The 2014-15 DODDS-Europe boys basketball season projects as one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. The organization’s three reigning European champions and several top challengers have been battered by roster churn and divisional realignment, opening the title hunt to new sets of worthy contenders. Here’s a look ahead:

Division IDODDS-Europe’s large-school division has a multiple-time champion in place in the Patch Panthers, who will pursue their third straight title this winter. But at this point, the Panthers are more a symbol of the league’s instability than a reigning juggernaut.

Patch returns just four players – none of them starters – from the gritty, deep team that fought off Wiesbaden for last season’s title. Head coach Brad Rehwaldt said he’s still sorting through a pack of nine or 10 Panthers in the mix for an opening-day starting nod.

That’s not to say Patch won’t put its pieces together in time for a third straight title run. It’s just that its rivals, notably runner-up Wiesbaden, might be further along in that process.

The Warriors boast the only returning player from the 2013-14 All-Europe first team in senior center CJ Pridgen. A breakout star in last year’s tournament, the multiple-sport standout ranks as arguably the most athletic frontcourt player in DODDS-Europe and should thrive in his new role as the team’s primary offensive weapon while continuing to serve as its defensive anchor. He’ll be surrounded by fellow football stars Tim Cuthbert, who will shift his playmaking skills from quarterback to point guard, and Anthony Little as the Warriors seek to offset substantial losses elsewhere in the lineup.

The competition in the refurbished Division I field, now featuring a full nine teams, goes far beyond last winter’s two finalists.

Incumbent Division I teams Ramstein, Kaiserslautern, Lakenheath and Vilseck would like to take advantage of the uncertainty at the top.

The Royals have a returning frontcourt star of their own in senior forward Jesse Gray. He’ll team with a senior backcourt of Xavier Harper and Spencer Wright in hopes of securing the Royals’ first title since 2010.

Longtime and championship-winning Kaiserslautern girls coach Corey Sullivan takes over the Raider boys program this year, taking over a team with a solid mix of seniors, returning players and new additions.

Vilseck, a surprise semifinalist last season, saw its roster sliced in the offseason, leaving the team with just three seniors and two returning regulars in Gabriel Lewis and Jonathan Wade. But the team’s emphasis on defense and conditioning will keep the Falcons consistently competitive.

Lakenheath, likewise, will depend on long-held organizational tenets to alleviate a lack of proven talent. The Lancers have just three returning players and no incumbent starters.

Meanwhile, the road to a title grew tougher with the additions of Naples, SHAPE and Vicenza.

Like Patch, Vicenza is a nominal reigning champion soldiering on without most of the players who led it to that title. But the Cougars, the 2013-14 Division II champions, have the added challenge of seeking another title at a higher level and with a new leader in former Schweinfurt coach Jesse Woods.

The Wildcats and Spartans, meanwhile, will field similar new-look rosters in hopes of making memorable Division I debuts. International School of Brussels won’t compete in DODDS-Europe this season.

Division IIUsually a crowded, nearly-impenetrable pack of equally-matched teams, the Division II bracket has been cracked wide open this winter.

The removal of five teams from the division already created some necessary breathing room. But the fact that the relocated teams included champ Vicenza, along with perennial powers Naples and SHAPE, makes each remaining team’s title hopes all the more realistic – the Cougars, Wildcats and Spartans occupied three of four divisional semifinal slots last year.

That’s particularly true in Italy, where Aviano and American Overseas School of Rome enter the season with high optimism. The Saints return nine players, including four starters, from last year’s above-.500 group. The Falcons, meanwhile, bring back sophomore phenom Otis Reale and four other returnees from a squad that advanced to the divisional semifinals a year ago.

While the Division II crowd has thinned considerably, DODDS-Europe middle-sized division retains its signature parity. Nearly every team in the field has a chance to make a deep postseason run through the streamlined bracket.

Hohenfels has been steadily improving over the last few seasons. With four returning starters, a number of experienced seniors and a vacant throne to target, this might be the year the Tigers put it all together.

AFNORTH is similarly dangerous with an all-senior backcourt of Eren Yabici and Darel Marshall potentially leading the 2012-13 champion Lions back into serious contention.

Ansbach, Bitburg, Black Forest Academy, Marymount and Rota will send largely inexperienced and unproven squads into action this winter in search of a breakout season. This winter, more than ever, the opportunity for each is there.

Division IIIAdd Brussels to the list of DODDS-Europe boys basketball champions decimated by a cruel summer of attrition. The standout frontcourt that powered the Brigands’ Division III championship run has moved on, leaving a pair of underclassmen guards to shoulder the team’s hopes of a repeat.

But that duo – junior Michael DeFazio and sophomore Tim Wilkinson – might be up to the job, and their cause will be aided by senior guard Hayden Pfefferkorn, who missed last year’s title run due to injury.

As is often the case, Brussels’ biggest threat might come from Sigonella. The Jaguars boast talent at all positions, notably sophomore forward Chris Moore and junior point guard Jason Berlin, and unusual depth for a small-school team.

Baumholder and Alconbury will return to Division III after a brief stint at the Division II level. The Dragons, particularly, should jump right into the title race behind a core of four returning starters.

Menwith Hill, meanwhile, is playing its final season of basketball before closing its doors next summer.

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

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