Boston Warrior AAU Boy's Basketball: Warrior News: 2007-2008 High School Basketball Previews
2007-2008 High School Basketball Previews
Division 1
BC High thinks big in quest to repeat as state champion
During one of his team’s early scrimmages, BC High coach Bill Loughnane thought to himself: “Boy, I’m going to miss the little guy.”Loughnane might be the only coach who will miss the “little guy,” better known as point guard extraordinaire Chris Hurley, who led the Eagles to their first Division 1 state basketball title last year. Hurley is gone to St. Michael’s, but don’t shed any tears for Loughnane, who returns plenty of size in 6-foot-8 All-Scholastic Jake O’Brien (BU), 6-7 Ryan Sharry, 6-5 Tim McKinney, 6-4 Colin Halpin and 6-2 point guard Brian Mahoney.
There is a new look at Brockton as Bobby Boen takes over for longtime coach Vic Ortiz. Look for the Boxers to run more with a speedy backcourt of Kyle Gerry and Kendall Gillens to go along with All-Scholastic forward Louis Montes and Jarred DeVaughn. Weymouth surprised some folks with its play last year, but the Wildcats won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year. All-league players Tommy Deggan and Rob Sinewich are back along with football stars Mike Waithe and Royce Terrell, though the Wildcats are battling some minor bumps and bruises. A sleeper could be Needham, which returns almost everyone.The Merrimack Valley Conference will be a war once again.
Lowell is the trendy pick with four starters back, though All-Scholastic Matt Welch is sidelined with a broken hand. Fernando Perez is tough in the block, while Jamie Shannon does a nice job running the offense. Tristan Shannon and Peter White lead a group of seven returning seniors for Andover.Lynn Classical also will run out a three-guard tandem with Jasper Grassa, Luis Ayala and Quivari Jackson to go along with forwards Jarell Byrd and Cameron Smith.Lexington will lean on juniors Danny O’Keefe and Lance Greene to defend its Middlesex League title, while Boston Latin returns forwards Christian Onouha and Naoise McDowell as well as Robbie Walton.
Division 2
Knights loaded for run at title
Catholic Memorial finally overcame the Garden hurdle to get to the state final.Now, it’s time to climb the final step.The Knights clearly are the team to beat in Division 2 South. The high-octane offense, which dropped 110 points on Newton South in the opener, features guards Jeff Tagger, Brendan Monteiro and Lincoln Wright along with forwards Julian Colarusso and Allan Harris.O’Bryant is fully capable of making noise in the South section. In addition to the return of the Chrises - Chris Harris and Chris Flores - head coach Juan Figueroa has many familiar faces back for another year. Ike Azotam, Valentine Emebo, Isiah Hector and Troy Robinson provide the bulk up front, while Travis Newton and Travis Pettus are the top reserves in the backcourt.The Hockomock League should be war once again. Stoughton might have the best frontcourt around with 6-foot-9 transfer Dartaye Ruffin along with 6-4 Evan Taylor and Edwin Saladin. Defending champion Oliver Ames will lean on forward Alex Kershaw and guard Mike Byron, who are back in the fold, while Franklin and Sharon can’t be overlooked.Walpole and Norwood have new coaches and both teams are led by explosive guards. Joe Cabral returns for the Rebels, while Chris Johnson is expected to be the man for the Mustangs. Wellesley reached the semifinals last year, but Deshawn Townsend will have to shoulder a bigger load.
In Div. 2 North, Tommy Sullivan takes over the reins at Woburn. Despite an opening-night loss, the Tanners will get better as the season goes on. Hanell Velez is a high-scoring guard, while backcourt partner Dan McLaughlin and forwards Matt Welch and Mark Dwyer take a back seat to no one in the toughness department.The team that beat Woburn, Reading, could be a player in this section. Everyone knows about 6-7 junior Evan Smotrycz and 6-2 senior forward Nick O’Brien, but the player who opened some eyes is freshman Trey Jones. Wakefield is capable of causing problems with guard Nick Serino, while Burlington is well-coached and features Kyle Pierce, who made 15-of-16 shots from the field against Winchester Friday night.David Cohen takes over for Sullivan at Concord-Carlisle and he has plenty of size in 6-6 forwards Matt Cheever and Eric Beaulieu, while guard Tony Lania should be one of the top scorers in the Dual County League. Look for Westford Academy to inch closer to the top of the DCL with big men Alex Haines and Peter Lynch back for their junior years.The good news is that 6-7 All-Scholastic Brian Emerson is back for his senior year. The hope is that forward Phil Galeota and guard Greg Moulton can keep defenses honest, something that hurt Arlington as the season went on.
Division 3 & 4
Watertown eyes state title repeat
Watertown finally got the monkey off its back, winning a state semifinal game at TD Banknorth Garden and parlaying that into a Division 3 state title.Despite losing Dream Teamer Anthony Coppola and underrated Stephen Keuchkarian, there is enough left in the cupboard to make another run at a championship. Benyam Kerman will run the show from the point, while the Stockmal twins (Kyle and Cory) are tough on the perimeter. Jesse Brackett is an undersized power forward, but he’s one of those hard-nosed kids coaches dream about.Watertown’s toughest challenge should come from Bedford, which fell to the Raiders in the Div. 3 North final. All-Scholastic forward Gerry Cohen returns along with frontcourt partners Terrance Favors and Josh Kalendrian.
Southeastern returns 1,000-point scorer Mike Campbell to go along with Terrel Clark, Mike Paige and Sidney Collier. Avon has its own 1,000-point man in junior guard Akeem Williams, but lost 2,000-point scorer Kevin Miranda to graduation.Div. 4 North figures to be wide open as Ipswich lost all five starters and Savio Prep went out of business. Keep an eye on Winthrop, which defeated highly touted Swampscott in the season opener. David Brown’s team has plenty of depth with guards Gavin Mahoney and Dino Mallios to go along with forwards Jonathan Murdock, Mike Visco, Nick Leonard, Mark Jenkins and Kenny Quist.
