The Crosstown Motors Division Division IV Semifinal Scouting Report
2016-03-08
Corey Gadwah and Groveton get another shot at Littleton tonight
By Dave Haley
As we do in both basketball and football we hand over our semifinal previews to the people that know the four teams better than anyone; the coaches who have competed against them all year. The following are scouting reports from three Division IV coaches we spoke to using blind quotes.
Time is running out on our early bird registration rate of just $50 for uninterrupted coverage of every game video, column, statistic and podcast we bring you. After the deadline of March 10th the registration process will go through our web provider with a cost of around $150 annually.
Anyone not registered will not have access to any of the content on our website. This is a move to grow NHsportspage and we hope you love the coverage enough to come with us.
Each registration will be getting an NHsportspage Black game jersey mailed to you after the season, so act today and you are set through next (2017) season!
Register for full access through 2017
We will of course have full coverage of tonight’s two semifinal games as Lisbon head coach Sam Natti and Newmarket head coach Jamie Hayes will join me to call the game. All the highlights, play by play and post-game celebrations will be up on the site tomorrow morning.
(3) Woodsville vs. (2) Portsmouth Christian
When the dust had settled last Thursday night The Big Smooth Lewis Atkins and Portsmouth Christian were the last team standing from the southern teams. Meanwhile 100 miles away Jamie Walker’s Engineers were ending the title reign of Wilton-Lyndeborough in convincing fashion. We asked our coaches to breakdown the first semifinal game Monday night.
First the Portsmouth Christian Eagles: “They look to Kylani LaFleur to create everything on offense and the others guys really rely on that. Players like Shaun Bradley and Joe Yoon are able to get good looks because of Kylani’s ability to break people down off the dribble. Really what their offense boils down to is Kylani driving and four guys rebounding. Their mentality is to crash the glass and get their points in the paint.”
A fellow coach echoed that sentiment, “He (Lafleur) is almost sneaky with how he gets to the basket so quickly and really on a straight line to the basket. The only other player we faced who did that as well as he did was Matt Tenney (of Sunapee). I also think Paul Staude is a kid who can really hurt you, he is relentless as a worker, and his work-rate is remarkable.”
How do you defend PCA? “When you make them pull the ball out they struggle. They are good rebounding the ball at the forward spots but their guards are small and can’t rebound very effectively. Drew McCormick is a player I really like a lot but they don’t feature him at all for some reason. He seems like an afterthought in that offense."
We asked coaches about the Portsmouth Christian defense. “I think they are very underrated defensively. They will move Kylani around to guard the hot guy so it may be a player who is hurting you in the post or a shooter who has gotten going but they move him around a lot.”
Another coach talked about their transition to Plymouth State and the bigger floor. “They grab a lot and are very physical; I wonder how that plays with three officials. I also think they have a couple of kids who are not in great shape and that floor is 15 feet bigger. At the end of the day that makes a big difference.”
We then asked our coaches to breakdown the Woodsvile Engineers: “The #1 thing with Woodsville is they hardly ever turn it over or have a wasted possession. (Derek) Maccini and (Jaret) Bemis trust the guys around them enough to get them the ball in key situations and that is huge when that happens with your team. When your main guys trust everyone on the floor around them it makes you a very tough team to defend. Woodsville has that.”
A fellow coach talked about Woodsville’s ability to rebound. “PCA won a lot of games this year controlling the boards, and although they may out rebound Woodsville Monday night they are not going to dominate them. Jamie (Walker) has five guys rebounding on every possession.”
How do you defend Woodsville “ Pressing up at Plymouth is hard enough on the big floor, I think you are wasting your time pressing them because they are used to teams that press (Littleton & Groveton) on much smaller floors. If there is one thing you might see PCA do its push the tempo of the game. Woodsville is not very deep and if you can wear them down over the course of 32 minutes you have a good shot to win.”
Coaches talked about Woodsville’s key players. “Bemis is going to be good on that bigger floor and Maccini is going to keep everyone on the same page.” Added another coach, “Sam Pushee is their most important player Monday night, He’s a true post-up player and he can have some success against a good PCA frontline.”
Another coach talked about match-ups, “On paper PCA is the better team and (Smooth) does a good job with them but it is going to be a huge crowd and everyone from Groveton & Littleton is going to be rooting for Woodsville. They have to initiate the pace and do more than rely on Kylani to create everything for them. They need player likes Devon Smart, Joe Yoon and McCormick to step up.”
So who wins the game?
“Woodsville. They will win the battle in the paint and of every player on that floor I trust Maccini the most in a big moment.”
“Portsmouth Christian. In games like this often times you see the best player take over late and Kylani Lafleur is the best player on the floor.”
“Woodsville. Outside of Kylani I don’t think PCA can get enough scoring to win.””
(5) Groveton vs. (1) Littleton
The undefeated Crusaders won a pair of down to the wire games that Groveton led late in. Monday night they meet at Plymouth for the first time since the 2010 Class S title game for a spot in the championship game Friday night.
If you plan on showing up 30 minutes before tip-off I wouldn’t bother..you’re not getting in.
We asked the coaches to breakdown Littleton/Groveton III.
First Mark Collins’ Groveton Eagles: “ They are very disciplined. Mark has them run some very basic stuff but they know exactly how they are supposed to execute it. Everyone is on the same page and knows where they have to be. Mark has done an outstanding job with this group because really they only have one scorer they can rely on every night and not a ton of size. They play very hard and they know the game plan in & out.”
A fellow coach talked about leading scorer Corey Gadwah, “ He has some stones, he makes some very big shots for that team when every person in the gym knows he is shooting it.”
“ They need Austin Lesperance to have another big game like he did at Sunapee because there is only so much scoring in that lineup. Daegan Lurvey is excellent but you don’t have to worry about him scoring unless it’s in transition. Their big guys have to score down low and go right at Logan Briggs. That means guys like Lucas Simpson and Christian Guay who have to get into him (Briggs) early on both ends of the floor.”
Fellow coaches talked about the Groveton offense, “Trevor (Howard) is going to take Gadwah away or at least slow him down so they need points in the paint. Lurvey also has to score enough to keep the defense honest.”
What about the Groveton defense? “They are going to apply pressure, see what you are doing to attack it, and then Mark will adjust. Derryfield came right out and had a lot of early success but Mark changed it up and slowed them down.”
Another coach talked about Littleton all-state center Logan Briggs, “ You can take him out of his game by being physical with him. If you bump him enough he will go out to the perimeter and shoot jumpers. If Groveton can get into him early they can take his ability to finish at the rim away. He wants to be a stretch 4 (power forward) not a center.”
What about the Littleton Crusaders? “ If Littleton plays well no one will beat them. Groveton is at the same time the best and the worst match-up for them. They are a good match-up because at every position Littleton is just a little bit better and they are as deep as Groveton. At the same time the Groveton kids do not fear Littleton at all, they know exactly what Littleton is going to do and they go in believing they are going to win because of their head coach.”
Another coach weighed in, “ This is the game that matters and if they let Groveton dictate pace they could be in trouble. How effective will their zone press be? It hasn’t been very effective on the college floor. This is a team that has lost two straight years on this floor and in this round. How do they handle that first run by Groveton?”
Coaches talked about the Littleton offense. “ I don’t know why they don’t feature Kuba Kubkowski more? He’s their best player and he is very efficient as a scorer. Briggs is a very good shot blocker but he can easily be turned into a jump shooter and you’ll live with that. The two guys they need to step up are Danny Brammer and Cy Kezarian because you know what you are getting out of Kuba.”
Another coach talked about Littleton’s defense. “ They win games with their defense. They play great team defense and they rotate a lot of guys in there and Trevor has them sure of what they are doing and what their role is.”
That brought up the coaching match-up, “ I think it’s a wash. Mark has won there so many times that the kids know to just follow what he says. Trevor is excellent as well so it will be a very good chess match between the two of them.”
So who wins tonight?
“Littleton wins the game late, by about 5 points.”
“Littleton, but the game will be closer than people think.”
“ Littleton but I think it will be a very good game and a Groveton win wouldn’t shock me.”
Time is running out on our early bird registration rate of just $50 for uninterrupted coverage of every game video, column, statistic and podcast we bring you. After the deadline of March 10th the registration process will go through our web provider with a cost of around $150 annually.
Anyone not registered will not have access to any of the content on our website. This is a move to grow NHsportspage and we hope you love the coverage enough to come with us.
Each registration will be getting an NHsportspage Black game jersey mailed to you after the season, so act today and you are set through next (2017) season!
Register for full access through 2017
We will of course have full coverage of tonight’s two semifinal games as Lisbon head coach Sam Natti and Newmarket head coach Jamie Hayes will join me to call the game. All the highlights, play by play and post-game celebrations will be up on the site tomorrow morning.
(3) Woodsville vs. (2) Portsmouth Christian
When the dust had settled last Thursday night The Big Smooth Lewis Atkins and Portsmouth Christian were the last team standing from the southern teams. Meanwhile 100 miles away Jamie Walker’s Engineers were ending the title reign of Wilton-Lyndeborough in convincing fashion. We asked our coaches to breakdown the first semifinal game Monday night.
First the Portsmouth Christian Eagles: “They look to Kylani LaFleur to create everything on offense and the others guys really rely on that. Players like Shaun Bradley and Joe Yoon are able to get good looks because of Kylani’s ability to break people down off the dribble. Really what their offense boils down to is Kylani driving and four guys rebounding. Their mentality is to crash the glass and get their points in the paint.”
A fellow coach echoed that sentiment, “He (Lafleur) is almost sneaky with how he gets to the basket so quickly and really on a straight line to the basket. The only other player we faced who did that as well as he did was Matt Tenney (of Sunapee). I also think Paul Staude is a kid who can really hurt you, he is relentless as a worker, and his work-rate is remarkable.”
How do you defend PCA? “When you make them pull the ball out they struggle. They are good rebounding the ball at the forward spots but their guards are small and can’t rebound very effectively. Drew McCormick is a player I really like a lot but they don’t feature him at all for some reason. He seems like an afterthought in that offense."
We asked coaches about the Portsmouth Christian defense. “I think they are very underrated defensively. They will move Kylani around to guard the hot guy so it may be a player who is hurting you in the post or a shooter who has gotten going but they move him around a lot.”
Another coach talked about their transition to Plymouth State and the bigger floor. “They grab a lot and are very physical; I wonder how that plays with three officials. I also think they have a couple of kids who are not in great shape and that floor is 15 feet bigger. At the end of the day that makes a big difference.”
We then asked our coaches to breakdown the Woodsvile Engineers: “The #1 thing with Woodsville is they hardly ever turn it over or have a wasted possession. (Derek) Maccini and (Jaret) Bemis trust the guys around them enough to get them the ball in key situations and that is huge when that happens with your team. When your main guys trust everyone on the floor around them it makes you a very tough team to defend. Woodsville has that.”
A fellow coach talked about Woodsville’s ability to rebound. “PCA won a lot of games this year controlling the boards, and although they may out rebound Woodsville Monday night they are not going to dominate them. Jamie (Walker) has five guys rebounding on every possession.”
How do you defend Woodsville “ Pressing up at Plymouth is hard enough on the big floor, I think you are wasting your time pressing them because they are used to teams that press (Littleton & Groveton) on much smaller floors. If there is one thing you might see PCA do its push the tempo of the game. Woodsville is not very deep and if you can wear them down over the course of 32 minutes you have a good shot to win.”
Coaches talked about Woodsville’s key players. “Bemis is going to be good on that bigger floor and Maccini is going to keep everyone on the same page.” Added another coach, “Sam Pushee is their most important player Monday night, He’s a true post-up player and he can have some success against a good PCA frontline.”
Another coach talked about match-ups, “On paper PCA is the better team and (Smooth) does a good job with them but it is going to be a huge crowd and everyone from Groveton & Littleton is going to be rooting for Woodsville. They have to initiate the pace and do more than rely on Kylani to create everything for them. They need player likes Devon Smart, Joe Yoon and McCormick to step up.”
So who wins the game?
“Woodsville. They will win the battle in the paint and of every player on that floor I trust Maccini the most in a big moment.”
“Portsmouth Christian. In games like this often times you see the best player take over late and Kylani Lafleur is the best player on the floor.”
“Woodsville. Outside of Kylani I don’t think PCA can get enough scoring to win.””
(5) Groveton vs. (1) Littleton
The undefeated Crusaders won a pair of down to the wire games that Groveton led late in. Monday night they meet at Plymouth for the first time since the 2010 Class S title game for a spot in the championship game Friday night.
If you plan on showing up 30 minutes before tip-off I wouldn’t bother..you’re not getting in.
We asked the coaches to breakdown Littleton/Groveton III.
First Mark Collins’ Groveton Eagles: “ They are very disciplined. Mark has them run some very basic stuff but they know exactly how they are supposed to execute it. Everyone is on the same page and knows where they have to be. Mark has done an outstanding job with this group because really they only have one scorer they can rely on every night and not a ton of size. They play very hard and they know the game plan in & out.”
A fellow coach talked about leading scorer Corey Gadwah, “ He has some stones, he makes some very big shots for that team when every person in the gym knows he is shooting it.”
“ They need Austin Lesperance to have another big game like he did at Sunapee because there is only so much scoring in that lineup. Daegan Lurvey is excellent but you don’t have to worry about him scoring unless it’s in transition. Their big guys have to score down low and go right at Logan Briggs. That means guys like Lucas Simpson and Christian Guay who have to get into him (Briggs) early on both ends of the floor.”
Fellow coaches talked about the Groveton offense, “Trevor (Howard) is going to take Gadwah away or at least slow him down so they need points in the paint. Lurvey also has to score enough to keep the defense honest.”
What about the Groveton defense? “They are going to apply pressure, see what you are doing to attack it, and then Mark will adjust. Derryfield came right out and had a lot of early success but Mark changed it up and slowed them down.”
Another coach talked about Littleton all-state center Logan Briggs, “ You can take him out of his game by being physical with him. If you bump him enough he will go out to the perimeter and shoot jumpers. If Groveton can get into him early they can take his ability to finish at the rim away. He wants to be a stretch 4 (power forward) not a center.”
What about the Littleton Crusaders? “ If Littleton plays well no one will beat them. Groveton is at the same time the best and the worst match-up for them. They are a good match-up because at every position Littleton is just a little bit better and they are as deep as Groveton. At the same time the Groveton kids do not fear Littleton at all, they know exactly what Littleton is going to do and they go in believing they are going to win because of their head coach.”
Another coach weighed in, “ This is the game that matters and if they let Groveton dictate pace they could be in trouble. How effective will their zone press be? It hasn’t been very effective on the college floor. This is a team that has lost two straight years on this floor and in this round. How do they handle that first run by Groveton?”
Coaches talked about the Littleton offense. “ I don’t know why they don’t feature Kuba Kubkowski more? He’s their best player and he is very efficient as a scorer. Briggs is a very good shot blocker but he can easily be turned into a jump shooter and you’ll live with that. The two guys they need to step up are Danny Brammer and Cy Kezarian because you know what you are getting out of Kuba.”
Another coach talked about Littleton’s defense. “ They win games with their defense. They play great team defense and they rotate a lot of guys in there and Trevor has them sure of what they are doing and what their role is.”
That brought up the coaching match-up, “ I think it’s a wash. Mark has won there so many times that the kids know to just follow what he says. Trevor is excellent as well so it will be a very good chess match between the two of them.”
So who wins tonight?
“Littleton wins the game late, by about 5 points.”
“Littleton, but the game will be closer than people think.”
“ Littleton but I think it will be a very good game and a Groveton win wouldn’t shock me.”