The Beals Insurance High School Power Rankings
2014-03-25
Dawson Dickson and Manchester Central are the best team in the state
As we do every year at this time we rank the Top 15 teams in New Hampshire by taking a look back at what was and a look ahead of what might be.
1. Manchester Central 22-0
The coverage of Manchester Central is sponsored by 900 Degrees Pizzaria
What went right?: Everything..seemingly from day one. Believing that though would take away a lot of the credit this group deserves. Mike Plentzas was going to be the starting small forward, Dawson Dickson, after years of sacrificing his own scoring numbers was going to finally be a true scoring threat and Tyler Kelley was going to get bona fide looks on the block. They had to..teams would key on Brett Hanson solely if they didn’t. That changed when Jon (a senior) and Joey (a junior) Martin arrived from Florida. This shift in roles could have gone wrong on a dozen different levels but because of those five players, their character, their ability to bond & genuinely become friends, it never did. Those five kids and their head coach Doc Wheeler deserve a ton of credit for that. Their reward is the school’s second undefeated season under the legendary head coach.
How does next year look?: Brett Hanson & Joey Martin return, so you start with arguably two first team all-state players right there. Anyone who pigeon holed Joey as just a shooter, and I was guilty early on, were proven categorically wrong. Anyone who was in Durham saw this kid can create his own shot. They’ll miss Dickson, Plentzas, Kelley and Jon Martin but there is talent coming up and Central is back in the mix in 2015.
2. Merrimack 19-3
What went right?: The players around Eric Gendron got better and Gendron himself was as good as expected. He was terrific, the best player in the state in 2014 and with the improvement of Shayne Bourque and the continued development of Austin Franzen this team thrived under veteran head coach Tim Goodridge.
How does next year look?: The Tomahawks likely fall back into the 7 to 10 range with graduation losses but Goodridge, one of the best, is very vocal in saying he likes what is coming up the pike for his program. Merrimack remains a factor.
3. Trinity 19-2
What went right?: The low post tandem of Wenyen Gabriel & Carmen Giampetruzzi developed the kind of chemistry you need to win a state title but Trinity was never as deep as they anticipated and the loss of point guard Ryan Otis in the tournament was hard to overcome. The offense was not the same without him. This team never seemed to jell from 1 through 8 like they had in years past and sometimes that’s just how it plays out. Dave Keefe did another tremendous job of putting his kids in a position to win and on 17 of 18 nights they did just that.
How does next year look?: Wenyen returns along with Connor Walsh and Ryan Boldwin so there is a good nucleus on the low block. Patrick Keefe, a three year starter, departs in the backcourt along with Otis, Brad Rhoades (one of my favorite kids to cover) and most importantly Dave Keefe himself. I’ll have more on that in my final thoughts column this week but Luke Testa headlines the returners in the backcourt, and over at Trinity you never can know who is walking through that door next..
4. Pembroke Academy 21-1
What went right?: Patrick Welch was able to assume more of the ball handling responsibilities and Kafani ‘Jordan’ Williams become one of the top 10 players in the state. Players like Cameron Taylor & Max Curran stepped up and Dominic Timbas, as expected, protected the paint and averaged nearly 10 rebounds a game. Every year teams win championships but it is the rare team that repeats. This group will be remembered.
How does next year look?: Timbas is the focal point as the Spartans move up to Division I. With Max Curran, Rob Wilson, Connor Boucher, Cameron Taylor and Dante Timbas the core is there to compete at the highest level.
5. Portsmouth 19-3
What went right?: If you watched the Bedford/Portsmouth game in our inaugural pre-season jamboree and I told you one of these two teams was going to play for the Division championship you would have looked at me and said, “ Bedford is making the D1 final??” Three months later Jim Mulvey had a ‘bunch of football players’ on the same floor as Pembroke on the final Saturday of the season. This was an excellent defensive team that was prone to long stretches where they struggled to score but players like Patrick Glynn, Donovan Phanor and Nick Mackey are guys you can go to war with and in the end they were the second best team in Division II.
How does next year look?: Freshman Joey Glynn was a revelation in March with 17 rebounds against Plymouth in a terrific quarterfinal game. Charlie Lehoux returns along with Shon Parnham and in comes one of the most highly touted freshman in years; shooting guard Cody Graham averaged over 30 ppg. as an 8th grader for Rye Middle school and next season comes in to the School of Mulvey. In other words Portsmouth isn’t going anywhere for quite a while.
6. Londonderry 15-5
What went right?: Nate Stanton’s team was one of the most exciting teams in the state to watch for all the right reasons and a team that was talked about all over the NH basketball circles for all the wrong ones. Drew Coveney, Cody Ball and exciting freshman Caleb Green were part of a core that could take you off the dribble and finish at the rim or from 22 feet away from it. A loss to Manchester Memorial looks a lot more forgivable after the events in Durham days later, here is hoping Stanton stays on board.
How does next year look?: Cody Ball, Jake Coleman, Caleb Green, Marc Corey and Joe Kwiatkowski all return and will form a nucleus of a team that should compete for a top 4 spot for a second consecutive season.
7. Conant 20-2
What went right?: Conant at times seemed to suffer from the weight of their own lofty status. ‘Conant lost to Stevens? They only beat Bow by how much? What is wrong with these guys?’ As the questions would continue to mount their head coach Eric Saucier would repeatedly tell me behind the scenes, ‘Keep writing about everyone else, I want everyone to forget we’re even here..This is what I want because we’ll be fine by March.’ When March rolled around Saucier sat his group down and told them as simple as it can be stated, ‘If we hold every opponent we play less than 40 points we will win the Division III title.’ The Orioles went out and gave up 37,28, 38 & 36 points…and won their seventh title in nine years. The credit needs to go to Saucier, a terrific coach who in a very challenging year brought the school yet another championship.
How does next year look?: Eight titles in a decade? It will be all about who leaves and who is arriving. Rob O’Brien is off to Cushing Academy and Eli Hodgson is off to play college basketball, so Conant has some major shoes to fill. The arrival of Pelham to Division III (they beat Gilford by 40 in the pre-season if you are wondering how they translate..) takes a lot of the pressure off a group led by Nathan Wheeler, Josh DeGrenier and CJ Bilodeau because Pelham is the team to beat.
8. Pelham 17-4
What went right?: A rebuilt program made it back to the Division final four before bowing out to the eventual champions. Jake Vaiknoras pushed the tempo and Keith Brown emerged as one of the top scorers in the division. Head coach Matt Regan needed kids like Ryan Frank & Ryan Cloutier to step up and when they did this was a bona fide contender for the title.
How does next year look?: Pelham goes back to Division III, a move Regan was not at all in favor of (shades of Trevor Howard’s objection to Littleton moving to Division IV seven years ago) but school wide it was the right move. Brown will return and the nucleus is there for a very good run in their new home. No coach works harder to build up the youth programs than Regan and he is about to see it pay off in the next few years.
9. Bishop Guertin 13-6
What went right?: Head coach Jim Migneault again had his team in the mix but when point guard CJ Boykin went down BG was less explosive on offense and a step slow defensively. The worst possible match-up for them was a Manchester Memorial team that knew they could take them off the dribble & shoot them out of their zone and that’s exactly who came calling in round one. This was still another solid season for one of the top programs in the state.
How does next year look?: Jack Zimmerman looks like he is going to be an all-state guard next year and he along with Kyle Gavin & Chad Olivieri will have BG back in the conversation. Watch for talented freshman forward Mike Rinko to play a bigger role in his sophomore season.
10. Lebanon 17-4
What went right?: Kieth Matte led his team back to the final four for a second straight season and got some very talented underclassman a lot of experience on the big stage. Dominick Morrill stepped into a much bigger role, Kalin Sou provided leadership & outside shooting and Nic Shepard did all the little things that help you win. The revelation was starting point guard KJ Matte who was introduced to fans at our jamboree and basically forced his father’s hand by putting him a starting role he richly deserved.
How does next year look?: KJ Matte & Austin Whaley will take on leadership roles and will give this team one of the best backcourts in the division. The loss to Portsmouth was marred by how it ended and by some of the emotions that got the better of the Raiders. The cupboard is certainly stocked and when Matte promised his team would be back you would have been wise to believe him.
11. Bishop Brady 14-6
What went right?: Jourdain Bell was as good as any player in the division, Brendan Johnson made the leap and was a huge scoring threat from the forward spot and Joe Bell fit in perfectly. Doing whatever was asked of him on a nightly basis. Anyone who watched the quarterfinal game with Pelham saw that game turn on Bell picking up his fourth foul…whether he should have been left in and whether he actually had committed four fouls in the first place…has been the subject of much debate. What is not up for debate is how that affected the game; Bell was never able to be the same again and couldn’t take the ball to the basket, knowing Pelham players would collapse around him like a human Jenga game.
How does next year look?: Jourdain Bell and Brett Hanson are your ‘Are they going prep or are they staying?’ players for the spring/summer of 2014. If the Bell brothers remain this is your team to beat in 2015.
12. Winnacunnet 13-6
What went right?: The Warriors got all-state seasons out of Sam Knollmeyer & Richie Ruffin and gave Merrimack all they could handle on the road before bowing out in the quarterfinals. Jay McKenna did another excellent coaching job with a young group that should compete at high level in Division I for the next few years.
How does next year look?: There is young talent in players like Anthony Primavera and forward Freddy Schaake and McKenna has a very strong relationship with Noah LaRoche at Integrity hoops. That program played a major role in the development of players like Knollmeyer and will continue to serve the Warriors going forward.
13. Campbell 18-4
What went right?: Somehow a team that lost four starters from the 2013 Division III Runner-ups made it right back to the final game of the season against Conant. They did it behind veteran head coach John Langlois, all-state forward Zach Bergeon and a group of underclassman who knew their role and carried it out to the tune of eleven straight wins. Campbell shared the ball got their best player good looks and followed Langlois’s zone defensive strategy all the way back to SNHU.
How does next year look?: If Bergeon returns Campbell looks like a top four team in Division III next year. There wasn’t a senior on the roster and if not for the arrival of Pelham this would be your team to beat.
14. Epping 19-3
What went right?: When Jimmy Stanley (22 points and 15 rebounds per game) was eligible this was the best team in Division IV. As good as Derryfield looked at times and as well as Sunapee performed it was Epping all along that had the team to beat. Epping came back from a double digit deficit against Sunapee in a terrific final and won the team’s first state title since my old AAU teammate Ryan Gatchell pulled it off in 1992. It was a great year for Sean Young and his team.
How does next year look?: The Blue Devils will contend again behind My Man Colby Wilson, center Brett Couture and guards Dylan Derosier & Seth Hojaboom. Epping had one of the better JV programs in the division and if Young stays put and his team stays healthy they will be one of the top 5 teams in the pre-season a year from now.
15. Hopkinton 19-2
What went right?: Dave Chase’ team finished with the best record in Division III and was back in the final four again after a one year absence. Gabe Nichols emerged as a scoring forward while Jake Nelson and Luke Luneau anchored a very tough defense. The Hawks were undone by poor shooting at SNHU but when this team was clicking they were as good as any team in the division.
How does next year look?: Chase will have to replace eight seniors so another top 5 pre-season pick seems unlikely, this is a group that plays a lot of basketball during the off-season and Chase is highly respected for his ability to teach. That will be a key to the development of this next group in the next two years.
Coming Thursday: The Final Thursday Thoughts column of the season, In Two Parts.
The coverage of Manchester Central is sponsored by 900 Degrees Pizzaria
What went right?: Everything..seemingly from day one. Believing that though would take away a lot of the credit this group deserves. Mike Plentzas was going to be the starting small forward, Dawson Dickson, after years of sacrificing his own scoring numbers was going to finally be a true scoring threat and Tyler Kelley was going to get bona fide looks on the block. They had to..teams would key on Brett Hanson solely if they didn’t. That changed when Jon (a senior) and Joey (a junior) Martin arrived from Florida. This shift in roles could have gone wrong on a dozen different levels but because of those five players, their character, their ability to bond & genuinely become friends, it never did. Those five kids and their head coach Doc Wheeler deserve a ton of credit for that. Their reward is the school’s second undefeated season under the legendary head coach.
How does next year look?: Brett Hanson & Joey Martin return, so you start with arguably two first team all-state players right there. Anyone who pigeon holed Joey as just a shooter, and I was guilty early on, were proven categorically wrong. Anyone who was in Durham saw this kid can create his own shot. They’ll miss Dickson, Plentzas, Kelley and Jon Martin but there is talent coming up and Central is back in the mix in 2015.
2. Merrimack 19-3
What went right?: The players around Eric Gendron got better and Gendron himself was as good as expected. He was terrific, the best player in the state in 2014 and with the improvement of Shayne Bourque and the continued development of Austin Franzen this team thrived under veteran head coach Tim Goodridge.
How does next year look?: The Tomahawks likely fall back into the 7 to 10 range with graduation losses but Goodridge, one of the best, is very vocal in saying he likes what is coming up the pike for his program. Merrimack remains a factor.
3. Trinity 19-2
What went right?: The low post tandem of Wenyen Gabriel & Carmen Giampetruzzi developed the kind of chemistry you need to win a state title but Trinity was never as deep as they anticipated and the loss of point guard Ryan Otis in the tournament was hard to overcome. The offense was not the same without him. This team never seemed to jell from 1 through 8 like they had in years past and sometimes that’s just how it plays out. Dave Keefe did another tremendous job of putting his kids in a position to win and on 17 of 18 nights they did just that.
How does next year look?: Wenyen returns along with Connor Walsh and Ryan Boldwin so there is a good nucleus on the low block. Patrick Keefe, a three year starter, departs in the backcourt along with Otis, Brad Rhoades (one of my favorite kids to cover) and most importantly Dave Keefe himself. I’ll have more on that in my final thoughts column this week but Luke Testa headlines the returners in the backcourt, and over at Trinity you never can know who is walking through that door next..
4. Pembroke Academy 21-1
What went right?: Patrick Welch was able to assume more of the ball handling responsibilities and Kafani ‘Jordan’ Williams become one of the top 10 players in the state. Players like Cameron Taylor & Max Curran stepped up and Dominic Timbas, as expected, protected the paint and averaged nearly 10 rebounds a game. Every year teams win championships but it is the rare team that repeats. This group will be remembered.
How does next year look?: Timbas is the focal point as the Spartans move up to Division I. With Max Curran, Rob Wilson, Connor Boucher, Cameron Taylor and Dante Timbas the core is there to compete at the highest level.
5. Portsmouth 19-3
What went right?: If you watched the Bedford/Portsmouth game in our inaugural pre-season jamboree and I told you one of these two teams was going to play for the Division championship you would have looked at me and said, “ Bedford is making the D1 final??” Three months later Jim Mulvey had a ‘bunch of football players’ on the same floor as Pembroke on the final Saturday of the season. This was an excellent defensive team that was prone to long stretches where they struggled to score but players like Patrick Glynn, Donovan Phanor and Nick Mackey are guys you can go to war with and in the end they were the second best team in Division II.
How does next year look?: Freshman Joey Glynn was a revelation in March with 17 rebounds against Plymouth in a terrific quarterfinal game. Charlie Lehoux returns along with Shon Parnham and in comes one of the most highly touted freshman in years; shooting guard Cody Graham averaged over 30 ppg. as an 8th grader for Rye Middle school and next season comes in to the School of Mulvey. In other words Portsmouth isn’t going anywhere for quite a while.
6. Londonderry 15-5
What went right?: Nate Stanton’s team was one of the most exciting teams in the state to watch for all the right reasons and a team that was talked about all over the NH basketball circles for all the wrong ones. Drew Coveney, Cody Ball and exciting freshman Caleb Green were part of a core that could take you off the dribble and finish at the rim or from 22 feet away from it. A loss to Manchester Memorial looks a lot more forgivable after the events in Durham days later, here is hoping Stanton stays on board.
How does next year look?: Cody Ball, Jake Coleman, Caleb Green, Marc Corey and Joe Kwiatkowski all return and will form a nucleus of a team that should compete for a top 4 spot for a second consecutive season.
7. Conant 20-2
What went right?: Conant at times seemed to suffer from the weight of their own lofty status. ‘Conant lost to Stevens? They only beat Bow by how much? What is wrong with these guys?’ As the questions would continue to mount their head coach Eric Saucier would repeatedly tell me behind the scenes, ‘Keep writing about everyone else, I want everyone to forget we’re even here..This is what I want because we’ll be fine by March.’ When March rolled around Saucier sat his group down and told them as simple as it can be stated, ‘If we hold every opponent we play less than 40 points we will win the Division III title.’ The Orioles went out and gave up 37,28, 38 & 36 points…and won their seventh title in nine years. The credit needs to go to Saucier, a terrific coach who in a very challenging year brought the school yet another championship.
How does next year look?: Eight titles in a decade? It will be all about who leaves and who is arriving. Rob O’Brien is off to Cushing Academy and Eli Hodgson is off to play college basketball, so Conant has some major shoes to fill. The arrival of Pelham to Division III (they beat Gilford by 40 in the pre-season if you are wondering how they translate..) takes a lot of the pressure off a group led by Nathan Wheeler, Josh DeGrenier and CJ Bilodeau because Pelham is the team to beat.
8. Pelham 17-4
What went right?: A rebuilt program made it back to the Division final four before bowing out to the eventual champions. Jake Vaiknoras pushed the tempo and Keith Brown emerged as one of the top scorers in the division. Head coach Matt Regan needed kids like Ryan Frank & Ryan Cloutier to step up and when they did this was a bona fide contender for the title.
How does next year look?: Pelham goes back to Division III, a move Regan was not at all in favor of (shades of Trevor Howard’s objection to Littleton moving to Division IV seven years ago) but school wide it was the right move. Brown will return and the nucleus is there for a very good run in their new home. No coach works harder to build up the youth programs than Regan and he is about to see it pay off in the next few years.
9. Bishop Guertin 13-6
What went right?: Head coach Jim Migneault again had his team in the mix but when point guard CJ Boykin went down BG was less explosive on offense and a step slow defensively. The worst possible match-up for them was a Manchester Memorial team that knew they could take them off the dribble & shoot them out of their zone and that’s exactly who came calling in round one. This was still another solid season for one of the top programs in the state.
How does next year look?: Jack Zimmerman looks like he is going to be an all-state guard next year and he along with Kyle Gavin & Chad Olivieri will have BG back in the conversation. Watch for talented freshman forward Mike Rinko to play a bigger role in his sophomore season.
10. Lebanon 17-4
What went right?: Kieth Matte led his team back to the final four for a second straight season and got some very talented underclassman a lot of experience on the big stage. Dominick Morrill stepped into a much bigger role, Kalin Sou provided leadership & outside shooting and Nic Shepard did all the little things that help you win. The revelation was starting point guard KJ Matte who was introduced to fans at our jamboree and basically forced his father’s hand by putting him a starting role he richly deserved.
How does next year look?: KJ Matte & Austin Whaley will take on leadership roles and will give this team one of the best backcourts in the division. The loss to Portsmouth was marred by how it ended and by some of the emotions that got the better of the Raiders. The cupboard is certainly stocked and when Matte promised his team would be back you would have been wise to believe him.
11. Bishop Brady 14-6
What went right?: Jourdain Bell was as good as any player in the division, Brendan Johnson made the leap and was a huge scoring threat from the forward spot and Joe Bell fit in perfectly. Doing whatever was asked of him on a nightly basis. Anyone who watched the quarterfinal game with Pelham saw that game turn on Bell picking up his fourth foul…whether he should have been left in and whether he actually had committed four fouls in the first place…has been the subject of much debate. What is not up for debate is how that affected the game; Bell was never able to be the same again and couldn’t take the ball to the basket, knowing Pelham players would collapse around him like a human Jenga game.
How does next year look?: Jourdain Bell and Brett Hanson are your ‘Are they going prep or are they staying?’ players for the spring/summer of 2014. If the Bell brothers remain this is your team to beat in 2015.
12. Winnacunnet 13-6
What went right?: The Warriors got all-state seasons out of Sam Knollmeyer & Richie Ruffin and gave Merrimack all they could handle on the road before bowing out in the quarterfinals. Jay McKenna did another excellent coaching job with a young group that should compete at high level in Division I for the next few years.
How does next year look?: There is young talent in players like Anthony Primavera and forward Freddy Schaake and McKenna has a very strong relationship with Noah LaRoche at Integrity hoops. That program played a major role in the development of players like Knollmeyer and will continue to serve the Warriors going forward.
13. Campbell 18-4
What went right?: Somehow a team that lost four starters from the 2013 Division III Runner-ups made it right back to the final game of the season against Conant. They did it behind veteran head coach John Langlois, all-state forward Zach Bergeon and a group of underclassman who knew their role and carried it out to the tune of eleven straight wins. Campbell shared the ball got their best player good looks and followed Langlois’s zone defensive strategy all the way back to SNHU.
How does next year look?: If Bergeon returns Campbell looks like a top four team in Division III next year. There wasn’t a senior on the roster and if not for the arrival of Pelham this would be your team to beat.
14. Epping 19-3
What went right?: When Jimmy Stanley (22 points and 15 rebounds per game) was eligible this was the best team in Division IV. As good as Derryfield looked at times and as well as Sunapee performed it was Epping all along that had the team to beat. Epping came back from a double digit deficit against Sunapee in a terrific final and won the team’s first state title since my old AAU teammate Ryan Gatchell pulled it off in 1992. It was a great year for Sean Young and his team.
How does next year look?: The Blue Devils will contend again behind My Man Colby Wilson, center Brett Couture and guards Dylan Derosier & Seth Hojaboom. Epping had one of the better JV programs in the division and if Young stays put and his team stays healthy they will be one of the top 5 teams in the pre-season a year from now.
15. Hopkinton 19-2
What went right?: Dave Chase’ team finished with the best record in Division III and was back in the final four again after a one year absence. Gabe Nichols emerged as a scoring forward while Jake Nelson and Luke Luneau anchored a very tough defense. The Hawks were undone by poor shooting at SNHU but when this team was clicking they were as good as any team in the division.
How does next year look?: Chase will have to replace eight seniors so another top 5 pre-season pick seems unlikely, this is a group that plays a lot of basketball during the off-season and Chase is highly respected for his ability to teach. That will be a key to the development of this next group in the next two years.
Coming Thursday: The Final Thursday Thoughts column of the season, In Two Parts.