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The Neighborhood Fundraising Division III Basketball Preview

By Dave Haley, 12/13/13, 11:15PM EST

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Liam McNicholas and Hopkinton want to get back to the Final Four

While almost every team in Division III was scrimmaging across the state last Saturday afternoon the one team they all are chasing was representing them on the floor at Alvirne high school.

  Over 800 spectators watched Division III champion Conant take on Division I co-favorite Manchester Central and most were there to see if the myth out of Jaffrey was a reality. Could Conant really play with any team in the state? They could & they did, and on Monday one of the top Division II coaches confirmed what my eyes had been telling me all along, “ I have to give you credit,” he started out, “ I’ve been listening to you talk about Conant for years and I rolled my eyes at you when you told me how good they were. Well you were right, they are legit. They have two (star) players and six other guys who absolutely know their role and do exactly what they need to do. I was impressed.” The man whose team beat Conant echoed that sentiment, “ They would absolutely, absolutely be a top 10 team in Division I,” said David ‘Doc’ Wheeler.

 And so with that we can put that long running debate to bed. Whether Division III teams chasing them realize it or not the performance of the Orioles at the coaches for a Cause Jamboree showed fans around the state that Division III teams can compete with anyone in New Hampshire with the lights at their brightest.
Today we take a look at Division III basketball in our second of four pre-season previews;
 
 Division III Predicted order of finish
 

  1. Conant
  2. Berlin
  3. Hopkinton
  4. Newport
  5. Gilford
  6. Mascoma
  7. Laconia
  8. Stevens
  9. Somersworth
  10. Raymond

 Teams lurking outside the Top 10: Campbell, Fall Mountain, Kearsarge Regional, Farmington & Bow

 Eric Saucier looks back and remembers step by step the process his center Eli Hodgson went through to go from ‘Ezra’s little brother’ to ‘That kid is going to be a nightmare to match-up with down low.’ “He really dedicated himself in the off-season to changing his body and developing his game and it has been really fun for me as his coach to watch,” said the Conant head coach of his all-state center. “I think he got a little overlooked last year with Devin (Springfield) and (Rob) O’Brien getting all the headlines but he is a big time player for us now.” Hodgson proved it with a 15 point & 10 rebound effort against a big Central frontline in the jamboree. Now he is Division III’s problem..

 Manchester Central/Conant introductions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzfn7bmBS7c&feature=c4-overview&list=UUYsYojuTC26gXnZ1DhkR9TA
 
 Not that Robert O’Brien is going to fade from the headlines either, he’ll just have to share space with his 6’5 center. O’Brien is one of the best guards in New Hampshire and the goal now is a second championship to go out with. “ He understands the game now so much more than when he was an underclassman,” said Saucier. “ I think he is poised for a pretty big year.” Saucier’s rotation will include a much improved Josh DeGrenier (one of those kids who does everything a team needs to win..) and guard Kyle Carland, the team’s best defender. “ I’ve always said, we go as Kyle goes, he can disrupt so much of what the other team is doing with his defense and that really kick starts our running game & our offense as a whole.” Nick Panagiotes can handle pressure offensively and apply it defensively and rounds out the best starting five in the division. “ It always starts and ends with Conant, they are the team we are all shooting for,” remarked one Division III veteran coach. “ Springfield was a big loss for them but they have kids step in and fill those shoes. They’re still the best team in our division.”

 It used to be a given that the most oppressive thing about going up to play Berlinwas the drive, that’s no longer the case. “ We have a chance to, defensively at least, be the best team I’ve ever coached,” said Berlin head coach Don Picard who has brought his team to championship games in both Division III and Division II. All but one player returns from a Final Four team of a year ago and in Picard’s estimation a lot of very hard work is starting to pay major dividends. “ This group really works together very unselfishly and I think we can really cause some problems pressuring the ball.” Ryan Richard returns to run the point and is joined in the backcourt by shooting guard Brad Frenette and Tommy Gallagher. Upfront what the Mountaineers lack in size they make up for in toughness. 6’4 center Nick Foder has improved a great deal over the off-season and is joined upfront by Quinn Morrissette and 6’1 200 lb. forward Levi Arsenault who has been toughened up over the years battling in the Berlin summer men’s league and countless games with his older brothers in the family driveway. “ He’s a machine, he has come in stronger and more determined. He’s just a bull right now and I have high expectations for him this season,” said Picard (oh by the way 8th grade Evan Arsenault is on the horizon…Picard should be sending a gift basket to the Arsenault family every month..)

 Picard will throw 10 to 12 players at you and wear you down over the course of 32 minutes. Dustin Moore and Nick Wheeler will provide that kind of needed depth while Cameron Patry gives Picard a good outside shooter off the bench. Anything else? “ When we played them we got four offensive rebounds the entire game,” said Littleton head coach Trevor Howard of a very lopsided scrimmage. “ I told Donnie I thought this was the best defensive team I’ve ever seen him have.”

 There isn’t a college practice in all of Division I that Hopkinton head coach Dave Chase wouldn’t be at if he had the time. Chase is a student of the game and every fall he and Newmarket coach Jamie Hayes travel around the east coast taking in practices and seminars. So imagine how excited Chase would be if he has 11 players capable of capitalizing on all of those sets and defenses? “ I’ve got ten or eleven guys on this team who can contribute right now.” He’s excited. “ We have four guys who can dunk, size at the guard spots and some kids who can go up and down the floor in a hurry. The pieces are there and our goal is to get to the Final Four and beyond.” 6’2 point guard Liam McNicholas will run a high octane offense that will push tempo and try to get to the rim as frequently as possible. “ With the athletes we have I don’t want to have us settling for jumpers, we have kids that can finish in the lane and I want that aggressive mindset from day one.” 6’5 center Gabe Nichols will anchor a frontline that includes returning starter 6’4 forward Jake Nelson and 6’3 Luke Luneau. “ We could go big and use all three at the same time or go with a smaller quicker option,” said Chase of his chess pieces.

 Brian Hauschild will share ball-handling duties with McNicholas after spending time at the point last season while Riley McNicholas is also capable of running the point for the Hawks. Collin Paraskeva and Wes Rose are two of the team’s best defensive players for a team known for their full court pressure. With the size of this edition of Chase’s Hawks comes that word again; options. “ I like that we can pressure you, as we always have , and also give people problems with zone looks. This is a group that has played a lot of tough games (in the BST league) against Division I teams over the summer and we see it pay off for us now. This is a team with pretty high aspirations.”

 A year ago Steve Lavolpicelo’s Newport Tigers snuck up on Division III foes with a veteran group led by sophomore sensation Andrew Houde, twelve months later finds the Tigers very much a known entity. “You try and build off of the success of last year but right now this a group still figuring out roles and trying to come together like we did a year ago,” said Lavolpicelo. “ That may take some time.” Houde returns to run the point at 6’4 and he is joined in the backcourt by shooting guard Spencer Coronis. Forward Derek Pare provides outside shooting from the forward spot, for Newport though it will come down to how the team gels around Houde. Few teams rely on one player to do as much as Newport asks of Houde and with defenses keyed in on making someone else beat them the challenge in year two is finding the players around him who will pick up their production.

 Gilford was a play away from making their first Final Four appearance since 2008 last season and with all-state guard Josh Joyce returning for his junior season anything short of a trip to Southern New Hampshire University in March would be a disappointment. “ Josh has certainly improved as a player and we’ll put a lot of the ball handling responsibilities in his hands,” said veteran head coach Chip Veazey. “ We are changing some things up with our system and it has been an adjustment for everyone as we get in sync but this is a good group. We have potential to be pretty good by the end of the year.” The Golden Eagles lost point guard Sam Prescott to graduation (“He was really the heartbeat of that team,” said one opposing coach) and will rely on a trio of guards to step up. Max Troiano, Pat Scannell and Cam Partridge all contributed a year ago and Veazey likes what he’s sees out of newcomer Andrew Caufield. Upfront Kaleb Orton has improved over the summer and will step in for the graduated David Sykie. Kyle Gaudet has been steady in the pre-season and Veazey hopes to get contributions from Rich Edson once he is healthy. “ Joyce is one of the best players in our division, I think you’ll see Gilford be the team to beat amongst the Lakes Region teams,” predicted one opposing coach.

 Campbell pulled off upset wins over Gilford and Berlin to reach the Division III championship game under veteran head coach John Langlois a year ago and will look to rebuild after the graduation of four starters. The development of Zach Bergeon will play a major role in a possible return trip to the Final Four as the club level member has improved dramatically over the off-season. “ We won’t have a senior on the roster so this is going to be a learning process in motion,” said Langlois of his rebuilding process. Justin DiBenedetto and Kyle Shaw will share ball handling duties while promising freshman Harrison Ventura is worked into the rotation.

 When Mascoma coach Jim Barry looks at the biggest advantages he has it all starts with the floor he plays on. More specifically the size of that floor..” Playing on a smaller floor can dictate your style of play and luckily for us we have the players that fit that style,” said Barry of his Royals. That style is constant full-court pressure and a reliance on the low block and his 6’5 center Walter Hammond. “Walt is going to have to rebound for us because that is our weakness. As a team we need to push the tempo, create turnovers and score easy baskets in transition,” said Barry. “ All of which starts with getting a defensive rebound.” Andrew Cash and Justin Marsh provide the speed Barry needs from his backcourt while Kyle Kosiorek, coming off another all-state football season, is once again the teams go to defender. “ He has a history of being able to go out and shut the best player on the other team down and we need that again. He’s a gamer, you know he is always going to compete.” Will Morrison has shown flashes as a player and will be counted on to contribute in his sophomore season.

 After a rough ride through their inaugural season in Division III head coach Steve McDonough has a Laconia team ready to take the next step. “ We had a lot of games last season that got away from us in the last few minutes,” said McDonough. “ That’s frustrating but at the same time the kids have that experience now and I think we as a group have learned from our mistakes.” The Sachems will have a very good inside/outside combination to rely on in forward Jake Sullivan and point guard Aiden Dean. Forward Efren Noel has provided rebounding and defense on the low block while leadership has come from guard Matt Swormstedt. “ This is a group that really likes playing together and it’s been fun to watch them develop,” said McDonough. “ We aren’t going to be satisfied with making the tournament, this is a team that feels like it can make a run when we get there.”

 Mascenic Regional will again put the ball in the hands of high scoring junior guard Jared Stauffeneker as they look to return to the tournament under second year head coach Jason Starr. Stauffeneker, who scored 57 points in a game against Monadnock a year ago, spent the summer playing AAU with some of the best players in Division II and will look to carry his team into the post-season after narrowly missing the tournament a year ago.

  Few programs have been as consistently good as Somersworth has under Lorne Lucas has and although the Hilltoppers must replace five starters you’d better get your shots in early in the season because the future looks very bright. “We are really young, we won’t have a senior in the starting lineup, but we are also really athletic,” said Lucas, “ and I love the potential of this group. “ Leadership will come from center Hunter Kretschmar who steps into the role played by his cousin Tyler last season. A pair of freshmen will play prominent roles for Lucas as both 6’3 forward Kyle Stuart (“He is a natural at the 3 position,” said Lucas) and Vincent Loho, a good shooter who can handle the ball, will join the rotation in the first varsity season. Sophomore Jeremy Jacques will provide depth in the backcourt along with a much improved Zach Hamilton and 5’7 flash Elyjah Dejoie. “ There is a lot to learn and there will be bumps along the way but I think we could be a pretty good team by the end of the season. That’s what we are working towards today.”

 With his first season as a head coach behind him Bow’s Lucas Croteau likes the potential of both his returning starters and a pair of exciting freshman. “ We will have the same philosophy as we did last year; we need to push the tempo and attack. This is a good group of athletes but I don’t think we would be effective if we were caught playing a half-court game,” said Croteau. Matt Ehrenberg, our player of the year in Division III football, puts the helmet down and returns as the top scorer for a Falcons team with designs on getting up & down the floor in a hurry. Point guard Corey Plumb is a tenacious defender and will handle the ball handling responsibilities. Adam Nelson will step in to the shooting guard role vacated by the graduated Dan Crisman while freshman Nate Alford has the chance to make an immediate impact. “ He has a very good basketball IQ and so I’m interested to see him develop over the course of the season,” said Croteau. “It’s never easy for freshman but he has a chance to be a very good one.” Will Holmes will take a little longer to break into the rotation but he too will have a chance for minutes as a freshman.

 The buzz amongst coaches in the Lakes Region centers on Winnisquam Regionalguard Christian Serrano and the impact he is about to make in his sophomore season. “ He is going to be among the best players in the division,” predicted one head coach. “ He made a big leap in his game over the summer.”

 Monadnock has a dynamic guard of their own in Isaiah Prince while Stevens will compete for another tournament bid with contributions from heralded freshman Parker Smith. Raymond graduated leading scorer Jordan Richard but returns four starters from last season’s tournament team. Nate Camp will have an improvedKearsarge Regional team in playoff contention as Carter Noordsij, brother Trent Noordsij and Nick Bailey lead the Cougars in 2014.
 
 Pre-Season First Team All-State
 Robert O’Brien of Conant
 Eli Hodgson of Conant
 Andrew Houde of Newport
 Jared Stauffeneker of Mascenic Regional
 Josh Joyce of Gilford
 
 Second Team
 Levi Arsenault of Berlin
 Zach Bergeon of Campbell
 Liam McNicholas of Hopkinton
 Christian Serrano of Winnisquam
 Jake Sullivan of Laconia
 
Pre-Season Player of the Year: Robert O’Brien of Conant

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