The Eagle Strike Gaming Division I Basketball Preview
2015-12-18
Ronnie Silva is back to lead Nashua North again
By Dave Haley
The old adage in poker is if you can’t spot the sucker in the room in first three hands, you are the sucker.
There isn’t a sucker amongst the nineteen head coaches in Division I, in fact only Division IV offers a comparable number of successful veteran coaches. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a great deal of curiosity about what the other guys are holding.
Questions in preview phone calls ranged from ‘What does Doc have back at Central’ to ‘What do you know about the new Bedford coach?’, ‘How did Nashua North look when you saw them?’ to the most frequent question I heard, ‘Who is playing for Memorial this season??’
It’s going to take weeks if not a month or two to sort this all out. Division I is a walking cliché in 2016; just about anyone can beat anybody on a given night. The feeling going in is if you are trying to read too much into the results on a night to night basis you’re going to end up looking like Russell Crowe staring at that wall of maps for 8 hours in ‘A Beautiful Mind’.
“It’s going to come down to who is playing the best in March,” said Londonderry head coach Nate Stanton, and he would know. “What you see in December likely will look a lot different in two months.”
Let’s all agree on that. Division I is the most wide open race in the state of New Hampshire and everyone will know what kind of cards the other guy is holding by March.
Today we will take a look at the Division I basketball landscape in our final high school basketball preview on NHsportspage.
Remember you can become a supporter of the work our team does at NHsportspage and have access to every single game we cover this season in full by becoming a Gold Level Supporter today. We will be listing all of our new members here on NHsportspage & on our year end highlight video.
Please click the link if you would like to become part of our team as a supporter of our work and listed as a member of our team: Become a Gold Level Supporter Today!
Division I Predicted Order
1.Manchester Central
2.Pinkerton
3.Merrimack
4.Trinity
5.Salem
6.Nashua South
7.Winnacunnet
8.Londonderry
9.Nashua North
10.Exeter
Lurking outside the Top 10: Keene, Manchester Memorial, Bedford, Bishop Guertin & Spaulding
When the pre-season began David ‘Doc’ Wheeler looked at his team like a puzzle that had to be missing a few pieces. There wasn’t a center in the group and truth be told he wasn’t positive if there was a pure point guard either, and those are two pretty important positions..
As things begin to take shape though Manchester Central has a defense that can get in your shirt and enough playmakers to get the Little Green back to the familiar confines of Lundholm Gymnasium in March. “ It is an interesting group because we really lack any size but I’m pretty happy with the way they have responded to coaching early on,” said the veteran head coach.
It starts with all-state forward Jaylen Leroy. One of the best players in the Division has taken on a leadership role in his senior season, “ He is figuring out how to be a vocal leader and taking steps to that end. He handles the ball really well and has really become a very good passer,” said Wheeler of Leroy who will play more of a point-forward role this season. “ He’s going to have to be stat filler for us to be successful this season.”
Sethe Shea will run the point and will be joined in the backcourt by Jonathan Makori, who has at times frustrated with his immense ability and habitual inconsistency. “Jonathan has really allowed himself to be coached in the pre-season and that’s a great development for us. He is starting to take offensive fouls and he had 8 rebounds in the jamboree (win over Pelham),” noted Wheeler. “ He’s a player who can really do a lot for us and right now he is working hard to make that happen.”
Senior captain and class president Evan Macdonald gives Central a knockdown shooter from 25 feet as well as leadership. What Wheeler is looking for in 2016 is more rebounding out of his 6’3 guard. “ We need him to be a player who averages 7 to 8 rebounds a night for us because, look around.., we don't have the size for him not to be.”
David Baraka is a player Wheeler raves about (“He is a very bright kid and I love his upside as an athlete.”) and fits the mold of an undersized player that gets the most out of his ability. “ We are going to be challenged by bigger teams but I like our quickness and we have a chance to be very good defensively,” said Wheeler.
Pinkerton Academy was one (very deep & highly contested) jump shot away from head coach Peter Rosinski’s second championship a year ago. In 2016 Matt Rizzo, Brennan Morris, Tom Romick and Ben Olson will have the Astros back in contention for another trip to Durham. “ This group has played a lot of games, going back to when they grew up together,” said head coach Peter Rosinski. “ That chemistry is a big part of the success we had last year.”
You don’t replace a point guard like Geo Baker so the Astros won’t even try to as two or three different players will play the point this season including Seth Guilmette and freshman Joey Merrill, only the third freshman varsity player at Pinkerton in the last 25 years. Matt Rizzo is one of the best guards in the state while Brennan Morris has grown to 6’5 and is a legitimate threat to bury jumpers out to 25 feet. “Brennan is a player we could use really at any of the five positions on the court,” said Rosinski.
Ben Olson and Tommy Romick form one of the best frontcourts in the state for a Pinkerton team that seems to sprout 6’6 post players. “ I think we will be a better team defensively this season and those two (Ben & Tom) are a big reason why.” 6’5 Tryston Brown will provide depth off the bench as will guard Matthew Anzivino. “ We really have a great group of kids and they work very well as a unit. We feel like we have a team that will compete every night in what should be a very good division.”
If you have hung around Merrimack head coach Tim Goodridge enough you’ve heard him time & again spell out the recipe for success in the tournament, “ Seniors. You win with seniors in March.” Well the Tomahawks have eight on the roster and that’s enough to expect Merrimack to be hanging around late into March.
Ian Roberts gives Merrimack a presence on the low block and will be joined at the forward spot by 6’2 AJ Azorian, 6’3 Jake Gianelli and 6’1 Dan McKillop who Goodridge calls maybe the best pure athlete on the team. “ You have to have three scorers to be really be successful, you saw that a year ago with Londonderry,” said Goodridge. “ We have enough guys who can step into that role but that is really still to be determined.”
Zak Kerr may be the best shooter on the team while Ian Cummings is a sophomore who may be ready for a breakout season, “ He’s really the X-factor for us. He has flashes where he looks all world but he needs to be consistent for us. He is a player who should be one of those three main scorers for us.”
Mike Dudash will run the team from the point guard spot, “He’s a gritty defender and a very steady leader for us. We just need to work on limiting turnovers and taking care of the ball,” said Goodridge. The sum of all of those parts is a good defensive team with rebounding and experience. That’s enough to put you in the conversation in Division I, “It’s really a fantastic group of kids. I really enjoy going to the gym every day to coach these guys.”
Last season Trinity was a new look team with a first year head coach and at times, that’s exactly what they looked like on the floor. Players zigged when head coach Matt Lemieux wanted them to zag and it looked as frustrating to the coaches off the floor as the players on it. By March though the Pioneers began to come together and with a first round upset of Nashua South they became the only Manchester team in the city to get out of the first round (tell me when you think that will happen again…)
A year later an exciting freshman point guard joins three returning starters for a Trinity team that has designs on getting back to Durham after a one year absence. “ It’s been a lot easier this year from day one because I don’t have to explain every little thing we are doing at practice,” said Lemieux. “ That and senior leadership really help.”
Leadership comes in the form of seven year veteran Connor Walsh (fine he’s 18,,it just feels like he has been around for seven years) and forward Justin Trickett. “Walshie has worked on getting in better shape and on becoming a better defender,” said Lemieux of his all-state power forward, “ He’s starting to ‘get it’ that it is his senior year and this is his last shot. Where last year he at times had to be a one man show that is no longer the case, and I think that makes us a better team.”
Trickett is the X-factor, a player capable of taking over games and leading Trinity to the top of the division. “Unquestionably he is the guy we need to step up and to his credit he has worked very hard to make that happen. He’s in the gym every day working on his game and we will go as far as he takes us because I know what we are getting from Connor already.”
Jordan Santos is one of the best freshman in the state and he will get the keys to the offense from day one. His older brother James is one of the teams most improved players and someone capable of shooting Trinity back in any game they are trailing. “ James is accepting his role and I’m really happy with how he has played in the pre-season,” said Lemieux. Zack Dagan will round out the starting lineup while a much improved Simon Berry, Pat Mackey and Pembroke transfer Dante Timbas will provide depth in the frontcourt. “ Dante can really help us with his ability to rebound and guard bigs in the paint.”
A group that was once deemed by their head coach as ‘a year away’ is ready to contend for a final four berth as Rob McLaughlin’s Salem Blue Devils will be a team capable beating you in a few different ways. “ We have eight players back who played for us a year ago and as a group, it’s just a fun team to coach,” said McLaughlin. “ They want to make their mark as a team, so sometimes you need to bring them back to a one game at a time mentality but it’s a group of really good kids who really love hanging out together. They are ready to compete every night.”
Matt Vartanian will anchor what could be a very good Salem defense. The 6’5 center has a chance to be one of the best post players in the state, “ He really controls the back end of our defense. “ Vartanian will be joined up front by 6’3 forward Tim Dodier (“He brings a ton of energy to our team,” said McLaughlin) and returning starter Jared Gott, who has developed an ability to get to the rim off the dribble in the off-season.
Griffin Curtis, forced to sit out the jamboree match-up with Epping, was one of the breakout performers in the fall league and will be the X-factor for Salem in 2016. “ He has worked really hard and we are expecting a big year out of him.” DJ Coletti and Jake Bosworth bring a lot of speed & quickness to the backcourt while guard Matt McLaughlin does a very good job running the offense because of his high basketball IQ.
Connor Greenfield is your resident glue guy who does all the little things for a team with serious designs on getting to the final Saturday of the season. “ The division is so wide open that if you don’t come in prepared every single night you’re going to lose,” said McLaughlin. “ That makes for a pretty entertaining season throughout our division.”
Nashua South will try and ride the all-state backcourt of DJ Frechette and Kevin Genao all the way to UNH. Nate Mazerolle’s team also returns Zavier Williams and Max Osgood from a team that finished 10-8 a year ago.
It only took the opening half of a pre-season game for Winnacunnet head coach Jay McKenna to find his first ‘teachable moment’ (aka the first time you can really get on your players..). The Warriors had played hard and executed well in taking a 23-7 lead on Littleton after one quarter.
As had too often been the case a year ago for a very young team, the next eight minutes hardly resembled the first eight as Littleton outscored the Warriors 10-4 in the second quarter. Winnacunnet stopped sharing the ball, stopped taking care of it and all that communication went silent. This did not go unnoticed by their veteran head coach. “ I said to them in the locker room, ‘Here we are again, this is exactly why we lost so many close games a year ago. Are you going to be that same team again??”
Chances are very likely that they will not. Winnacunnet has one of the best ball handling backcourts in the state and enough size & shooting to make a run at a Top 8 seed. It begins with the duo of Liam Viviano and Anthony Primavera in the backcourt. Viviano has really come into his own as a junior and is now capable of creating offense by getting into the lane and either finishing himself or kicking out to a bevy of shooters like Zach Waterhouse. “ I see a real increase in his confidence level,” said McKenna of Viviano. “ He is a leader on the court and a player that is just really hard to take off the floor.” Primavera is not your typical shooting guard, in fact he really is your 1a point guard option. “ They really play well off of each other. There will be times when I assign one to the 1 (PG) and the other to the 2 (SG) but most of the time we will push it up the floor with whomever has the basketball.”
Waterhouse is a 6 foot shooting guard with one of those strokes where you are surprised when the shot doesn’t go down. “ When he gets into a groove it’s almost automatic,” said McKenna. “ He is a kid that I think, come February, could be real difference maker for us.” Shackiel Boyd has had a terrific pre-season, he gave Littleton fits on Sunday, and has been a very strong addition to the rotation with his ability to defend.
Forward Freddy Schaake is fully capable of a breakout year as a junior. The 6’4 forward can finish in transition as well as any big in the division and has improved his outside shooting as a compliment to his ability to put the ball on the floor. “ Last year was a learning process for Freddy and really for a lot of our young guys,” said McKenna. “ He has made some improvements in his game and is working at being more consistent. If we are able to improve that way as a team we have a chance to compete with the best teams in the division.”
A year ago when his team looked out of sorts in practice Londonderry head coach Nate Stanton was smart enough to know a few words of instruction was all a loaded/veteran team needed. That philosophy carried the Lancers all the way to an undefeated championship.
In 2015-16 Stanton was again smart enough to realize that same approach wasn’t going to work this time around. “ We need to get better as a team, in a lot of different areas,” said Stanton of his team which lost three starters and two key reserves. “ Last year it was about me not getting in the way,” he joked, “ This year it is more about teaching.”
Easing the transition will be all-state guard Jake Coleman who not only was one of the team’s leading scorers a year ago as a sophomore but one of its most vocal leaders. “It’s a completely different role for Jake this year, this is his team now. Teams will be focusing on him every night and not Cody (Ball) anymore,” said Stanton.
Cole Britting has carried strong play in the off-season back into the starting lineup while Nate Gaw will provide the on the ball defense every team needs. 6’4 Matt Corey has improved a great deal in the off-season and will be called upon to provide rebounding as well as his ability to finish in the open floor. “He has really come into his own. He’s a better rebounder and just more patient out on the floor.”
Cam Reddy steps in as the resident bruiser, as he and Corey are going to need to control the glass for a fairly small rotation. “ As the year goes along he will become more of a focus of the offense,” said Stanton said of Reddy. “ Right now it’s about getting better every day, as a group I like the guys we have and the make-up of this team. We’ll see how it plays out over the next three months.”
Nashua North was the Cinderella story of last season’s tournament. Knocking off Manchester Central and Trinity before falling to Pinkerton in the final four. Nate Hale & point guard Ronnie Silva return for a team capable of making another run in 2016. “ Getting to Durham showed these guys that they can compete with any team in the state,” said head coach Steve Lane. “ So that is a confidence we didn’t have a year ago at this time.”
The 5’6 Silva is one of the best point guards in the state and has a huge fan in his own head coach “ He’s a dream to coach. I look at players that are 6’4, 6’5 and wonder how good they could be if they worked as hard as he does. He loves the game of basketball and he will do anything to help his team win.” Nathan Hale was one of the most improved players in Division I last season and he is joined in the front court by Sam McCarthy and Alonzo Linton. “Sam is a kid that just does what you ask of him and he helps us in a lot of ways,” said Lane.
Guard Sky Boykin might be the best on the ball defender Lane has had in over twenty years of coaching and how he develops over the season will tell you a lot about whether the Titans have another final four run in them. “ Size is again an issue for us so we are going to have to mix up our defenses, especially in the half court,” said Lane. “ We will change up defenses and try to keep the other team off balance.”
Any discussion on the best backcourts in the state that doesn’t include Exeter isn’t an argument worth having. Bryant Holmes and Cody Morissette can beat you in any number of ways, the question in 2016 is how the pieces fill in around them? “We are a deeper team than we were a year ago,” said head coach Jeff Holmes. “ Last season I think Bryant really had to be a scorer every night for us to win games. I don’t think that is going to be the case this year.”
The younger Holmes is one of the best pure scorers in the division but his father sees a change as he enters his senior year. “ He has worked to become more of a complete player, by improving his defense and his ability to see the floor.” His backcourt mate Morissette is a three sport athlete who has been the talk of the pre-season because of his evolution as a player. “ He’s bigger & stronger than last year,” said Holmes. “ There is certainly a big jump from freshman to sophomore year and we have seen it with Cody. He’s just a competitor. Cody could pick up tennis and be beating you at it by the end of the day..he’d figure it out. That’s just the way he is.”
6’4 center Steve Natola will anchor the frontcourt along with 6’2 Collin Coute and small forward Tim Larkin. Sophomore Alex Swett, younger brother of former all-state player Ben, and 6’4 Alex Price will see immediate minutes as well. “ It’s a wide open division as everyone is saying,” said Holmes. “ I think we have a team that compete from night to night.”
Last year Keene was one of those teams you wanted to avoid in the first round of the tournament. This time around Keene wants you coming to them, the Blackbirds are ready to fight for a Top 8 seed. “We’ve had some very good practices this pre-season and that is up from primarily bad practices the last few seasons,” joked head coach Dave Sontag. “ The kids are really working hard and they have bought in to what we are trying to do. It’s a fun group to coach.”
Spencer Feng is a rock solid point guard for Sontag’s team and is joined in the backcourt by shooting guard Logan Galanes, Keene’s best outside threat. “ They are really working on taking care of the basketball and improving on the defensive end of the floor. That’s really been our focus early on.”
Brad Blake has added more muscle to his 6’3 frame while Dylan Grover is expected to make an immediate impact. Sophomore Jake Blaisdell gives Keene another shooter on the floor while Erick Zecha and Bo Drake-Deese will provide depth for a team ready to make another tournament run.
“ We want to play at a faster pace than we have in the past and that begins with our defense,” said Sontag. “ If we can create turnovers we are then able to get out and score in transition. That is where we need to get to become a much better team than we were a year ago.”
Veteran head coach Jack Quirk has no idea how many games his Manchester Memorial team will win this season, he just has a strong sense he is going to enjoy it more.” I like the make-up of this team. We are quick and aggressive to the ball and they’ll score in bunches,” said Quirk. “These last two years were filled with a lot of drama and now it’s going to be fun to see how this group develops.”
It will be a backcourt by committee for the Crusaders as Paul Rodolf, Jake Carrier, Nick Philibert, Michael Roumraj and Tyson Thomas will play right away. “ They play with a great deal of enthusiasm and the chemistry has been good. That’s not easy when you lose four of your first six players from a year ago.”
Brandon Scott will anchor Memorial’s frontcourt alongside Malo Roumraj, Nick Beall and sophomore Zach Lubin. Quirk is expecting Mahmud Gabir to contribute when he returns from a foot injury. “ We have an AAU culture now where a lot of players don’t have any allegiance to their school, it is about showcasing themselves for the next level. If there even is a next level,” said Quirk. “ You see a lot of players who, as soon as their season is over, just move right over to their AAU team. It’s not the same as it was years ago when kids wanted to create a legacy in their hometown and bring a title to their school. I don’t see that with this group at all. They are working hard and having fun every day in practice. I don’t know how many games we will win but it’s going to be a fun ride.”
Add Bishop Guertin to the list of teams that seemingly could beat any team on any given night. Head coach Jim Migneault, last seen leading New Hampshire to a blowout win over Vermont in the Twin State game, will again have a nine or ten man rotation capable of competing with anyone.
“ We have enough depth to play our usual style and in a division this wide open I think you’re really going to need to get production from your bench.” 6’4 forward Mike Rinko steps into a bigger role as a junior and will play in the frontcourt alongside 6’3 Matt Phillips and Crayton Crowell.
Junior Pat Donovan will run the team from the point guard spot while sophomore Yanis Nyantenji steps into a major role right away. Casey Fisher will also see major minutes for a BG team looking to make a return trip to Durham in March.
Mike Fitzpatrick stepped down as head coach at Bedford and is replaced by former Goffstown head coach Mark Elmendorf, who led the Grizzlies to a final four appearance a year ago. “ From day one the attitude of this group has been fantastic, as far as coming to open gym and working on their game,” said Elmendorf. Ryan Hughes will be one of the top scorers in Division I and is joined in the backcourt by point guard Justin Hayes, who has become the vocal leader of the Bulldogs.
6’7 center Colby Gendron will anchor the Bedford defense alongside 6’3 Josh Koehler (“He’s had a great pre-season for us.”) and Josh Bauer. “ Josh does all the little things you need to win games (glue guy alert) and is maybe our best defender,” said his head coach. Brayden Moreno will contribute as well for a Bedford team that has made three consecutive quarterfinal appearances. “ We need to find a 3rd scorer but we certainly have the players to do that,” said Elmendorf. “ It’s a group that loves to compete.”
When you talk about the most successful Division I basketball programs of the last eight years you are talking about Trinity, Central, Merrimack, Bishop Guertin and Spaulding. In 2016 The Fighting McIsaacs will retool with one of the best coaches in the state, an all-state forward and a pair of talented freshman who one day will lead Spaulding back to the top of the Division I hierarchy. “Everything is about developing for the future and getting better every day,” said veteran head coach Tim Cronin. “We’re a young team so it is going to be a process early on.”
Cal Connelly will step into the alpha dog role as a junior. A 6’4 shooter capable of carrying Spaulding against the top teams in the division. “ He has really improved his all-around game and become a very vocal leader,” said Cronin. Freshman Ari Breakfield, a 6’2 forward and fellow freshman Keagan Calero will step into the mix right away while Matt Roy takes over at point guard. “ It’s a really good group of kids and that makes it enjoyable to go to the gym every day,” said Cronin. “ The freshman are going to get a chance to come right in and play so their development will tell a lot about how our season will go.”
Pre-Season First Team All-State
Jaylen Leroy of Manchester Central
Jake Coleman of Londonderry
DJ Frechette of Nashua South
Bryant Holmes of Exeter
Connor Walsh of Trinity
Second Team
Matt Rizzo of Pinkerton
Nathan Hale of Nashua North
Matt Vartanian of Salem
Ryan Hughes of Bedford
Cody Morissette of Exeter
With apologies to: Liam Viviano, Freddy Shaake & Anthony Primavera of Winnacunnet, Brandon Scott of Memorial, Evan MacDonald and Jonathan Makori of Central, Ronnie Silva of Nashua North, Brennan Morris & Tom Romick of Pinkerton, Colby Gendron of Bedford, Matt Corey of Londonderry, Zack Kerr & Ian Cummings of Merrimack, Jared Gott & Griffin Curtis of Salem, Justin Trickett of Trinity, Max Osgood & Zavier Williams of Nashua South, Brad Blake & Logan Galanes of Keene, Danny Brown of Alvirne & Cal Connelly of Spaulding.
The ALL NEW New Hampshire High school Basketball Show returns Saturday morning from 9 to 11 am on ESPN NH on 900 & 1250 AM or simply listen to the show online from anywhere by clicking the LISTEN LIVE button on the NHsportspage homepage or on the Tunein Radio App.
Pete Tarrier & I will break down all the action from Friday night including the two games we will be covering for our Games of the Week: Portsmouth at Manchester West and Nashua North at Salem. We will be joined by Newmarket head coach Jamie Hayes and as always Justin McIsaac will join us at 10:30.
There isn’t a sucker amongst the nineteen head coaches in Division I, in fact only Division IV offers a comparable number of successful veteran coaches. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a great deal of curiosity about what the other guys are holding.
Questions in preview phone calls ranged from ‘What does Doc have back at Central’ to ‘What do you know about the new Bedford coach?’, ‘How did Nashua North look when you saw them?’ to the most frequent question I heard, ‘Who is playing for Memorial this season??’
It’s going to take weeks if not a month or two to sort this all out. Division I is a walking cliché in 2016; just about anyone can beat anybody on a given night. The feeling going in is if you are trying to read too much into the results on a night to night basis you’re going to end up looking like Russell Crowe staring at that wall of maps for 8 hours in ‘A Beautiful Mind’.
“It’s going to come down to who is playing the best in March,” said Londonderry head coach Nate Stanton, and he would know. “What you see in December likely will look a lot different in two months.”
Let’s all agree on that. Division I is the most wide open race in the state of New Hampshire and everyone will know what kind of cards the other guy is holding by March.
Today we will take a look at the Division I basketball landscape in our final high school basketball preview on NHsportspage.
Remember you can become a supporter of the work our team does at NHsportspage and have access to every single game we cover this season in full by becoming a Gold Level Supporter today. We will be listing all of our new members here on NHsportspage & on our year end highlight video.
Please click the link if you would like to become part of our team as a supporter of our work and listed as a member of our team: Become a Gold Level Supporter Today!
Division I Predicted Order
1.Manchester Central
2.Pinkerton
3.Merrimack
4.Trinity
5.Salem
6.Nashua South
7.Winnacunnet
8.Londonderry
9.Nashua North
10.Exeter
Lurking outside the Top 10: Keene, Manchester Memorial, Bedford, Bishop Guertin & Spaulding
When the pre-season began David ‘Doc’ Wheeler looked at his team like a puzzle that had to be missing a few pieces. There wasn’t a center in the group and truth be told he wasn’t positive if there was a pure point guard either, and those are two pretty important positions..
As things begin to take shape though Manchester Central has a defense that can get in your shirt and enough playmakers to get the Little Green back to the familiar confines of Lundholm Gymnasium in March. “ It is an interesting group because we really lack any size but I’m pretty happy with the way they have responded to coaching early on,” said the veteran head coach.
It starts with all-state forward Jaylen Leroy. One of the best players in the Division has taken on a leadership role in his senior season, “ He is figuring out how to be a vocal leader and taking steps to that end. He handles the ball really well and has really become a very good passer,” said Wheeler of Leroy who will play more of a point-forward role this season. “ He’s going to have to be stat filler for us to be successful this season.”
Sethe Shea will run the point and will be joined in the backcourt by Jonathan Makori, who has at times frustrated with his immense ability and habitual inconsistency. “Jonathan has really allowed himself to be coached in the pre-season and that’s a great development for us. He is starting to take offensive fouls and he had 8 rebounds in the jamboree (win over Pelham),” noted Wheeler. “ He’s a player who can really do a lot for us and right now he is working hard to make that happen.”
Senior captain and class president Evan Macdonald gives Central a knockdown shooter from 25 feet as well as leadership. What Wheeler is looking for in 2016 is more rebounding out of his 6’3 guard. “ We need him to be a player who averages 7 to 8 rebounds a night for us because, look around.., we don't have the size for him not to be.”
David Baraka is a player Wheeler raves about (“He is a very bright kid and I love his upside as an athlete.”) and fits the mold of an undersized player that gets the most out of his ability. “ We are going to be challenged by bigger teams but I like our quickness and we have a chance to be very good defensively,” said Wheeler.
Pinkerton Academy was one (very deep & highly contested) jump shot away from head coach Peter Rosinski’s second championship a year ago. In 2016 Matt Rizzo, Brennan Morris, Tom Romick and Ben Olson will have the Astros back in contention for another trip to Durham. “ This group has played a lot of games, going back to when they grew up together,” said head coach Peter Rosinski. “ That chemistry is a big part of the success we had last year.”
You don’t replace a point guard like Geo Baker so the Astros won’t even try to as two or three different players will play the point this season including Seth Guilmette and freshman Joey Merrill, only the third freshman varsity player at Pinkerton in the last 25 years. Matt Rizzo is one of the best guards in the state while Brennan Morris has grown to 6’5 and is a legitimate threat to bury jumpers out to 25 feet. “Brennan is a player we could use really at any of the five positions on the court,” said Rosinski.
Ben Olson and Tommy Romick form one of the best frontcourts in the state for a Pinkerton team that seems to sprout 6’6 post players. “ I think we will be a better team defensively this season and those two (Ben & Tom) are a big reason why.” 6’5 Tryston Brown will provide depth off the bench as will guard Matthew Anzivino. “ We really have a great group of kids and they work very well as a unit. We feel like we have a team that will compete every night in what should be a very good division.”
If you have hung around Merrimack head coach Tim Goodridge enough you’ve heard him time & again spell out the recipe for success in the tournament, “ Seniors. You win with seniors in March.” Well the Tomahawks have eight on the roster and that’s enough to expect Merrimack to be hanging around late into March.
Ian Roberts gives Merrimack a presence on the low block and will be joined at the forward spot by 6’2 AJ Azorian, 6’3 Jake Gianelli and 6’1 Dan McKillop who Goodridge calls maybe the best pure athlete on the team. “ You have to have three scorers to be really be successful, you saw that a year ago with Londonderry,” said Goodridge. “ We have enough guys who can step into that role but that is really still to be determined.”
Zak Kerr may be the best shooter on the team while Ian Cummings is a sophomore who may be ready for a breakout season, “ He’s really the X-factor for us. He has flashes where he looks all world but he needs to be consistent for us. He is a player who should be one of those three main scorers for us.”
Mike Dudash will run the team from the point guard spot, “He’s a gritty defender and a very steady leader for us. We just need to work on limiting turnovers and taking care of the ball,” said Goodridge. The sum of all of those parts is a good defensive team with rebounding and experience. That’s enough to put you in the conversation in Division I, “It’s really a fantastic group of kids. I really enjoy going to the gym every day to coach these guys.”
Last season Trinity was a new look team with a first year head coach and at times, that’s exactly what they looked like on the floor. Players zigged when head coach Matt Lemieux wanted them to zag and it looked as frustrating to the coaches off the floor as the players on it. By March though the Pioneers began to come together and with a first round upset of Nashua South they became the only Manchester team in the city to get out of the first round (tell me when you think that will happen again…)
A year later an exciting freshman point guard joins three returning starters for a Trinity team that has designs on getting back to Durham after a one year absence. “ It’s been a lot easier this year from day one because I don’t have to explain every little thing we are doing at practice,” said Lemieux. “ That and senior leadership really help.”
Leadership comes in the form of seven year veteran Connor Walsh (fine he’s 18,,it just feels like he has been around for seven years) and forward Justin Trickett. “Walshie has worked on getting in better shape and on becoming a better defender,” said Lemieux of his all-state power forward, “ He’s starting to ‘get it’ that it is his senior year and this is his last shot. Where last year he at times had to be a one man show that is no longer the case, and I think that makes us a better team.”
Trickett is the X-factor, a player capable of taking over games and leading Trinity to the top of the division. “Unquestionably he is the guy we need to step up and to his credit he has worked very hard to make that happen. He’s in the gym every day working on his game and we will go as far as he takes us because I know what we are getting from Connor already.”
Jordan Santos is one of the best freshman in the state and he will get the keys to the offense from day one. His older brother James is one of the teams most improved players and someone capable of shooting Trinity back in any game they are trailing. “ James is accepting his role and I’m really happy with how he has played in the pre-season,” said Lemieux. Zack Dagan will round out the starting lineup while a much improved Simon Berry, Pat Mackey and Pembroke transfer Dante Timbas will provide depth in the frontcourt. “ Dante can really help us with his ability to rebound and guard bigs in the paint.”
A group that was once deemed by their head coach as ‘a year away’ is ready to contend for a final four berth as Rob McLaughlin’s Salem Blue Devils will be a team capable beating you in a few different ways. “ We have eight players back who played for us a year ago and as a group, it’s just a fun team to coach,” said McLaughlin. “ They want to make their mark as a team, so sometimes you need to bring them back to a one game at a time mentality but it’s a group of really good kids who really love hanging out together. They are ready to compete every night.”
Matt Vartanian will anchor what could be a very good Salem defense. The 6’5 center has a chance to be one of the best post players in the state, “ He really controls the back end of our defense. “ Vartanian will be joined up front by 6’3 forward Tim Dodier (“He brings a ton of energy to our team,” said McLaughlin) and returning starter Jared Gott, who has developed an ability to get to the rim off the dribble in the off-season.
Griffin Curtis, forced to sit out the jamboree match-up with Epping, was one of the breakout performers in the fall league and will be the X-factor for Salem in 2016. “ He has worked really hard and we are expecting a big year out of him.” DJ Coletti and Jake Bosworth bring a lot of speed & quickness to the backcourt while guard Matt McLaughlin does a very good job running the offense because of his high basketball IQ.
Connor Greenfield is your resident glue guy who does all the little things for a team with serious designs on getting to the final Saturday of the season. “ The division is so wide open that if you don’t come in prepared every single night you’re going to lose,” said McLaughlin. “ That makes for a pretty entertaining season throughout our division.”
Nashua South will try and ride the all-state backcourt of DJ Frechette and Kevin Genao all the way to UNH. Nate Mazerolle’s team also returns Zavier Williams and Max Osgood from a team that finished 10-8 a year ago.
It only took the opening half of a pre-season game for Winnacunnet head coach Jay McKenna to find his first ‘teachable moment’ (aka the first time you can really get on your players..). The Warriors had played hard and executed well in taking a 23-7 lead on Littleton after one quarter.
As had too often been the case a year ago for a very young team, the next eight minutes hardly resembled the first eight as Littleton outscored the Warriors 10-4 in the second quarter. Winnacunnet stopped sharing the ball, stopped taking care of it and all that communication went silent. This did not go unnoticed by their veteran head coach. “ I said to them in the locker room, ‘Here we are again, this is exactly why we lost so many close games a year ago. Are you going to be that same team again??”
Chances are very likely that they will not. Winnacunnet has one of the best ball handling backcourts in the state and enough size & shooting to make a run at a Top 8 seed. It begins with the duo of Liam Viviano and Anthony Primavera in the backcourt. Viviano has really come into his own as a junior and is now capable of creating offense by getting into the lane and either finishing himself or kicking out to a bevy of shooters like Zach Waterhouse. “ I see a real increase in his confidence level,” said McKenna of Viviano. “ He is a leader on the court and a player that is just really hard to take off the floor.” Primavera is not your typical shooting guard, in fact he really is your 1a point guard option. “ They really play well off of each other. There will be times when I assign one to the 1 (PG) and the other to the 2 (SG) but most of the time we will push it up the floor with whomever has the basketball.”
Waterhouse is a 6 foot shooting guard with one of those strokes where you are surprised when the shot doesn’t go down. “ When he gets into a groove it’s almost automatic,” said McKenna. “ He is a kid that I think, come February, could be real difference maker for us.” Shackiel Boyd has had a terrific pre-season, he gave Littleton fits on Sunday, and has been a very strong addition to the rotation with his ability to defend.
Forward Freddy Schaake is fully capable of a breakout year as a junior. The 6’4 forward can finish in transition as well as any big in the division and has improved his outside shooting as a compliment to his ability to put the ball on the floor. “ Last year was a learning process for Freddy and really for a lot of our young guys,” said McKenna. “ He has made some improvements in his game and is working at being more consistent. If we are able to improve that way as a team we have a chance to compete with the best teams in the division.”
A year ago when his team looked out of sorts in practice Londonderry head coach Nate Stanton was smart enough to know a few words of instruction was all a loaded/veteran team needed. That philosophy carried the Lancers all the way to an undefeated championship.
In 2015-16 Stanton was again smart enough to realize that same approach wasn’t going to work this time around. “ We need to get better as a team, in a lot of different areas,” said Stanton of his team which lost three starters and two key reserves. “ Last year it was about me not getting in the way,” he joked, “ This year it is more about teaching.”
Easing the transition will be all-state guard Jake Coleman who not only was one of the team’s leading scorers a year ago as a sophomore but one of its most vocal leaders. “It’s a completely different role for Jake this year, this is his team now. Teams will be focusing on him every night and not Cody (Ball) anymore,” said Stanton.
Cole Britting has carried strong play in the off-season back into the starting lineup while Nate Gaw will provide the on the ball defense every team needs. 6’4 Matt Corey has improved a great deal in the off-season and will be called upon to provide rebounding as well as his ability to finish in the open floor. “He has really come into his own. He’s a better rebounder and just more patient out on the floor.”
Cam Reddy steps in as the resident bruiser, as he and Corey are going to need to control the glass for a fairly small rotation. “ As the year goes along he will become more of a focus of the offense,” said Stanton said of Reddy. “ Right now it’s about getting better every day, as a group I like the guys we have and the make-up of this team. We’ll see how it plays out over the next three months.”
Nashua North was the Cinderella story of last season’s tournament. Knocking off Manchester Central and Trinity before falling to Pinkerton in the final four. Nate Hale & point guard Ronnie Silva return for a team capable of making another run in 2016. “ Getting to Durham showed these guys that they can compete with any team in the state,” said head coach Steve Lane. “ So that is a confidence we didn’t have a year ago at this time.”
The 5’6 Silva is one of the best point guards in the state and has a huge fan in his own head coach “ He’s a dream to coach. I look at players that are 6’4, 6’5 and wonder how good they could be if they worked as hard as he does. He loves the game of basketball and he will do anything to help his team win.” Nathan Hale was one of the most improved players in Division I last season and he is joined in the front court by Sam McCarthy and Alonzo Linton. “Sam is a kid that just does what you ask of him and he helps us in a lot of ways,” said Lane.
Guard Sky Boykin might be the best on the ball defender Lane has had in over twenty years of coaching and how he develops over the season will tell you a lot about whether the Titans have another final four run in them. “ Size is again an issue for us so we are going to have to mix up our defenses, especially in the half court,” said Lane. “ We will change up defenses and try to keep the other team off balance.”
Any discussion on the best backcourts in the state that doesn’t include Exeter isn’t an argument worth having. Bryant Holmes and Cody Morissette can beat you in any number of ways, the question in 2016 is how the pieces fill in around them? “We are a deeper team than we were a year ago,” said head coach Jeff Holmes. “ Last season I think Bryant really had to be a scorer every night for us to win games. I don’t think that is going to be the case this year.”
The younger Holmes is one of the best pure scorers in the division but his father sees a change as he enters his senior year. “ He has worked to become more of a complete player, by improving his defense and his ability to see the floor.” His backcourt mate Morissette is a three sport athlete who has been the talk of the pre-season because of his evolution as a player. “ He’s bigger & stronger than last year,” said Holmes. “ There is certainly a big jump from freshman to sophomore year and we have seen it with Cody. He’s just a competitor. Cody could pick up tennis and be beating you at it by the end of the day..he’d figure it out. That’s just the way he is.”
6’4 center Steve Natola will anchor the frontcourt along with 6’2 Collin Coute and small forward Tim Larkin. Sophomore Alex Swett, younger brother of former all-state player Ben, and 6’4 Alex Price will see immediate minutes as well. “ It’s a wide open division as everyone is saying,” said Holmes. “ I think we have a team that compete from night to night.”
Last year Keene was one of those teams you wanted to avoid in the first round of the tournament. This time around Keene wants you coming to them, the Blackbirds are ready to fight for a Top 8 seed. “We’ve had some very good practices this pre-season and that is up from primarily bad practices the last few seasons,” joked head coach Dave Sontag. “ The kids are really working hard and they have bought in to what we are trying to do. It’s a fun group to coach.”
Spencer Feng is a rock solid point guard for Sontag’s team and is joined in the backcourt by shooting guard Logan Galanes, Keene’s best outside threat. “ They are really working on taking care of the basketball and improving on the defensive end of the floor. That’s really been our focus early on.”
Brad Blake has added more muscle to his 6’3 frame while Dylan Grover is expected to make an immediate impact. Sophomore Jake Blaisdell gives Keene another shooter on the floor while Erick Zecha and Bo Drake-Deese will provide depth for a team ready to make another tournament run.
“ We want to play at a faster pace than we have in the past and that begins with our defense,” said Sontag. “ If we can create turnovers we are then able to get out and score in transition. That is where we need to get to become a much better team than we were a year ago.”
Veteran head coach Jack Quirk has no idea how many games his Manchester Memorial team will win this season, he just has a strong sense he is going to enjoy it more.” I like the make-up of this team. We are quick and aggressive to the ball and they’ll score in bunches,” said Quirk. “These last two years were filled with a lot of drama and now it’s going to be fun to see how this group develops.”
It will be a backcourt by committee for the Crusaders as Paul Rodolf, Jake Carrier, Nick Philibert, Michael Roumraj and Tyson Thomas will play right away. “ They play with a great deal of enthusiasm and the chemistry has been good. That’s not easy when you lose four of your first six players from a year ago.”
Brandon Scott will anchor Memorial’s frontcourt alongside Malo Roumraj, Nick Beall and sophomore Zach Lubin. Quirk is expecting Mahmud Gabir to contribute when he returns from a foot injury. “ We have an AAU culture now where a lot of players don’t have any allegiance to their school, it is about showcasing themselves for the next level. If there even is a next level,” said Quirk. “ You see a lot of players who, as soon as their season is over, just move right over to their AAU team. It’s not the same as it was years ago when kids wanted to create a legacy in their hometown and bring a title to their school. I don’t see that with this group at all. They are working hard and having fun every day in practice. I don’t know how many games we will win but it’s going to be a fun ride.”
Add Bishop Guertin to the list of teams that seemingly could beat any team on any given night. Head coach Jim Migneault, last seen leading New Hampshire to a blowout win over Vermont in the Twin State game, will again have a nine or ten man rotation capable of competing with anyone.
“ We have enough depth to play our usual style and in a division this wide open I think you’re really going to need to get production from your bench.” 6’4 forward Mike Rinko steps into a bigger role as a junior and will play in the frontcourt alongside 6’3 Matt Phillips and Crayton Crowell.
Junior Pat Donovan will run the team from the point guard spot while sophomore Yanis Nyantenji steps into a major role right away. Casey Fisher will also see major minutes for a BG team looking to make a return trip to Durham in March.
Mike Fitzpatrick stepped down as head coach at Bedford and is replaced by former Goffstown head coach Mark Elmendorf, who led the Grizzlies to a final four appearance a year ago. “ From day one the attitude of this group has been fantastic, as far as coming to open gym and working on their game,” said Elmendorf. Ryan Hughes will be one of the top scorers in Division I and is joined in the backcourt by point guard Justin Hayes, who has become the vocal leader of the Bulldogs.
6’7 center Colby Gendron will anchor the Bedford defense alongside 6’3 Josh Koehler (“He’s had a great pre-season for us.”) and Josh Bauer. “ Josh does all the little things you need to win games (glue guy alert) and is maybe our best defender,” said his head coach. Brayden Moreno will contribute as well for a Bedford team that has made three consecutive quarterfinal appearances. “ We need to find a 3rd scorer but we certainly have the players to do that,” said Elmendorf. “ It’s a group that loves to compete.”
When you talk about the most successful Division I basketball programs of the last eight years you are talking about Trinity, Central, Merrimack, Bishop Guertin and Spaulding. In 2016 The Fighting McIsaacs will retool with one of the best coaches in the state, an all-state forward and a pair of talented freshman who one day will lead Spaulding back to the top of the Division I hierarchy. “Everything is about developing for the future and getting better every day,” said veteran head coach Tim Cronin. “We’re a young team so it is going to be a process early on.”
Cal Connelly will step into the alpha dog role as a junior. A 6’4 shooter capable of carrying Spaulding against the top teams in the division. “ He has really improved his all-around game and become a very vocal leader,” said Cronin. Freshman Ari Breakfield, a 6’2 forward and fellow freshman Keagan Calero will step into the mix right away while Matt Roy takes over at point guard. “ It’s a really good group of kids and that makes it enjoyable to go to the gym every day,” said Cronin. “ The freshman are going to get a chance to come right in and play so their development will tell a lot about how our season will go.”
Pre-Season First Team All-State
Jaylen Leroy of Manchester Central
Jake Coleman of Londonderry
DJ Frechette of Nashua South
Bryant Holmes of Exeter
Connor Walsh of Trinity
Second Team
Matt Rizzo of Pinkerton
Nathan Hale of Nashua North
Matt Vartanian of Salem
Ryan Hughes of Bedford
Cody Morissette of Exeter
With apologies to: Liam Viviano, Freddy Shaake & Anthony Primavera of Winnacunnet, Brandon Scott of Memorial, Evan MacDonald and Jonathan Makori of Central, Ronnie Silva of Nashua North, Brennan Morris & Tom Romick of Pinkerton, Colby Gendron of Bedford, Matt Corey of Londonderry, Zack Kerr & Ian Cummings of Merrimack, Jared Gott & Griffin Curtis of Salem, Justin Trickett of Trinity, Max Osgood & Zavier Williams of Nashua South, Brad Blake & Logan Galanes of Keene, Danny Brown of Alvirne & Cal Connelly of Spaulding.
The ALL NEW New Hampshire High school Basketball Show returns Saturday morning from 9 to 11 am on ESPN NH on 900 & 1250 AM or simply listen to the show online from anywhere by clicking the LISTEN LIVE button on the NHsportspage homepage or on the Tunein Radio App.
Pete Tarrier & I will break down all the action from Friday night including the two games we will be covering for our Games of the Week: Portsmouth at Manchester West and Nashua North at Salem. We will be joined by Newmarket head coach Jamie Hayes and as always Justin McIsaac will join us at 10:30.