Had to talk just a little more hoops this weekend.
I tried to write all I could in Sunday’s Eagle-Tribune column, but you know I ran out of time. Silly deadlines and all.
I was thinking about Division 1 North last night, and how things are shaping up.
Central Catholic, as one of its many minions here has noted, sits with the inside track to the No. 1 seed.
Life gets tougher for the Raiders down the stretch, a finisher with Andover, the officials tourney, etc., but I can’t help wondering, at 16-1, are the Raiders overachieving?
Luis Puello, the real Luis Puello, hasn’t been on the floor. The Raiders have had to replace an All-Scholastic in Jimmy Zenevitch and an ET All-Star point guard in Jaycob Morales.
Yet here they are atop the heap again.
Not the way I might have expected either. I thought Rick Nault might have put the ball in Baby Face Nelson’s hand, a la Bobby Licare or Chris Vetrano and let him carve and dissect.
Instead, the ball goes through Lucas Hammel first, and the coach’s son has definitely answered the call.
Are we just scratching the surface with this group? Nick Cambio could be the next Mike Dunn. Joel Berroa and Doug Gemmell deliver their 12-14 a game every night.
And the Raiders play defense as hard as any team you will see out there.
Sounds like a formula for success
Is there a weakness?
Central isn’t exactly big. I keep thinking about Acton-Boxboro and the big kid that put 36 up on Haverhill, how his name escapes me.
What if the Raiders face a team that pounds it inside?
The answer there is probably a group effort on the interior. Cambio is long, Gemmell is physical, and Berroa is athletic. Maybe, it’s a team thing down there.
I don’t worry about the night CC doesn’t shoot it well. They rebound so well offensively, that that isn’t a weakness.
Tough not to think CC won’t be around for a long time into March.
Are the Raiders perfect, again no. I’d like to see Nelson get more shots. I’d like to see them work inside-out some more.
But clearly, we’re fooling ourselves if we say they’re not the favorite in the North.
On another front, I have to talk a little bit more about Noah Vonleh … and bounce back to Haverhill hoops just a little.
Noah clearly found some players to battle with that are his own size.
Again, if you haven’t seen prep ball, please try to, just so you understand the next planet these guys are playing on.
I kidded Rick Nault back when Noah committed to New Hampton, that it was Nault’s fault we lost Noah to the preps.
If the kid only went to CC, a la Carson, we could have kept him around.
Noah playing at the area high school level would have been a disservice to the kid.
The New Hampton experience, in school and especially on court, will do so much for Noah, who clearly fits or leaps off all charts athletically and just needs to mature.
Watching him against Brewster, a team with 6 D1 commits, I realize the only thing separating him and the best young players out there is age and experience.
Noah was fine playing among the trees, unselfish to a fault, just the way you’d expect a sophomore to be.
Look out for this kid in the near and distant future.
And those of you in Haverhill that wonder how Mike Trovato could let him go and in fact blame him for leaving Haverhill, I would just tell you that keeping the kid around here would have been wrong.
And while on Trovato, I’d like to segue to an MVC hoop discussion for a minute.
Looks like next year, the MVC goes 6 large next year with Lowell, Lawrence, NA, Haverhill, CC and Andover, at least that’s the early plan
In my eyes, the powers that be should do right by both the Hillies and the Knights and use some insight to stack the divisions.
First, let’s take NA. Enrollment-wise, they are a D2 team. They came to the MVC to help the likes of Dracut and Tewksbury … well, at least it was a selling point.
And Haverhill, you’re looking at a school in transition, much like Methuen was/is and has been.
The Hillies play small in football and baseball.
Football asked for and was actually granted relief from playing Chelmsford and Central.
Girls hoop doesn’t play an MVC schedule. Instead, they play 11 against the smalls and find weaker opponents to play from Worcester to Sunapee, N.H.
And yet, the folks in Hillie-ville get on Trovato for playing two with Central, Lowell, Lawrence and Andover in the MVC Large – BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO.
Haverhill will be 0-5 vs. EMass top 20 teams, and both Lowell and Andover (0-4 vs. them) are right on the fringe of that group.
If the MVC is to move forward correctly in hoops and do it right, it will make it a 4-large, 7-small split …
Andover, CC, Lawrence, Lowell in the large
Haverhill, Dracut, NA, Chelmsford, Tewksbury, Methuen and Billerica in the small.
To me, that’s fair.
All four “Bigs” will make the tourney every year. And the balance will be much better.
All right, have to move on, but it’s just one man’s stray thoughts on a cold Monday morning.
