THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY SEASON IN REVIEW ​ - Fennis Dembo The annual GOOD, BAD and UGLY is just a review from those running the league,input from ​ coaches, volunteer coaches, refs, college coaches and gym rats that support and watch fall ball games. Take this information as food for thought and then you can file it in your mind or throw it in the dumpster. We hope you can roll with the information. Remember the information, performances, paper awards etc are based on the 11 weeks of Fall Ball only. Remember humor is a good thing. We have tried all fall to shed positives as well as constructive criticism on the teams and players that make up this league. We hope you enjoy the GOOD , the BAD and UGLY season recap. As my good friend Colonel Jessup says “You Need Me On the Wall

CHAMPIONS - LAWRENCE LANCERS 2ND PLACE- LOWELL RED RAIDERS THE HARDWARE IS NOT JUST HARDWARE IT’S ABOUT THOSE IT IS NAMED AFTER: The TJ Mcevoy Memorial Cup is named after long time NAPD Sargeant TJ Mcevoy who was also a fall ball official for 5 years . TJ passed away in his sleep of a heart attack six months after retiring from the NAPD. The Bill Moeckel Memorial 2nd Place trophy is named after former NA star Bill Moeckel who passed away suddenly at too young of an age. Bill is known for “THE SHOT” where his game ending shot against Burlington in the state tourney was one of the greatest shots and endings in the history of NA . The Pat Connaughton MVP trophy is named after former SJP Fall Baller Pat Connaughton who went on to have a stellar career at Notre Dame and is now a member of the NBA . Pat is hands down the greatest player to ever play in the fall league as well as its only two time MVP. Pat never misses an opportunity on social media to give this league props and recognition. The Bert Hammel Memorial Warrior is named after former Merrimack College Head Coach Bert Hammel who passed away in 2018 and whom we have dedicated the 2019 season after

2019 PAT CONNAUGHTON CO-MVP’S - BRANDON GORIS - LAWRENCE / NATE SIOW -LOWELL

MVP FINAL TALLIES BRANDON GORIS - LAWRENCE 33 NATE SIOW - LOWELL 33 AIDAN CALLAHAN -SJP 18 TRENT MOSQUERA - WACHUSETT 16 ADRIAN TORRES - DRACUT 15 TONY FELDER JR.- MC 11

FIRST TEAM ALL FALL BALL 1. BRANDON GORIS -LAWRENCE ​ 2. NATE SIOW - LOWELL 3. AIDAN CALLAHAN - SJP 4. TRENT MOSQUERA - WACHUSETT 5. ADRIAN TORRES - DRACUT

SECOND TEAM ALL FALL BALL 1. TONY FEDER JR. - MC ​ ​ 2. CARLOS NUNEZ- LOWELL 3. PARKER MCLAREN- NEWBURYPORT 4. PAXTON HEINILUOMA - WACHUSETT 5. RYAN MURPHY - BILLERICA

THIRD TEAM ALL FALL BALL 1. DREW BROWN - PELHAM ​ 2. DEREK CROWLEY - PELHAM 3. HUNTER JOHNSON -SPM 4. KYLE INGLIS - BURLINGTON 5. KYLE ROCKER - ANDOVER

HONORABLE MENTION: Kyle Moore - NA, Aidan Cammann - Andover, Aidan Olivier - Burlington, ​ ​ Christian Rios - MC, JP Phillips - Haverhill, Jake Robertson - Newburyport, Jackson Cox - Londonderry, Aedan Deady - Billerica, Phil Cunningham - Haverhill, Jake Barisano - Westford, Suubi Nkugwa - Chelmsford, Tyson Armstead - Lowell, Gabe Zorilla - Lawrence, Chioke Onwuogu - Peabody

STACHEYS PIZZA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (Freshman): We had a great group of freshman players ​ who had an outstanding fall campaign down here in the barn. The Freshman of the Year is a lights out shooter from SJP named Rollie Castinyera. An incredible future for this young man ​ ​

ALL FROSH TEAM Jahmari Hamilton-Brown -MC Riley Castinyera - SJP Manny Gayyeen - Chelmsford Mike O’Brien - SJP Matt Hu - Winchester Nick Martinez - MC

BST TRAINING SOPHOMORES OF THE YEAR: Any other year anyone on the list could win this award ​ but this year two were just a tad better so we will name Co-Sophomores of the Year: Adrian Torres of ​ Dracut is a scoring guard who gets to the rack with ease and is developing a nice outside game. Tony ​ ​ “The General” Felder Jr.of MC is a pure guard who may be one of the best in the class of 2022. ​ Congrats Adrian and Tony ​

TONY FELDER JR - MC ADRIAN TORRES - DRACUT ALL SOPHOMORE TEAM Adrian Torres - Dracut Tony Felder Jr. - MC Aidan Cammann - Andover Aidan Olivier - Burlington HUGE FUTURE FOR THIS GUY ​ Jack Fehlner -Newburyport Abraham Estrada - Lawrence Ryan Pacy - Andover Richie Shahatanian - Andover

TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD : NEWBURYPORT CLIPPERS: Every night they just came to play ​ ​ and respected all around them especially the zebras, Congrats Clippers

LADY BYNG SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD (PLAYER) : Aidan Callahan of SJP. “A” just comes and ​ ​ ​ plays every night. Doesn’t whine or make excuses. When you watch his body language you wouldn’t know if his team was up 10 or down 10. Congrats AIDAN CALLAHAN: Honorable Mention: ZACK ​ ​ ​ GUERTIN - HAVERHILL, AIDAN OLIVIER - BURLINGTON

AIDAN CALLAHAN - SJP

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: HUNTER JOHNSON - SPM. College ready body who dominated the ​ ​ glass all fall with a 12.4 rpg average. The Other top Board Men were Trent Mosquera 12.0, Alex Devir ​ ​ ​ 11.5, Phil Cunningham 10.4 and Christian Rios 10.3. As Kawhi says “Boardman Get Paid”

HUNTER JOHNSON -SPM

BEST REBOUNDING GUARDS: Fennis loves rebounding guards and this league has two of the best in ​ CHIOKE ONWUOGU 9.56 RPG and SUUBI NKUGWA 8.33 RPG ​ ​ ​

CHIOKE ONWUOGU - PEABODY SUUBI NKUGWA - CHELMSFORD

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: So many guys have improved this fall but none more so than Newburyport ​ ​ JACOB ROBERTSON who has gone from being a nice team player to a stud in the Cape Ann League. ​ One of our toughest players, great 3 point shooter and a legit player who coaches row will be following closely in 2020. CONGRATS JAKE ​

JAKE ROBERTSON - NEWBURYPORT ​ ALL FALL BALL MOST IMPROVED TEAM:

Matt Kutz - North Andover JP Phillips - Haverhill Gabe Zorilla - Lawrence Adam Rutherford - Wachusett Jake Robertson - Newburyport Tarmo Tari - Chelmsford George Grillakis -Lowell Noah Tejada - Lawrence Alex Jean - Peabody Kyle Inglis - Burlington Adan Ayala - Salem Paxton Heiniluoma - Wachusett

JAMES SLATTERY BEST OFFICIAL AWARD: MAMMADOU BA ​ ​

BEST ZEBRA TEAM: MAMMADOU BA / JULIAN SCOTT ​ ​

THE BEST DUO OF THE FALL

JOEY MCINTYRE NEW KID ON THE REF AWARD: THE WINNER IS DAN “VISKY” ​ ​ VISCARIELLO. Shout out also to MICHAEL MALONEY and GERRY BRADANESE in their rookie fall ​ ​ ​ ball campaign

Visky and his neat tucks

DIEKEMBE MUTOMBO BLOCK PARTY AWARD: ADAM KOZELIAN - MC Adam was the best this fall ​ ​ 2.0 per game. The Best of the rest were Aidan Cammann of Andover 1.8, Tarmo Tari of Chelmsford 1.5, ​ ​ ​ ​ JP Phillips of Haverhill 1.4 and Justin Paul of Pelham at 1.2 ​ ​ ​

LET IT FLY: LONG DISTANCE SHOOTERS: This is a very strong group led by DREW BROWN of ​ ​ ​ PELHAM. The list includes ANGEL BOURGOS - HAVERHILL, JAKE ROBERTSON - NEWBURYPORT, ​ ​ ROLLIE CASTINYERA - SJP, KYLE MOORE - NA, NOAH TEJADA LAWRENCE, ZACK GUERTIN - HAVERHILL, ALEX OAKLEAF - WESTFORD, JAKE DUMONT -PELHAM

DREW BROWN -PELHAM

BEST FRESHMAN CLASS - MALDEN CATHOLIC & ST. JOHNS PREP ​ ​

BEST SOPHOMORE CLASS - ANDOVER ​ ​

BEST BENCH: A number of teams were in the mix but hands down the winner is the METHUEN ​ ​ RANGERS who were thoroughly engaged whether they were winning or losing ​ ​

DEEPEST BENCH: Not even close LOWELL and LAWRENCE are DEEEEEEEPPPPPP ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

TEAM ENIGMA: No surprise here I have been saying it affectionately for weeks that MALDEN ​ ​ CATHOLIC is my team enigma. This team can look really good and really bad all in one game. The Good ​ thing is this squad can be very strong this winter

ADRIAN DANTLY: PLAY BIGGER THAN YOU ARE: We got some good ones but no one better suits ​ this than PELHAM’S DEREK CROWLEY. Plays hard every possession, can score, and defend. ​ ​ Congrats DEREK CROWLEY ​

DEREK CROWLEY-PELHAM

FALL SURPRISE TEAM: WESTFORD GREY GHOSTS: They did have a favorable schedule but made ​ ​ ​ ​ run to the semi-finals. Team is a 2019 version of Hickory High

PRE-LEAGUE FAVORITE: Fennis had Lowell winning back to back but Lawrence had other plans ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

JOHN STOCKTON BEST GUYS: These guys are legit players who make their teammates ​ better. Top guy was NATE SIOW with 6.4 apg followed by TONY FELDER JR 6.2, BRANDON GORIS ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5.9, AIDAN CALLAHAN 5.7, SUUBI NKUGWA 4.6. Congrats NATE ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

NATE SIOW - LOWELL

GARY PAYTON THIEF LEADERS: This group are legit leaders. They anticipate and react: NATE ​ ​ SIOW 3.42, AIDAN DEADY 3.4, ADRIAN TORRES 3.2, BRANDON GORIS 3.0, JACKSON COX 2.78

AIDAN DEADY - BILLERICA was second in steals KEVIN DURANT: BUCKET GETTERS: These guys are all bucket getters. They score in a variety of ​ ​ ways and they are fearless ADRIAN TORRES - DRACUT, CARLOS NUNEZ -LOWELL, PARKER ​ MCLAREN - NEWBURYPORT, DEREK CROWLEY - PELHAM, ROLLIE CASTINYERA - SJP, KYLE INGLIS - BURLINGTON, DREW BROWN -PELHAM, KYLE MOORE - NA, TRENT MOSQUERA - WACHUSETT. KYLE ROCKER - ANDOVER, RYAN MURPHY - BILLERICA

Carlos Nunez- Certified Bucket Getter

Real talk: It takes football players 2-4 weeks to get into basketball shape and timing down. Deal ​ with it

Real talk: NA FALL BALL is the best run off season league in New England. We have real refs, ​ stop time, real varsity teams, stats, weekly recap, legit scorers table

Real talk: ZEBRAS could care less who wins a game. Before you whine to the refs Know the ​ Game

RAY ALLAN LEADERS: DREW BROWN - PELHAM was the best at 87.1% followed by ​ ​ Rollie Castinyera 81.8% Parker McLaren 78.8%, Gabe Zorilla 78.5%. Jack Fehlner 78.5%. MAKE ​ ​ YOUR DAMN FREE THROWS

DREW BROWN 87.1%

MOSES MALONE FG % LEADERS: DAQUAN DURHAM - LOWELL is the best at 68.4% followed by ​ ​ ​ PHIL CUNNINGHAM-HAVERHILL 66.6, JP PHILLIPS-HAVERHILL 64.2, ALEX JEAN-PEABODY 63.4, AYUSH PURANDARE-WESTFORD 62.9

DAQUAN DURHAM 68.4%

STEPH CURRY 3 POINT FG %: These are the best ANGEL BOURGOS - HAVERHILL 47.2, JAKE ​ ​ ​ ​ ROBERSTON - NEWBURYPORT 44.8, ROLLIE CASTINYERA 41.3, NOAH TEJADA 41.3, ZACK GUERTIN 39.1

HAVERHILL VERSION OF SPLASH BROS.

PLAYERS THAT NEED MORE MINUTES: YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED: ALEX OAKLEAF - ​ WESTFORD, JAKE DUMONT-PELHAM, JACK O’BRIEN -SPM, ANKEET PATEL- BILLERICA, LEVI CASS - CHELMSFORD, GEORGE GRILLAKIS -LOWELL

Real talk: Parents stop coaching from the stands. Let the coaches coach and you sit down and ​ enjoy your son. This will all go by in a blink of an eye

Real talk: Stop bubble wrapping and start teaching teens what real time management is ​

Real talk: Players embrace whatever role the coach has for you, remember it is WE over ME ​

NA FALL BALL COME BACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: PAXTON HEINILUOMA - WACHUSETT. What ​ ​ a fall this kid has had. Very little college interest before week #1 and now one of the most recruited. Tough coming back from so many injuries. Never once bitched he just kept fighting and just outworked others in the off season

PAXTON HEINILUOMA - WACHUSETT

Real Talk: A lion never turns around when a small dog barks ​ ​

Real Talk: The Wolf on top of the hill is never as hungry as the wolf climbing the hill ​ ​

Real Talk: Not gonna embarrass a two seniors but your flopping is known and you will not be ​ ​ getting the call this winter. The word is out

Real Talk: If you have not put in the time in the off season, don’t expect to have a big role this ​ winter

Real Talk: If you are a coach and you didn’t put the time in this off- season are you a better ​ coach?

Real Talk: Coaches please value players who do everything asked of them; that have high ​ character, integrity and an amazing work ethic

*************11 WEEKS OF PET PEEVES: IT MIGHT BE WORTH A SECOND OR THIRD LOOK OR 4TH LOOK WWW.FALLBALLNA.COM ************************************************************************* ​ ​

COACHES ROW: Thank you to the 32 Colleges that attended this fall. The total number was down ​ a tad this year but the amount of times those schools were in the barn was at an all time high. Thank you for your time and interest in New England’s Best Fall League

FAN OF THE YEAR: We have a tie: We have a tie with two of the most loyal fans there are: Wachusett ​ parent Mrs. Heiniluoma and the famous George York are our Fans of the Year ​ ​ ​ ​

WHICH JUNIORS WILL COACHES ROW BE COMING TO SEE NEXT YEAR: TRENT MOSQUERA - ​ ​ ​ WACHUSETT, MATT KUTZ - NA, PHIL CUNNINGHAM, ZACK GUERTIN, JP PHILLIPS - HAVERHILL, CONNOR PILLSBURY, ADAM RUTHERFORD - WACHUSETT, JAKE DUMONT - PELHAM, OMAR SHAKEEL, QUIENTEN PIENAAR- WINCHESTER, JAKE ROBERTSON - NEWBURYPORT, CHRISTIAN RIOS, ADAM KOZELIAN - MC, ALEX OAKLEAF - WESTFORD, MASON HUNT-BILLERICA, JACKSON COX - LONDONDERRY, NICK TEDESCO, TARMO TARI - CHELMSFORD, GABE ZORILLA - LAWRENCE, ANDREW LUSSIER, MITCHELL CROWE-METHUEN, AIDAN CALLAHAN , NOAH THOMAS -SJP, ADAN AYALA - SALEM, CODY SMITH -SPM

Yup these 4 will be coveted next year

BEST TEAMMATE COMBO’S: NO surprise here as NATE SIOW and CARLOS NUNEZ take home the ​ ​ ​ prize but do not sleep on these other combinations: ZORILLA/ GORIS - LAWRENCE, ​ HEINILIOMA/MOSQUERA - WACHUSETT, PHILLIPS/CUNNINGHAM -HAVERHILL, RIOS/FEDER - MC, ROCKER / CAMMAAN - ANDOVER, MCLAREN/ROBERTSON - NEWBURYPORT, CROWLEY/BROWN - PELHAM, JOHNSON/SMITH -SPM, MURPHY/DEADY-BILLERICA, NKUGWA/GAYYEEN -CHELMSFORD, LUGO/ONWUOGO -PEABODY SIOW AND NUNEZ

BILL RUSSEL CONSUMMATE TEAM PLAYERS: Every Coach would love to have these complete ​ ​ team players: PAXTON HEINILUOMA - WACHUSETT, JAKE ROBERTSON - NEWBURYPOR, ZACK GUERTIN - HAVERHILL, TYLER GUERRERO -DRACUT, DREW BROWN - PELHAM, TONY FELDER JR -MC, HUNTER JOHNSON -SPM, RYAN MURPHY -BILLERICA, SUUBI NKUGWA -CHELMSFORD, ANDREW LUSSIER - METHUEN, AIDAN CALLAHAN -SJP

REAL TALK: WAIVER REQUESTS ARE GIVEN OUT TOO EASILY AND MIAA IS AFRAID TO ​ ADDRESS THE MAJOR ISSUE

Fashion of the Fall: It was not our best fall but we killed it a few times. Let’s raise the bar in 2020 ​ Here is the overall winners:

Coach Bulks and Coach Gibbs take the honor

REAL TALK: Coaches do have favorites. They love the players that do everything asked of them ​ all year long

GAME SCORE ANALYTIC: HERE IS OUR FINAL TOP 15 GAME SCORE STATS OF THE FALL. ​ ​ Great performances and congrats to Torres, Goris and Robertson for two top 15 scores

JOHN PAGGNETI COACH OF THE YEAR 2019: The nominees are STEVE BOUDREAU - ​ ​ ​ TEWKSBURY, MIKE MERCURI - WACHUSETT, DJ FAZIO - ANDOVER, THE HAVERHILL BRAIN TRUST, THE KIDS FROM LOWELL, COACH TEJADA -LAWRENCE. We will give the title to Coach ​ ​ Tejada for leading Lawrence to the title and the runner-up is to DJ Fazio - Andover who did a great job ​ ​ ​ with this squad. Dj also used his psych degree

THE COACHING MATCHUP OF BROTHERS -BOUDA BOWLwas fun and brought 110 family and friends

GEORGES NIANG I DON’T PASS THE EYE CANDY TEST: The winner is LUKE MARSH of ​ ​ ​ Londonderry. This guy may not pass the eye candy test but he was very productive and will be this winter. Congrats Luke Marsh ​

FANTASY STAT STUD: TRENT MOSQUERA of Wachusett. Trent is a stat darling. He scored very ​ ​ ​ ​ high in the most categories that we track. This kid may be the first scholarship player in this junior class. Congrats TRENT

GET THIS GUY ON YOUR FANTASY TEAM

UGLY STATS1: 5 STARTERS WHO PLAY MOST OF THE GAME SHOOT FREE THROWS AT THE ​ ​ FOLLOWING CLIP 23.08%, 25.0%, 35.7%, 38.8%, 40.0% OH MY. THE WORST 3PT FG% PLAYERS ​ ​ SHOOT AT 6%, 10%, 12.5%, 12.7% AMD 13.04% …...OUCHHHHHHH ​ MAJOR IMPROVEMENT THROUGH THE FALL IN INDIVIDUAL TURNOVERS PER GAME THO

UGLY STATS 2: 3 PROMINENT PLAYERS WOULD HAVE HAD TRIPLE DOUBLES IF WE INCLUDED ​ TURNOVERS

UGLY STATS 3: 2019 WE SET RECORD FOR MOST TURNOVERS IN A SEASON, FOULING THE ​ MOST THREE POINTERS AND SHOOTING THE LOWEST FREE THROW % AS A LEAGUE

NOT UGLY STAT: WE SET FALL RECORD FOR MOST CHARGES TAKEN AND CONNOR ​ ​ PILLSBURY SET THE RECORD FOR MOST IN ONE GAME ​

OSCAR THE GROUCH AWARD: DOES ALL THE DIRTY WORK. A number of nominees but only 1 ​ winner. SEAN MCDONALD of SJP. Every team needs a SEAN MCDONALD for countless reasons ​ ​ ​ ​ SEAN MCDONALD -SJP

REAL TALK

ALL DO YOUR JOB TEAM 2019: Derek Crowley, Jack Morin, Christian Rios, Sean Mcdonald, Tyler ​ Guerrero, Connor Pillsbury, Justin Paul, Quinten Pienaar, Nick White, Christian Rios, Hunter Johnson, Mason Hunt, Jackson Cox, Levi Cass, Tyson Armstead, Gabe Zorilla, JP Phillips, Jaleek Urena, Mike Melanson, Adan Ayala,

JACK MORIN -NA ​

Real Talk: DO YOU LIKE THE GAME OR LOVE THE GAME? ​ ​

ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM 2019 AIDAN CALLAHAN - SJP NATE SIOW - LOWELL BRANDON GORIS - LAWRENCE HUNTER JOHNSON -SJP CHRISTIAN RIOS - MC

AIDAN CALLAHAN - MOST FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND DEFENDER IN THE ASSOCIATION

Real Talk: Parents do not bubble wrap your kids and being called a helicopter or bulldozer parent ​ ​ is not a positive comment

2019 -2020 BREAK OUT PLAYERS: Fennis has eerily been correct most of the LAST 15 YEARS with ​ this prediction for this winters’ breakout players and Hoping to keep the streak going with these predicted breakout players……..MARK MY WORDS

JAKE ROBERTSON - NEWBURYPORT GABE ZORILLA - LAWRENCE TARMO TARI - CHELMSFORD AIDAN OLIVIER - BURLINGTON MATT KUTZ - NORTH ANDOVER JP PHILLIPS - HAVERHILL DAQUAN DURHAM - LOWELL

JP PHILLIPS - HAVERHILL

THE NUMBERS ARE WHAT THEY ARE: REFLECT AND DISCUSS

OUR YEARLY THANK YOUS ● Rich Napolitano for assigning the officials. The Guy works tirelessly for the league ● All the high school and college refs,You are a credit to the game and no other off season league has the quality of refs as NAFB has ● Webmaster Jaryd Piecuch for doing an amazing job with the website and managing it every week ● Our Sponsors: Town of North Andover, Stacheys Pizza, T’s Printing, NA Youth Center, Esco Awards. This league does not happen without you ● The Best Scorers table in the biz, guys aren’t checking their cell, reading the paper they are always working: thank you Pepe Lepu, Will the Thrill, Beans Palladino ● Our Floor Maintenance Boys, the only league with MOP boys. Andrew Armano and Dylan Caporale ● My front desk customer service reps: Kelly and Hanna ● Our amazing volunteer coaches who care about the league and the kids they coach ● My good friends, the HS Varsity coaches who believe in this league ● All the college head and assistant coaches who have been with me for 15 years ● All the fans of fall ball who make this so special. There are no faces in the crowd, no fashion of the week and most importantly no league without you ● All the players, I hope you have enjoyed another year of fall ball because it is YOU that we do this for. Much Love to all of you

WE MAY NEVER PASS THIS WAY AGAIN: Easy Ed Scollan is a big Seals and ​ Crofts fan and we play this song as we say goodbye to all the seniors. We wish you all the best in your senior year. Enjoy every minute of it boys because it goes by way too fast

Real Talk: Bad Body Language has ended a selection debate as much as anything else ​ ​

Real Talk: When the desire supersedes the fear, the momentum carries you forward ​

Real Talk: If you only did the bare minimum expected of you this off season you did not get better ​

The Weekly Rant: The Final 1 of 2019 Food for Thought or Food for the Dumpster…..You Decide!!

Join the Revolution! Changing the youth basketball landscape, Be part of the solution

As we wrap up another fall ball season (our 15th) it is time to reflect on an issue that has been in the forefront of my mind for over the past ten plus years. We have so many good things happening in our game and we have equally many things that need to be addressed that is hurting our game. I am sure I annoy some folks; especially those who benefit from my concerns but we as a nation need to address many things from the White House down and youth basketball needs to constantly look at itself in the mirror. The game of hoops changes more than most sports and with that we should always be meeting the challenge to change for the better good. The first area that folks want to discuss is the disaster known as the NCAA but we will keep that rant for another day as that needs its own 20 page rant. I will first start with another organization that quite frankly has never kept up with the game and the times. The MIAA must allow some allotted time for high school coaches to work with their players in the off season. This would be helpful in many ways as coaches could do some skill building / team building as well as being in constant dialogue with their players throughout the calendar year. This is seriously not rocket science and the right thing to do. The MIAA might also want to get tougher on things that really are a travesty and that is the granting of frivolous waivers. I would also like to see more high school coaches and grassroot programs connect with each other more as they both work for the best interests of the student athlete. I am a fan of the concept of grassroot hoops. As a former aau basketball operator I understand and value the opportunities grassroot hoops gives but I also see the craziness and things that are truly having a negative effect on the game. I am all for different levels of hoop and giving even the worst players an opportunity to play the game they love but let’s be honest on what level each division or tourney is. Parents and Players who are playing basic recreation hoop are somehow led to believe they are playing a higher level of bball than they are. Stop allowing players to play down. I applaud the programs like Rivals that push their kids to play up. Understand certain programs are legit competitive programs and some are really not. Understand certain programs are great at exposure for kids and some tell you they are and are not. Some are great skill development programs and others have never developed a single player properly. I get it, it is a business but do your homework, ask questions, get answers and then make informed decisions. Regardless of all I just said grassroot hoop programs are IN FACT playing way too many games and spending way too little time on actual skill development. The USA is still the king of hoops but the gap is closer than people want to admit. Instead of playing 3-6 games a weekend play 1-2 games max and spend the rest of the time in a competitive gym working on individual skill development and teaching teams HOW TO PLAY THE GAME. The rest of the world, especially Canada, Spain and other European ​ ​ ​ ​ countries have the right idea and because of that the gap continues to close. Look how many non american developed players are exceeding at the college and pro level. By the way, how does everyone like Luca Doncic? Rankings are useless before the completed sophomore year of high school. Once had a 7th grader ranked 7th in New England as a 7th grader and 89th in Massachusetts as an 11th grader and he got better every year. How did this affect this players psyche? Understand High School and College coaches could care less if you won a U12 tourney and both levels of coaches don’t want to hear from a parent about their stats from a given season of grassroot hoops, it is just not relatable. They will evaluate you watching games and remember in the end your game won’t lie. We live in an age of instant gratification, freshman think they are a failure if they didn’t make varsity. Parents and Players think the coaches have something against their child. Folks start looking for other possible schools to take their talents elsewhere. We have to get over this craziness. Fight and compete for spots and stay hungry. The answer is not to pout or transfer. The YouTube generation is missing the point. Instead of being concerned with your highlight tapes and possibly working on the new James Harden travel maybe just get back in the gym, master the fundamentals and play pickup games against older kids/adults where you can experiment and improve your game. Stay Hungry and stay coachable All coaches from bitty basketball through grassroot hoops up to high school level must in my opinion be certified. Everyone thinks they are a coach or a trainer these days and most need, not a little work they need a lot of work. USA Basketball was on this big time for a few years but I am not sure, they are on it enough. Every other profession has some kind of certification why not basketball coaches? Coaches should attend clinics and Watch/Listen to podcasts like Chris Oliver Basketball Immersion. We always ask the question Did Johnny Get Better? I ask the question did Coach John Get Better? Youth basketball should not play zone defense until the 7th grade. I am not anti -zone but if we want kids to be good defenders they must learn how to play man to man defense and quite frankly zones in youth basketball ranges from 5 orange cones to gimmick defenses that only work because they have physicality, length and speed more than the other team. Yup there is a wannabe Coach K out there reading this saying but Syracuse runs a 2-3 zone. Yes K they do, but their five players are 6’6”, 6’6” 6’11”, 6’10” and 6’8” Teach kids how to play the game. No disrespect to the individual trainers out there but instead of just working on a specific skill have enough kids in the gym which will relate to actual game play. I love five on five but folks the best thing you can do in development is play small sided games and I am a huge 1 on 1 and 3 on 3 / 4 on 4 guy. Teach kids what to do with a ball and more importantly how to play without a ball. Lastly the biggest way we can change the landscape is to never rest on our laurels. When things are broken it is easy to say we need to fix them. We should always be asking the question how can we make things better every season. We all need to take a deep breath sometimes, reflect and address issues by seeing beyond the present. Do you want to be part of the solution or the problem?

REMEMBER DON’T GET TOO HIGH, DON’T GET TOO LOW ……...IT’S FALL BALL

THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING YEAR 15 OUR BEST YEAR TO DATE. THANK YOU TO THE MEMORY OF BERT HAMMEL WHO INSPIRED US FROM SEPT 9 THRU NOV 20TH

SEE YOU ALL AROUND THE COURTS THIS WINTER: FALL BALL 2020 STARTS IN 9 MONTHS