributors from the outside including the Golden Griffins three-point shooters in Moffatt and DeBartolo. "Moffatt is going to have an explosive year," predicted Boyce. "Overall, though we’ll be well balanced with several players scoring in double figures during the year."

After the first couple of games in the BCSL American, Queen of Peace will get a nice early test as they moved up this season for the holiday tournament at Indian Hills. The tournament includes quality teams like Englewood, Bergen Catholic, Passaic Tech, St. Joseph’s and Ramapo.

The first goal for the Golden Griffins, Boyce said, is winning the BCSL American title. Queen of Peace finished third last season with Westwood taking the title and the Golden Griffins is one of the favorites to win it. If the Golden Griffins accomplish the league, it would be the first American title for the boys basketball team.

But that is not the only achievement that Boyce believes that Queen of Peace can garner this season. "I really think that we can win the county championship and that we are going to surprise several teams," said Boyce. If they are going to do that they would have to beat the likes of Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic among others.