The Manchester Bingo & Poker Room New Hampshire Twin State Basketball Preview
2016-06-24
Bishop Brady's Joe Bell gets a big defensive assignment Saturday
By Dave Haley Photo by Roy Labbe Photography
If you asked the players on the New Hampshire Twin State basketball team to tell you all they know about the state of the Vermont it would likely be a very short conversation.
Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S. (they might have guessed that). The state capital of Vermont is Montpelier (let’s hope they know that) and in ratio of cows to people, Vermont has the greatest number of dairy cows in the country (and who could have known that...).
In their defense none of that information is going to do them any good when they step out onto the floor at NHTI in Concord Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock (in a game we will have full coverage of).
What they will need to know is who Ben Shungo is, and that is something they have most definitely learned about the state to the west of us in the past seven days. “I watched some of his highlights on YouTube and he’s the real deal,” said Manchester Central shooting guard Evan MacDonald. “I don't know much else about their team but we will be on him from the beginning of the game.”
Shungo spent his high school career at Rice Academy winning basketball titles and takes his game to Division I Vermont next season after winning Vermont’s Gatorade Player of the Year award in back to back seasons.
This does not come as news to New Hampshire’s head coach. “ I’ve been watching film and talking to coaches about Shungo since I was named coach of the team,” said Laconia head coach Steve McDonough who takes over as head coach after serving as an assistant under Bishop Guertin’s Jim Migneault last year. “He’s very impressive as a player and we’ll need to focus on him anytime he is on the floor. I think (our team) has a couple of different players who can match-up with him out on the perimeter.”
The most likely candidate to draw that assignment will be Bishop Brady guard Joe Bell. You can also expect Lebanon’s Austin Whaley and Manchester West’s Joe Simpson to get their chance as well but Bell likely gets the first crack at him. “Joe (Bell) has just been a beast in practice,” said McDonough. “He plays so hard and that level of intensity rubs off on the guys around him. He’s been a pleasure to coach.”
McDonough and his assistant coach Jeff Holmes of Exeter, who will take over as head coach next season, will rotate about ten players on the roster for most of the game but look for the core group to be; Bell, MacDonald, Franklin center Dana Bean, Exeter’s Bryant Holmes, Division I Player of the Year Jaylen Leroy of Central and Gatorade Player of the Year Keith Brown of Pelham. “Keith is as good as advertised and he is going to be a part of any crunch time lineup we have out on the floor. He’s played really well with Holmes & Bell and when you add Evan who is a knockdown shooter, that opens up so much room on the floor.”
Leroy has been dealing with some lingering knee issues but stood out in the team’s final practice Tuesday night at Laconia high school. “He was really knocking down jumpers and you saw him get more in rhythm as we got to our second and third practices,” noted McDonough. “He’s been a real leader for us and his personality has been terrific, he’s a funny kid. These guys laugh a lot together and that is a great sign for a group that just met a few weeks ago.”
Evan MacDonald echoed that sentiment. “It was kind of awkward at that first practice when no one really knew each other.” (Ed note: it is a long standing tradition that Division I players know little or nothing about the three divisions below them…this goes for most coaches as well. No one should feel offended by this….Division I players could not point Conant out on a map if you offered them $100).
“After an hour or so we all just started joking around with each other and everyone loosened up,” said MacDonald. “This has been a fun team to be a part of and I’m looking forward to this weekend with the banquet, bowling (all four teams, boys & girls on either side, will go bowling Friday night) and staying in a hotel with the guys for a few days.”
Bean, the 6’8 center out of Franklin, has really stood out in practices and will be a big part of the game plan Saturday afternoon. “Dana came in feeling like maybe he didn’t get the statewide attention he wanted,” said McDonough. “That has really motivated him to prove something on Saturday and as a coach you absolutely love to hear that. He has been dominant at times in practice.”
Also expected to play a major role on Saturday is Sunapee all-state point guard and NHsportspage Division IV player of the year Matt Tenney. Tenney can knock down shots all day but has been more of a facilitator in practices. “He’s really impressed me,” said McDonough.
“We know he can knock down shots, that was his reputation coming in, but he is a bulldog on defense and his ability to pressure the ball is going to help us on Saturday. He’s come in saying ‘Hey I’ve got all of these weapons around me and I want to help these guys get the ball in a position to score’. He’s going to be a big part of what we do against Vermont.”
Manchester West 6’5 center Keenan Caron will provide rebounding and defense on Saturday and likely will rotate with Bean in & out of the game. “We tried playing the two bigs together and it doesn’t work out very well spacing wise. I want to have one of them in the game at all times so I expect both of them to contribute Saturday. Having both of them gives us depth down low.”
When asked what players he felt he had meshed with in team practices the first name out of Evan MacDonald’s mouth was Kearsarge all-state point guard Trent Noordsij. “I hadn’t seen Trent play before we became teammates but he has really stood out. He can hit that medium range jumper, he rebounds really well for a guard and he has a lot of size for a guard. I’ve been impressed with his game.”
Noordsij is one of the smartest players in the state and he’s a great example of a player who can assimilate his game to whatever group he is out on the floor with.
Laconia shooting guard Andre McNeil stepped in and on to the team when several players either decided to skip the event or were forced to sit out. McNeil has played very hard in practices and knows his role come Saturday. “What has been great about this group is how guys really accept their role and are willing to do whatever they have to for us to win,” said McDonough. “As the saying goes, ‘if you play like it’s an all-star game you’re going to lose’. These guys seemed to have picked up on that immediately and it’s been a really fun group to be a part of.”
Three practices only allows the coaching staff to install a few out of bounds plays and quick hitters. Any more than that is going in one ear & out the other, but make no mistake, if this game comes down to the wire Shungo will have the ball in his hands for Vermont.
New Hampshire has no trouble recognizing who they want with the ball in their hands on their end of the floor. “Keith (Brown) is the guy who will have the ball with the game on the line, no doubt,” said McDonough. “He can create his own shot and if Vermont sends two players to stop him we know he is going to find guys like Bryant, Evan or Matt Tenney for wide open looks they can knock down all day.”
MacDonald, who played with Brown back to back years for NHsportspage in the seacoast tournament, backs that strategy up 100%. “Having Keith out there, with his ability to score, opens up the entire offense.”
“I don’t know much about Vermont but I look at our team, and the fact that all of our guys can create their own shot and score, and think we’re going to be a pretty tough match-up”, predicted MacDonald.
If all goes to plan Saturday afternoon……that may be all they really need to know about our neighbors to the west.
Pelham head coach Matt Regan and I, along with our new videographer Rebecca Howland, will have full coverage of the game on Saturday. We will bring you all the play by play, highlights and post-game interviews with the players & coaches of this great event.
The girl’s game begins at noon on Saturday with the boys following at 3 o’clock at NHTI in Concord.
Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S. (they might have guessed that). The state capital of Vermont is Montpelier (let’s hope they know that) and in ratio of cows to people, Vermont has the greatest number of dairy cows in the country (and who could have known that...).
In their defense none of that information is going to do them any good when they step out onto the floor at NHTI in Concord Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock (in a game we will have full coverage of).
What they will need to know is who Ben Shungo is, and that is something they have most definitely learned about the state to the west of us in the past seven days. “I watched some of his highlights on YouTube and he’s the real deal,” said Manchester Central shooting guard Evan MacDonald. “I don't know much else about their team but we will be on him from the beginning of the game.”
Shungo spent his high school career at Rice Academy winning basketball titles and takes his game to Division I Vermont next season after winning Vermont’s Gatorade Player of the Year award in back to back seasons.
This does not come as news to New Hampshire’s head coach. “ I’ve been watching film and talking to coaches about Shungo since I was named coach of the team,” said Laconia head coach Steve McDonough who takes over as head coach after serving as an assistant under Bishop Guertin’s Jim Migneault last year. “He’s very impressive as a player and we’ll need to focus on him anytime he is on the floor. I think (our team) has a couple of different players who can match-up with him out on the perimeter.”
The most likely candidate to draw that assignment will be Bishop Brady guard Joe Bell. You can also expect Lebanon’s Austin Whaley and Manchester West’s Joe Simpson to get their chance as well but Bell likely gets the first crack at him. “Joe (Bell) has just been a beast in practice,” said McDonough. “He plays so hard and that level of intensity rubs off on the guys around him. He’s been a pleasure to coach.”
McDonough and his assistant coach Jeff Holmes of Exeter, who will take over as head coach next season, will rotate about ten players on the roster for most of the game but look for the core group to be; Bell, MacDonald, Franklin center Dana Bean, Exeter’s Bryant Holmes, Division I Player of the Year Jaylen Leroy of Central and Gatorade Player of the Year Keith Brown of Pelham. “Keith is as good as advertised and he is going to be a part of any crunch time lineup we have out on the floor. He’s played really well with Holmes & Bell and when you add Evan who is a knockdown shooter, that opens up so much room on the floor.”
Leroy has been dealing with some lingering knee issues but stood out in the team’s final practice Tuesday night at Laconia high school. “He was really knocking down jumpers and you saw him get more in rhythm as we got to our second and third practices,” noted McDonough. “He’s been a real leader for us and his personality has been terrific, he’s a funny kid. These guys laugh a lot together and that is a great sign for a group that just met a few weeks ago.”
Evan MacDonald echoed that sentiment. “It was kind of awkward at that first practice when no one really knew each other.” (Ed note: it is a long standing tradition that Division I players know little or nothing about the three divisions below them…this goes for most coaches as well. No one should feel offended by this….Division I players could not point Conant out on a map if you offered them $100).
“After an hour or so we all just started joking around with each other and everyone loosened up,” said MacDonald. “This has been a fun team to be a part of and I’m looking forward to this weekend with the banquet, bowling (all four teams, boys & girls on either side, will go bowling Friday night) and staying in a hotel with the guys for a few days.”
Bean, the 6’8 center out of Franklin, has really stood out in practices and will be a big part of the game plan Saturday afternoon. “Dana came in feeling like maybe he didn’t get the statewide attention he wanted,” said McDonough. “That has really motivated him to prove something on Saturday and as a coach you absolutely love to hear that. He has been dominant at times in practice.”
Also expected to play a major role on Saturday is Sunapee all-state point guard and NHsportspage Division IV player of the year Matt Tenney. Tenney can knock down shots all day but has been more of a facilitator in practices. “He’s really impressed me,” said McDonough.
“We know he can knock down shots, that was his reputation coming in, but he is a bulldog on defense and his ability to pressure the ball is going to help us on Saturday. He’s come in saying ‘Hey I’ve got all of these weapons around me and I want to help these guys get the ball in a position to score’. He’s going to be a big part of what we do against Vermont.”
Manchester West 6’5 center Keenan Caron will provide rebounding and defense on Saturday and likely will rotate with Bean in & out of the game. “We tried playing the two bigs together and it doesn’t work out very well spacing wise. I want to have one of them in the game at all times so I expect both of them to contribute Saturday. Having both of them gives us depth down low.”
When asked what players he felt he had meshed with in team practices the first name out of Evan MacDonald’s mouth was Kearsarge all-state point guard Trent Noordsij. “I hadn’t seen Trent play before we became teammates but he has really stood out. He can hit that medium range jumper, he rebounds really well for a guard and he has a lot of size for a guard. I’ve been impressed with his game.”
Noordsij is one of the smartest players in the state and he’s a great example of a player who can assimilate his game to whatever group he is out on the floor with.
Laconia shooting guard Andre McNeil stepped in and on to the team when several players either decided to skip the event or were forced to sit out. McNeil has played very hard in practices and knows his role come Saturday. “What has been great about this group is how guys really accept their role and are willing to do whatever they have to for us to win,” said McDonough. “As the saying goes, ‘if you play like it’s an all-star game you’re going to lose’. These guys seemed to have picked up on that immediately and it’s been a really fun group to be a part of.”
Three practices only allows the coaching staff to install a few out of bounds plays and quick hitters. Any more than that is going in one ear & out the other, but make no mistake, if this game comes down to the wire Shungo will have the ball in his hands for Vermont.
New Hampshire has no trouble recognizing who they want with the ball in their hands on their end of the floor. “Keith (Brown) is the guy who will have the ball with the game on the line, no doubt,” said McDonough. “He can create his own shot and if Vermont sends two players to stop him we know he is going to find guys like Bryant, Evan or Matt Tenney for wide open looks they can knock down all day.”
MacDonald, who played with Brown back to back years for NHsportspage in the seacoast tournament, backs that strategy up 100%. “Having Keith out there, with his ability to score, opens up the entire offense.”
“I don’t know much about Vermont but I look at our team, and the fact that all of our guys can create their own shot and score, and think we’re going to be a pretty tough match-up”, predicted MacDonald.
If all goes to plan Saturday afternoon……that may be all they really need to know about our neighbors to the west.
Pelham head coach Matt Regan and I, along with our new videographer Rebecca Howland, will have full coverage of the game on Saturday. We will bring you all the play by play, highlights and post-game interviews with the players & coaches of this great event.
The girl’s game begins at noon on Saturday with the boys following at 3 o’clock at NHTI in Concord.