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| By Dave Haley, Posted 05-14-2010 | ||
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Pinkerton Academy senior and future Franklin Pierce first baseman Zach Mathieu is the winner of the 2010 WGAM Radio Mr. Basketball award. Mathieu led Pinkerton Academy to their first state title since 1990 and led Class L with 20 ppg. over 22 games. He is a deserving choice.
The ceremony took place at the Radisson in Nashua and Pete Tarrior hosted the event, interviewed the finalist and announced the winner live on the radio.
The finalist were; Alex Burt of Dover, Zach Mathieu of Pinkerton, David Madol of Trinity, Sean Martin of Conant and Alex LaRosa of Salem.
This is the second year in a row my friends at WGAM have asked me to be one of the voters for the award. It is a privilege to be involved with the award and a vote I take very seriously. I thought I would reveal my final ballot and the thinking behind my vote.
My final ballot:
1. Sean Martin
2. Zach Mathieu
3. Alex Burt
4. Mike O'Loughlin of Milford
5. David Madol
I voted for Martin because I thought he had the best career of any of the 15 finalist. Martin's high school record was 87-1 (read that again) and that doesn't include going undefeated in Holiday tournaments as well.
Martin won back to back Class M player of the year awards, was the go to guy on two straight championship teams and one of the best players in the state regardless of class. Although Mathieu was the horse that carried Pinkerton to the title I decided that Martin had the better resume with his four titles and nearly unblemished record. I picked Mathieu second for all the obvious reasons; he was the most dominant player in the state, he led his team to a title and if there was a state wide pick up game he is the first guy picked. In the end I thought Martin's resume won out.
I chose Alex Burt for third place and he was the best player on a final four team in Class L. Burt was the most explosive scorer in the state and his passing and ball handling improved in his senior year. I went with a fellow players lounge member in Mike O'Loughlin for the 4th slot. O'Loughlin didn't make the top 5 (my fellow voters love their Class L basketball) and I was surprised by that. O'Loughlin drew more praise from Matt Alosa after the title game win over Pembroke Academy than I've ever heard the former UNH star heap on an opposing player. O'Loughlin made some very tough shots to close the Spartans out and he picked up the slack when Milford went into the game a starter short.
If Mathieu is the top pick in a state wide pick-up game then the guy next to me picking second would be more than happy to grab David Madol with the next pick. Madol has more superstar potential than any other player in the state. I picked him 5th for one simple reason and it was also the reason I left Alex LaRosa out of my top 5; he lost in the first round. When your stacking guys up against players that won the title its tough to pick someone who lost in the opening round. Pencil in Madol and O'Loughlin as the early favorites for the 2011 award.
Rosters are now coming in for the BST summer college and high school divisions. This is our third year of covering the league and we are excited about the coverage we'll have for you all summer. NHsportspage is again your official home for BST summer basketball leagues and you will get game re-caps, box scores, scoring leaders and standings all summer long.