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Past, future of boys hoop teams broken down
The following is an inside look into the past season and immediate future of the 13 boys basketball teams we cover. Check back next week for final Top 10s.
Amherst Regional
Finished: 8-12, 4-6 Valley League
2007-08: Stayed in contention for the postseason with big wins over Holyoke, Sci-Tech and Commerce. Improved by six wins from previous season because players knew their roles.
2008-09: Needs to replace five seniors, including leading scorer Mike Kelly (13.5 ppg) and point guard Peter Lappas. Ben Brassord (5.9 ppg) and Jonah Herscu (5.7 ppg) should develop more offensively and be able to carry the team. A postseason appearance is not out of the question with only two seniors and four juniors next year.
Belchertown
Finished: 12-9, 11-5 Bi-County East
2007-08: Lost five of first six games to start the season but found their rhythm. Very well could have been 16-4 as four of those five losses were by four points or less. Had a balanced offense with steady defense. Lost in first round of the tournament at home to Monument.
2008-09: Loses three seniors, including leading scorer Tom Marsh (12.2 ppg) but the O’s should be fine. Joe Courtney (11.5 ppg) and Bryan Eldridge (9.0 ppg) are very capable on both sides of the ball and should be better with one more year of growth. Ben McCullough takes over for his brother at point. He is probably the better of the two on both sides of the ball.
Easthampton
Finished: 10-12, 9-9 Hampshire East
2007-08: Despite missing Pat Hopewell for nearly three-quarters of the season the Eagles remained in the hunt and qualified for the postseason. That was due to the emergence of Brendan Rios and Chris Demers’ play in the post. It didn’t take long for Hopewell to fit in when he came back and the team defeated host Granby in the first round of the tournament. The Eagles then had Pioneer Regional on the ropes before falling in the quarters.
2008-09: The team needs to replace Demers (13.2 ppg), point guard Justin Laliberte and Hopewell. Rios (12.1 ppg) will be ready to carry the offense but someone else needs to step up.
Frontier Regional
Finished: 24-1, 18-1 Hampshire West
2007-08: Won state Division 3 championship. Brian Clark (22.3 ppg) was one of the top players in the area. Jamie Bell (18.3 ppg) and Dan Clark (14.6 ppg) did everything while Gary Grandonico and Brennan McKenna simply ran the show. Received excellent role play from Jon Pepyne and Matt Chamberlin.
2008-09: Not all is lost. The team returns a nice core of Grandonico, Pepyne and Chamberlin. Now it’s a matter of filling in the blanks with seldom used Nate Haines, Sean Kelley and Stephen Grybko. Erik Abramson could be surprise after playing most of the year on JV. He could have started for half the teams in the league.
Gateway Regional
Finished: 3-17, 1-15 Bi-County West
2007-08: It’s not easy competing in the West when you have Sabis and NLCS twice as well as double-doses of Hampshire, Southwick and Holyoke Catholic.
2008-09: Leading scorer Tyler Craig (11.6) will be gone but big man Ethan Cook (9.5 ppg) should be back. If he develops more he could easily average a double-double. Still, qualifying for the postseason will be very difficult.
Granby
Finished: 12-9, 9-7 Bi-County East
2007-08: It was supposed to be a rebuilding year. However Dana Light (15.4 ppg) was very good, Jeremy Lapointe (12.7 ppg) added a secondary source of offense, mostly from 3-point range, and Brian Boudreau was steady at point. The Rams also played tremendous defense.
2008-09: Lapointe is the only senior and while the team might not have a replacement shooter, his offense should certainly be spread out among Jason Labrie, Clinton Sapowsky, Toby Rock and Zach Benoit.
Hampshire Regional
Finished: 7-13, 7-9 Bi-County West
2007-08: Inconsistent all season. The team was hurt when two starters left in early January, and one was injured and couldn’t play from the start. If either Scott DeLoach (14.8 ppg) or Branden Labrie (10.8 ppg) had an off night, the team struggled offensively. A lack of experience possibly led to defensive struggles.
2008-09: A fresh start is all this team might need. The team was very young in 07-08 and simply being a year older can certainly add at least three more wins and a postseason appearance. This will also be the second varsity season for Kyle Fredette, Tom Leveille, Andrew Stolarik, Alex Brunelle, Jared Bean and Labrie.
Holyoke Catholic
Finished: 8-12, 6-9 Bi-County West
2007-08: Lack of depth hurt. Had trouble defending. Had one win vs. teams with plus-.500 record. Mike Afflitto (16.9 ppg) and Nick Bryda (12.3 ppg) carried the team offensively throughout the season. Junior transfer Nick Barrett (7.8 ppg) became healthy midway through the season and added a third scoring option.
2008-09: The Gaels lose a few seniors, including Afflitto, but should be OK with Bryda and Barrett. The team needs to play better defensively to have a chance against better teams.
Hopkins Academy
Finished: 7-13, 5-13 Hampshire West
2007-08: The Golden Hawks opened the season 4-0 but then struggled to stay consistent. Lack of inside presence hurt. Mix of experience and inexperience may have played a hand in inconsistencies.
2008-09: Four starters - Bill Hahn, Zach Hunter, Dan Sullivan (11.4 ppg) and Karl Kapinos - return so the team should be fine. Once again a year of experience should help but more so this season as 07-08 newcomers will be familiar with teammates and system.
Northampton
Finished: 19-2, 10-0 Suburban
2007-08: Was a very balanced team on both sides of the ball. A total of 17 players checked into the at least one game for the Blue Devils, making the basketball team deeper than the football team. Had experience and talent, which sometimes had to overcome the team’s tendency to start slow.
2008-09: Loses all five starters but returning players should fair well. The next starting five could very well be Jesse Coulon (7.9 ppg), Bill Frothingham, Ellis Cooper (7.8 ppg), Jake Konowitch and Chris Osepowicz.
Smith Academy
Finished: 8-12, 7-11 Hampshire West
2007-08: A 2-8 start didn’t help the Falcons, who could certainly score. Stopping teams however was the problem. It made for interesting, high-scoring games, like a 93-88 overtime win over Easthampton and a 96-91 double-overtime win over Greenfield.
2008-09: Must replace leading scorer (Jeff Donnis, 15.4 ppg), second-leading scorer (Tyler Kendrick, 12.8 ppg) and third-leading scorer (Luke Wickles, 12.1 ppg). Of 10 players who played, six in fact were seniors. Needs to fill in depth and work on defense.
Smith Vocational
Finished: 2-17, 2-10 Tri-County
2007-08: The Vikings won when Chris Wetherby (15.2 ppg) registered a triple-double. Mike Kubasek was a second scoring option but it wasn’t enough.
2008-09: Must find a way to replace Wetherby and build depth.
South Hadley
Finished: 10-15, 1-9 Suburban
2007-08: The Tigers became the first team to win the sectional title with a sub-.500 record. Injuries and inexperience hurt against Division 1 opponents during regular season. Was healthy and experienced for postseason. Colin Lacey (8.4 ppg) and Ryan Garvey (12.1 ppg) were tremendous for the Tigers, who won their fourth title in five years.
2008-09: The team lose Lacey, Garvey and a few valuable role players. Should be strong though at guard with Roberto Agrait, Greg Daviau and Zach Garbacik. Will be small but athletic at forward with Scott Rainaud and Miguel Santiago. Brian Chieco should be healthy and playing in the middle. Will need to develop role players again.
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