BeantownHoops Blog

Smallwood, Santana, and Capstick lead balanced attack in 75-49 win
by Christian Bradley, beantownhoops.com Central Mass correspondent
Worcester, MA- Coming into #4 Doherty’s matchup with the 12th ranked Warriors of Tantasqua, the Highlanders plan was to do what they’ve done all year. Run.
“The coaches told us to just keep attacking…Yawin is one of the best players in central mass. When we run, good things happen, “Said Doherty senior guard Eddie Capstick on his team’s plan to win.

Doherty Senior guard Eddie Capstick gets an acrobatic layup in the 4th quarter
The Highlanders used their size and speed to their advantage, jumping out to a 29-12 lead half way through the 2nd quarter behind the strong play of Yawin Smallwood(15 points, 9 rebounds) and offensive leadership of Capstick, who had 7 assists in the first half(12 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds). Tantasqua had a hard time shooting in the 1st half, with the exception of senior captain, Jake Gubitose, who scored eight straight points (including two 3-pointers) and 11 point total in the last 5 minutes to draw the Warriors within 9. However they were unable to continue their run, staring at a 36-23 deficit at halftime.
The third quarter was more of the same, Doherty continued to run the ball, but the shots just weren’t falling for Tantasqua.
“We need to increase the defensive intensity when shots aren’t falling, and that just didn’t happen tonight, “commented Tantasqua coach Mark Muska. “We played a great game against (St. Peter-Marian) the other night and they were a quick team too, but they definitely weren’t as athletic as these guys are.”
The Highlanders continued to pull away in the 4th quarter, highlighted by a two breakaway dunks by Andre Santana to go along with an excellent dribble drive lay-up as well as a step back 3-ball by Capstick.

Doherty’s Andre Santana goes up for a two-handed dunk in the 4th quarter
The only Tantasqua scorer in double figures, Gubitose finished the game with 19 points, shooting 7-17 from the floor with 3 3-pointers.
Doherty was also aided by Joel Katana, who poured in 11 points and also had 3 rebounds.
The Highlanders also finished with 11 offensive rebounds, winning the overall rebound battle 38-24.
“The coaches really told us to crash the boards, nothing good can come from playing flat,” Capstick said on the rebounding differential.
Doherty will play at Milford tomorrow, and then they have a huge game against #1 North on Tuesday night, followed by a game against Burncoat on Friday night.
Tantasqua will play Milford at home on Tuesday, and will finish the week at Shepherd Hill on Thursday night.

by Christian Bradley, beantownhoops.com Central Mass correspondent

Lawrence, MA-Coming into their game against Central Catholic, North High Coach Al Pettway was well aware of the Raiders’ credentials. Central’s 6’11 senior captain Carson Desroisers is ACC-bound, he has committed to playing ball at Wake Forest this fall and is sure to be a finalist for state player of the year. Their other big man, 6’7 Jimmy Zenevitch, is also extremely versatile and has proven to be a match-up problem for opposing teams. In addition to this, the Raiders are ranked #2 in an extremely talented Eastern Mass by Beantownhoops.
“The plan was to try to stop their bigs with weak side help, playing help side defense and getting help from the weak side whenever the ball was in the post,” Coach Pettway said of North’s plan to stop Central Catholic’s post duo.

The game started off as a defensive battle. North came out in a 2-2-1 zone press and Central Catholic with a high pressure man to man. The first quarter of the game amounted to turnover after turnover, a true testament to the brand of defense that was played the entire game.

The Polar Bears were able to fight back in the 2nd quarter, despite being down 20-9 at one point, to tie the game at the half 24-24.

Desroisers dominated on defense, making his presence felt by altering and blocking countless shots. He also ended with seven rebounds. The Raiders’ great defense in the third quarter enabled them to get baskets at the other end of the floor, including a 3-pointer by Desroisers, to end the third with a 38-33 lead.

North came out with great intensity in the 4th quarter, bringing the game to within a point after 6’7 North center Cedric Kuakumensah (who is getting Division 1 looks himself) scored four of his 14 points in the first 40 seconds of the fourth quarter.

Coach Pettway was happy with his big man’s work on the all-state center from Central Catholic.

“I thought Cedric did an exceptional job on Desroisers. You know, Desroisers is going to Wake Forest, and Cedric only being a junior, I thought he really held his own…he did a great job.”

Senior Marquese Berry also had a huge impact on the Polar Bears’ comeback, knocking down some key jumpers and completing several dribble drives that left the electric crowd in awe.

Despite these efforts, North’s turnovers hurt them towards the end of the game and Central Catholic was able to hold off North behind very impressive performances from Desroisers and Zenevitch, who had 19 points and 7 rebounds-including some clutch post buckets down the stretch. Desroisers finished the game with 17 points and 8 rebounds.

North’s senior forward Gaetano Iacovone, fresh off scoring his 1000th point in an emotional victory over St. John’s, finished the game with 14 points and 6 rebounds.

“Well the 1000 was a wonderful feeling it is something that really made my senior year. I put that as my favorite moment by far to score and see my loved ones all wearing 1000th shirts,” Iacovone said of his reaching the scoring milestone this past Friday against St. John’s.

Iacovone, who idolizes and models his game after Celtics-great Larry Bird, was able to help keep North in the game by grabbing several offensive rebounds and hitting on some clutch shots.

Despite the loss, Coach Pettway explained that his #1 ranked Central Mass squad had learned a lot in the last week, with victories against Warren G. Harding(CT), Central Mass’s #2 ranked team in the Pioneers from St. John’s, as well as tonight’s three point loss to Central Catholic.

“We had a rough week, playing three great teams. I think we learned that we are one of the best teams in the state and we can play with the best teams,” Pettway said.

In their toughest week so far this season, North was able to learn a lot in their past three games, even despite their loss.

“We learned (this week) every possession counts. We have to be tough, stay together and everything should be good. (If) we hit free throws we should be the last ones standing,” said Iacovone.

Playing great basketball against three excellent teams this week, the 11-2 Polar Bears certainly won’t be expected to give anything but their best effort in a run at the Central Mass championship and beyond.

The reigning Worcester Telegram & Gazette Super Teamer,  Iacovone, continued, “Basketball is a game of runs it’s just like life you have to wake up in the morning and start your day, you have to come to the game and be prepared. No team is easy, regardless of who they are.”

Worcester North (44): Emmanuel Tarwoe 1 2-2 4, Cedric Kuakumensah 6 2-4 14, Marquese Berry 4 1-2 10, Quazay McClain 1 0-0 2, Gaetano Iacovone 6 0-0 14. Totals 18 5-8 44.

Central Catholic (47): Jaycob Morales 0 0-0 0, Luis Puello 1 2-2 4, Chris Conlin 1 0-0 2, Jimmy Zenevitch 7 4-6 19, Carson Desrosiers 8 0-1 17, Andrew Ouellette 1 0-0 2, Cam Wroblenski 0 1-2 1, Evan Sheehan 1 0-0 2, Joel Berroa 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-11 47.

Our first look at Brookline’s Stephen O’Neal (2012) was this May at the S.E.S. Showcase that we did the recruiting report for.  It was clear that the 6′1″ combo guard had plenty of game, but was going to need some time to polish his skills.  Well his time line has sped up as he had an impressive showing at our Showcase at the Cape.  Stephen has improved his ball handling skills and was relentless in attacking the basket against much taller defenders.  He will need to get stronger and he’ll be asked to contribute right away for an always talented Brookline squad.  But we expect to hear more good things from Stephen this upcoming season and we will be watching his progress closely.

One of the biggest reasons for having our Showcase at the Cape, besides enjoying the area, was to find players outside the City who might not get the attention that the Boston Area players do.  Well we definitely found one on the girls side in rising Soph Sidney Miller of Sandwich.  Sidney is a 5′7″ guard who plays a physical style on both the offense and defensive end.  She is at her best offensively when going to the basket and has the skills to be a lock down defender.  She will need to improve her jump shot from the arc and become a better on help side defense, but she has plenty of time to develop those skills.  Keep a close eye on Sidney the next few years as she projects to be a solid high school and college player.

An impressive showing by Maurice Taylor (2012) at our Showcase at the Cape last Saturday has colleges on alert.  Mo is an excellent college basketball prospect who has the athleticism, speed, and size to play at the DI level. He has good hands and was a consistent presence on the glass all day. Right now he stands at 6’4″ and looks to still have room to grow.  He has great physical tools and athleticism, and with some work this season on polishing his skills on the perimeter, he will blossom even more.   Keep a close eye on Mo as he will be one of the key cogs of a loaded Cambridge Rindge and Latin team this year.

Colin Richey continued his steady rise as one of the premier guards in the 2013 class last Saturday at our Showcase at the Cape.  The 6′2″ combo guard from Whitinsville Christian (Beantownhoops.com #3 ranked team last season) showed a variety of offensive skill and the ability to defend players of all sizes.  He still has room to grow and get quicker, but the skill set and basketball IQ are very high.  Already well known in CMass, Colin’s name is now making it’s way to the City.  Keep a close eye on Colin the next few seasons as he is sure to develop into one of the top guards in the State.

Our first player showcase brought some great talent down to the Cape last Saturday.  On the girls side, there were a lot of impressive performances, but none more than 2011 star point guard Amber Dillon of Brookline.  Amber showed why she is considered one of the top DI prospects in the state by using her quickness and unbelievable dribbling skills to get by defenders all day and then raining down jump shots with her picture perfect form.  It was also a coming out party for a couple of previously unknown prospects in 5′10″ 2012 Forward Riley Stefano of Plymouth North and 2013 guard Sidney Miller of Sandwich.  Both Riley and Sidney will be two players for college coaches to keep their eye on in the next couple of years.

The boys showcase was filled with some strong talent in all classes and Cambridge Rindge and Latin showed why they will be considered one of the top three teams in the state this season.  Andre Dottin (2011), Mo Taylor (2012), Ladon Adair (2012), and Jacquil Taylor (2013) are all Division I college talent and they showed it on Saturday.  It was also an impressive showing for players from Central Mass.  Shrewsbury F/C Matt Kneece (2011), combo guard Mac Roy (2012) from Sutton, and guard Colin Richey (2013) of Whitinsville Christian were outstanding and all of them will be making plenty of noise in CMass this season.  The best freshman at the showcase was definitely Andrew Kaufmann of the Rivers School.  A 6′5″ versatile forward, you will be hearing his name quite a bit in the next four years as a solid college prospect.

These players were not the only ones that stood out and we will be profiling different players on both the boys and girls side in the next few weeks on Beantownhoops.com.  Overall a successful event that we know will bring out the best talent in the state each year to the Cape.

On May 27th, Super Exposure Showcase (www.superexposureshowcase.com) hosted their first high school boys showcase at UMass-Boston.  Beantownhoops.com was asked to do the recruiting report for the event and it was a great night of basketball.  Forty-nine participants ranging from 2010 unsigned seniors to middle school invites participated, with players ability running the whole gamut, from DI to JUCO.  To access the player profiles from the event, click on the link below.  (Please note that player rankings and contact information from the showcase are only available to Beantownhoops.com members, showcase participants, and colleges and universities receiving the report.)

Beantownhoops.com recruiting report from Super Exposure Showcase’s high school boys showcase on May 27th

Important note for Showcase organizers, high school tournament directors, AAU tournament directors, High School and AAU coaches:  Beantownhoops.com is an independent business and not affiliated or associated with any other company, high school, or AAU program.  If you would like to have Beantownhoops.com do a recruiting report for your showcase, tournament, or for your team, please contact Rob Sarmiento at webmaster@beantownhoops.com for more details.

2014 prospect Aaron Falzon of Newton North had a dominating tournament at the U16 European Championships.  Playing for Malta, Aaron averaged an amazing 19.6 ppg and 19.2 rpg during the five game tournament, made the all-tourney team and had a tournament high 32 points and 24 rebounds against Monaco.  Aaron is progressing more and more and looks to be a dominating figure in the Bay State League the next four years.

At 6′7″ and plenty of strength, 2012 prospect Dana Hines is looking for a breakout season in the DCL.  Dana has a soft touch on the perimeter for a big man and can step out to 15 ft. to hit the jumper, but he is definitely at his best around the basket.  He is able to use his size to fend off opponents and use his strong left hand to finish at the rim.  Playing with 2011 point guard prospect Brima Rogers will give Dana plenty of opportunities to get the ball in the post and it should add up as a strong inside/outside presence for C-C this season.  Keep a close eye on Dana as he continues to grow and improve his skills in 2010-11.