RallyNorth.net: High School Sports – Merrimack Valley and Southern NH

Welcome back Hector.  Wondering if you could find out from CC what T Nelson is shooting from the line this year.  I’m guessing it must be in the 95% range.  Hard to figure out LHS dropping that game to a D4 team (all be it a good one).  SJP lost to Malden Catholic after getting beat up by CC.  The Catholic Conf looks to be a real battle gound this year. 

Been to 3-4 games, including the 18-for-18, and I’ve yet to see him miss.
Contrast that to Haverhill going 9 for 23 last night, wow.

Hey Hec, welcome back.  Haverhill-Methuen??  Now that you’re back perhaps it’s time to give some credit to that bunch on Hampshire Street, about who’s offense and ranking you’ve openly questioned.  A number of us saw Central as having a number (up to 11 or 12) of interchangeable parts.  To wit: They’re averaging a tad over 71 ppg, which is the college equivalent of 89.  Eleven different kids have hit 3′s!  Show me another team anywhere that’s had that many different kids hit from long range.  And six different kids have been leading scorers in any given game.  Last night against an admittedly weak Dracut team, the starters accounted for only 33 of the 81 points.  That, my man, is depth.

On the defensive end you questioned my sanity awhile back when I said the goal should be to hold opponents to 45.  Perhaps a bit ambitious, but they’ve kept it in the 40′s in 6 of the 13 wins.  And it you watch for 15 seconds you know that defense won’t be an issue.  No, they haven’t encountered a dominant big man, but how many of those are out there? 

Rankings mean nothing until the last game of the season is played, but bottom line: Time to give some credit where credit is due.  RN has done a great job with this team, despite losing who many considered to be his best player for five games.  And it’s not like Luis has lit it up since his transition back to the lineup.  This is an unselfish, deep, talented team that plays with urgency.  Time for some kudos.  Again, welcome back.

Enough is enough….CC is very good….The best team around….but they are only doing as they should!!! Right down the roster…Puello- Best player from Lawrence, Nelson- Best player from Haverhill, Cambio- Best player from Tewksbury, Berroa- Best player from Lowell, Gemmell- Not positive, but think he’s a Southern New Hampshire kid,…..And on and on and on….They pull from about 15-20 towns and cities. And they pull the best players. Their advantages are unlimited…Anything less than an MVC title, nearly undefeated season, and a deep deep run in the tournament would be a disappointment. It likens to taking an NBA all-star team, playing them against all the other NBA teams year in and year out. Take the all-stars off the nba teams then have them play their former teams…Then the owner talking about how they do it the right way, how great they are, how good their coach is……No sh*t, youre great. You have all the best talent in the area then play the remaining teams minus their talent…..

That IS what the NBA is heading towards.  The players run the show there and dictate trades on their terms. 

As for CCHS, they are what they are.  They have the advantage to do that and they are well within their legal rights as a private school.  I find the reported encouraged repeating of 8th grade from AHS to be more of an issue. 

How about the repeating of kids to go to Central and play, it’s OK there. Because if you don’t believe that happens there, you are mistaken.

I will address this very well thought out and well presented post with my usually concise and point-driven analysis.
1. Tyler Nelson, as much as I love his game, is not the best player in Haverhill. Noah is.
2. I have never been a huge believer in the “28 towns, 28 towns” argument. They are taking students from everywhere, not athletes. If you choose to take on the $11k a year hardship, then I don’t care where the kids are from.
But I think the MIAA has an issue here with financial aid and scholarship packages going to student athletes. To me, that changes the terrain on the field of play.
At some point, it creates an advantage to the private schools which we see not only in CC hoops but around the state in baseball and hockey as well. That is something that the MIAA will ultimately have to deal with, i.e. hoop and/or baseball super 8s? or separate tourneys.

Where was I going to go? LHS 63, Tewks 24?
CC 81-48 over Dracut? Just wanted to go to a competitive game.

I hadn’t heard about that.  Just heard about AHS through the grapevine.  In either case, it is wrong.  Thanks for the heads up.  

Name one kid on CCHS team who repeated 8th grade.

On the current team I know none for sure, but in the past 10 years, there have been several, including one of their all-time greats currently sitting on the bench.

The Barry Boys and Nelson

And I’m not one who is necessarily saying its a bad thing, either. A ton of kids do it now.
For the gentleman I am mentioning, it worked out pretty darn good. The kid went off to a Division 1 college, got his degree and is poised to be a positive, upstanding member of our society for decades to come.
And in the end, that’s what all this is about, prepping kids for life.

Good Lord, how many times do we need to go down this road?!  Financial aid and scholarships go to students.  A few of those happen to be athletes.  So what.  The aid stays with the kid whether he/she goes out for a sport or not.  Curiously, nobody is concerned that some kids in the concert band receive financial aid.

But if you’re really concerned about the financial angle, simply endorse vouchers.  That way, a kid can go wherever he/she wants without financial constraints.  Now THAT would ‘level the playing field’.  But I’m guessing that the same whiners who complain about Central’s “advantage” would simultaneously oppose allowing ALL kids to attend whatever school (private or public) they wanted. 

And btw, it would appear that at least some parents in Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Tewksbury, etc see something at Central that they do not see at their local public school.  Perhaps that’s the advantage.

Yeah, fair enough.

The analogy would hold if:
a. The players on the NBA all-star team had to pay to be on the team,
b. Those same players could opt to play for their regular local team for free, and
c. The all-star team not only charged a significant fee for membership, but also made academic demands that are not made by the local team.

And after all that, if players still wanted to jump, what would it say about the quality and culture of the local franchise from which those players sought to escape? 

Starksy,

It makes a difference. It makes their band better, their science dept. better, and yes, they’re sports better. It changes the playing field. When you take away the tuition aspect, it does change things. And your BTW is right on, too.
And I am 100, nay 1000 percent, for vouchers.

Hector are u saying that Central gives out money based on athletics?  Do you really think that or are there too many central posters on here and you are trying to manipulate the haters to get on here and battle the CC fans.  We do a need more action on here.  I noticed Raider4life has been absent from the board.  There is a rumor that he was arrested at Mount Rushmore trying to carve Nault’s face into the moutain next to all the presidents. 

Taylor did NOT repeat the 8th grade!

You can either go to School A for free, or to School B for $11,000 per year, after taxes.  Remind me again how School B has the advantage.

When the first Central Whiner endorses vouchers I’ll begin to listen.  In the interim, can we talk basketball?  And Hec, what’s your read on the 13-0 start?

I said before and I will say it again, it’s a shame if CC loses a league game, they’re just better.
Andover was close. It lost its floor general, who would have scored 15 a night, so that was it for the Warriors.
I’m stunned Lawrence, which lost a ton is as close as it’s shown. That’s a testament to paul and his crew.
But the league is weak and CC is indeed one of 5-6 contenders statewide for a title.
School B gets the advantage when it starts to give kids that $11k.
And those kids can play. Give Lawrence High 100 different grants of $11K cash to give to the best kids, and maybe those kids families would be motivated to go there.
General, when scholarships are introduced, the terrain changes. Bottom line.

I said that.

JB,

Don’t put words in my mouth. CC gives out scholarship money to students.
Some play basketball. Some play violin. Some play Call of Duty.
But that changes the playing field and makes it unfair.
Lawrence High or Central if both are free? Wouldn’t you have to pick Central?
Maybe, they should allow Lawrence High to pay kids to go to their school? Maybe then, LHS would draw some of the best kids.
The net result: the hoop team is much better because of scholarships, every year for the last 15. And so is football, too.

And for the record, the Rushmore line was priceless.

Financial aid has been given out since the 1930′s, but NO ONE at Central receives an $11k grant.  Mythology does not become you.  And this just in: Lawrence High is free, so you wouldn’t need a grant to attend.  Better idea: Give every kid in Lawrence a voucher to attend any school they want. The city would save money and many kids would be freed from their existing educational plantation.  “…give kids that $11k…”???  Really, Hec, you should know better. 

Agree that the league is down, but what league is really up?  CathConf? 

Fine … $10,900 … but you are missing the point.
Nobody is saying that LHS and CC are equals.
Nor are SJP and Danvers High.
People attend CC because they choose to, and because they can afford it.
In my eyes, that $11k tradeoff seemed to balance the 28-towns argument and the no MCAS argument and the no mandatory 180-days argument and all the other gripes that the Central bashers bring up.
Let’s forget CC for a minute and look at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, Derry’s public high school. There are kids, including athletes, who live out of Derry and the parents actually pay to send their kids there.
Say one was a stud hoop player, and he went free, wouldn’t we hear about that?
Absolutely.
At CC, you’re doing that for basically 40 percent of the starting hoop lineups over the last decade.
It unbalances the playing field.

City schools have bounced back a little bit. Charlestown, Maddy Park, Eastie, you had better come to play. But I tell you, don’t overlook my man, Slick Rick, over at A-B.
But yes, it’s down all over.

The advantages Central has are obvious and that’s why parents of means often choose to send their kids there. If Central has a discipline problem it’s easy, “Youre not welcome here anymore.” The schools they compete against have to educate the masses and Central has to educate the chosen….I’d love to see the combined tution bills of Puello, Adrian Gonzalez, Jonathan Cruz, etc…..You’d be crazy to say to these kids not to take this wonderful opportunity, but please don’t say this is a level playing field. It’s the best of both worlds….They have both city players and kids who are from some means. And they play in the same league, where they take the kids from. A lot fewer kids would be excited about going to Central if they couldn’t play in the MVC, but since they get to play against their former towns there’s no negative besides the money and if their parents can afford it, that’s fine. Then there are the city kids who can go for free……

1st of all it’s Tyler
2nd 3 starters on the football team…all of which are going to get college scholarships to play football…
I know Andover does it for sure. Disappointed me when I found out that Central did it too.

Hec rumor has it Mansour is out for extra curricular activities. Did he really hurt ankle?

I usually don’t pay attention to what’s said on here, but soccermom35 thats a low blow, Mansour plays his heart out each game, and before you start rumors, you should know what tour talking about, mix in your real name too. Thanks matt curran

I usually don’t pay attention to what’s said on here, but soccermom35 thats a low blow, Mansour plays his heart out each game, and before you start rumors, you should know what your talking about, mix in your real name too. Thanks matt curran

If he didn’t hurt his ankle, it was the greatest staged event since Superstar Billy Graham broke Bruno Sammartino’s neck in 1970s WWWF.
Seriously, I was standing with Jim Weymouth in the fieldhouse when it happened. You could hear a snap when he went down. And the swelling around his ankle was ugly 30 minutes later. So no, it was most definitely an ankle.