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| By Eliot Bless, Posted 03-29-2010 | ||
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How do you sum this years boys high school basketball season up in just a few paragraphs? The answer is you don't. Over the course of the last 4 months I've had the privilege of traveling to Class L, I and M gyms all over the state to watch some really good basketball.
With all the talk of realignment, rivalries and class name changes, one thing remains constant, the passion and exuberance is alive in each and every gym I made my way to. Whether it was the tiny Milford HS gym, home of the Class I Champions, or the unique arena of the Winnacunnet Warriors, every school and community I visited rallied around their kids in support. From chanting students, cheering parents and even a show of emotion from a few police officers on duty, the towns, cities and fans of NH is what make this so much fun for the kids, and the fans themselves.
Let's start with Class M. I didn't see a ton of games from the soon to be Division III but I was able to check out the Class M Semifnals. What a evening of basketball. The heavy favorite and eventual Champion Conant HS and Mascoma played one of the better games I saw all year. There's something to be said for the Conant brand of basketball, and coupled with Berlins victory over the cinderella White Moutains, Class M showed that they can play some hoop.
This tournament really had it all. White Mountains refusing to take off the slipper by upending a very strong Winnisquam Regional squad and then taking out Somersworth, both victories on the road. But sometimes getting to the college court, and running into a unstoppable Sophomore in Curtis Arsenault can be just a bit much for an overachieving 9-9 team, and although they made a good run, they went down that evening.
Without a starting guard, Mascoma played Conant in the other semifinal in true tournament fashion, to the wire. While Conant led most the game, the Royals never went away. The scratched, clung and gritted their way through the game led by Center Connor Torrey. I was really impressed with how the Mascoma kids worked together both offensively and defensively, to the strengths of their gameplan, pounding the ball inside offensively and keeping Conant from fast breaking on the other end. A really good team returning the bulk of their squad, we'll see them again next year.
But as it should have, it came down to an undefeated Conant team and 16-2 Berlin squad for the title. Berlin was the quintessential #2 seed complete with a dominant big man, unselfish point guard and shooting guard that can hurt you if left open. The Miners coaching staff did an excellent job playing to their strengths, but going up against the fast break machine of Conant and their ability to score in streaks of 10 inevitably gave the Orioles their 5th championship in 5 years.
That's 4 straight for their Oriole Seniors Kemph Kim, Sean Martin and James Peard. Impressive to say the least. While Conant may have won the last 5 titles, the gap is closing. Mascoma was right there, and Berlin had the right gameplan to beat Conant. With the NHIAA changing class names, it would be the perfect time for a new champ, as I look for Berlin to go into 2010-2011 as the favorites in Division III.
As a former Class L assistant coach at Alvirne, up until this year you'd be hard pressed to find me in a Class M, or Class I gym. But something changed, and it actually hit me while covering a Class I quarterfinal for this website over a year ago. I headed up route 28 to Pembroke and saw the Milford Spartans come into the vaunted Pembroke gym and take a quarterfinal playoff game to the last possession. I saw a Sophomore miss a free throw that could have changed the outcome of that game. I then turned to the guy next to me and said, "wait, these kids from Milford are only Sophomores?". After that game I was sold on Class I as being as good and exciting as the basketball being played in Class L.
Well that was last year, and this year they were Juniors, and wasn't going to miss the show. And what a show this special group of Juniors and fellow Milford teamates put on. The maturity of Juniors Mike Mitchell, Jamie Holder and Mike O'Loughlin for the Spartans was clearly evident in their march through Class I during the regular season, and their eventual Championship winning game even without their leader in Mitchell. The ability for each and every team member to step up for a fallen comrade showed their growth as a team, and as young men.
The other team that really jumped out at me this season was Portsmouth. I was able to catch the Clippers play twice this year, against two very formidable squads in Oyster River (eventual semifinalist) and Bedford in the quarterfinals. While both the Bobcats and Bulldogs impressed me immensely (especially individuals Tommy McDonnell of OR and Joey Maher of Bedford) I came away from watching the Clippers thinking they might be the team achieving the most, with the least resources in the state. That can only come down to 1 thing....coaching, and I'm convinced Jim Mulvey gets the best out of kids year in and year out no matter who the community of Portsmouth gives him for players.
I know what you're gonna say, what about our Player's Lounge Member Smilin' Mike Barton?? Well if you talk to Portsmouth skipper Jim Mulvey you'll find out that young Mr. Barton is an extension of Mulvey. Watching a kid like Barton on the court you just sense that he's executing just the play Mulvey instructed, and when things break down, he's got the ability to gather himself and his teammates and do just what Mulvey would have wanted him to do. With Mulvey at the helm, and his right hand man on the court, the Clippers had a great year returning to UNH after winning the title a year ago.
But for all Barton does, I think Mike O'Laughlin from Milford deserved more than just a 1st team nod. Game in and game out you got everything from this young man. His ability to run the floor, drive the lane, rebound, hit three's, finish at the rim and hit free throws make him the type of player nobody can guard. In addition, if you got the chance to see the Spartan engine this season you'd notice him stepping in front of passing lanes and getting easy layups and dunks 3-4 times a game. He's a complete player and possibly the best public school player NH has to offer. Oh, and he'll be back next year for an encore along with the rest of the Spartan juggernaut....and I don't see anybody stopping them.
Finally, for Class L. Probably one of the most exciting season's I've been a part of in my short 4 years of coaching and 2 of covering hoops. You literally couldn't pick 50% of the winners on any given Tuesday or Friday. It was that wide open, all year.
Every night felt like a playoff night with teams with similar records and talent level facing off. Remember back to February 12th, during the heat of the season we saw North vs. Merrimack, Pinkerton vs. Dover, Winnacunnet vs. Central, Salem vs. West, and Trinity vs. BG. As a fan, how do you choose? What a great problem to have. The entire Class L season went this way, and it was wonderful.
When the season opened many of us (including myself) loved Memorial with the addition of the Fitzpatrick family to the coaching box and starting lineup, what's not to like? But they struggled at times finishing a respectable 12-6. Then there was Merrimack, who started the season 11-1 only to go 3-3 down the stretch and lose (albeit down a starter) in the first round of the playoffs to Londonderry.
I wrote back in December that Salem, although 0-3 at the time would be competitive in every game they played. Well, the early season was a tumultuous time for Blue Devil basketball and Coach EJ Perry as his Salem kids proceeded to begin the season 1-5, a far cry from their Final 4 appearance the previous year. But in a string of games that summed up the uncertainty Class L this season in a nutshell, Salem would go on to win 11 of their last 12 games, not bad for a team that struggled out of the gate.
What about Dover? Big things were expected out of the Green Wave with the States best shooter in Alex Burt, but in the end the bigs of Pinkerton outplayed the outside play of Dover en route to a finals berth. A successful season from Dover but you know they wanted more.
Trinity lost their best shooter to Memorial, but gained a more mature David Madol. Like O'Laughlin, Madol is a multi-tier player with the ability to work inside and step back for a mid-range jumper. Trinity battled injuries all year, and ultimately it was a bit much as they ran into a underachieving Exeter squad in the playoffs looking for revenge for an earlier season defeat on the Blue Hawks home floor.
Nobody had a tougher challenge in Class L than coach Jay McKenna of Winnacunnet. Without a real inside force he was forced to play small ball much of the season. Throw in a mid-season tragedy (Jay McKenna played for the late, great Jack Ford), and there were plenty of excuses for this team not to succeed. But they continued on, and were really the most dominant team all year, finishing atop the standings in Class L. That is, until they faced a team that grew from barely being in the conversation...to BEING the conversation.
That team of course was the Class L Champions Pinkerton Astros. The difference was the emergence of Zach Mathieu and his ability to not only grow into one of the best big men in the State, but maybe the most dominant game changer as well. The first time I saw Zach play 2 years ago I saw a young, raw interior player not really sure of himself, and without confidence.
Both Zachs' and Pinkertons game made strides from day 1 of this season and by the end of the year they had it down to a science. Let fellow Senior Ben Proulx do work inside and out, and go hi/low with Mathieu until his arms fell off. Mathieu's ability to improve not only his interior game, but most importantly (and oh how it was important in that final game) his free throw shooting vaulted the Astros to the elite level of Class L.
Everybody on this Pinkerton team had a role to play, something I think last years team lacked. Their entire team played their best basketball during the last month of the season, including their young, improving backcourt. They were the best team on the court each of their playoff wins. What would have been dubbed an "instant classic" if televised on ESPN, their double overtime win over Winnacunnet to win the Class L championship was a fitting end to thrilling season.
I don't think anybody outside of Derry would have picked this Astro team to win the whole thing at the beginning of the season, maybe last years, but not this group. Well, Pete Rosinski's squad proved everybody wrong, question is, who will do it next year? I'm not going to touch that one with a ten foot pole...